Very Sick Gecko

[Pyxis]

Hello everyone, I'm new and I need help. A week ago, I walked into Petco and bought two baby leopard geckos. I already own a beardie, so I had previous reptile experience. Both were 'rescues.' One was sad-looking, had lost all its toes because the store had not put in a humid hide, and had lost half her tail because another larger gecko bit it off. The other was just very skinny. I thought that she would be the easy one - just feed her and she'll be fine, right? Wrong

While the other gecko turned around quick and easy, the skinny one is not doing so well. She's lethargic, SUPER skinny, and refuses to eat. I've tried her with mealworms, crickets, and dubia nymphs and she will NOT eat. She also spends her whole day on the cool side of the tank, avoiding the heat, even though my thermometer says it's correct. I double checked with three other thermometers and they all get the same thing. She just stays hiding, eyes closed in unhappiness, looking so miserable. She is so skinny it really looks like she's going to die any day now. What should I do? I tried to make a vet appointment, but my vet is booked up for the whole week.

About your leo:
- Sex: Female
- Age & Weight: No idea, but very skinny and young according to the store
- How long have you owned your leo: A week
- Where was he/she obtained: Petco

A) Health/History
B) Fecals
- Describe: Looked normal when she went
- When was the last time he/she went: Not sure, but it's been at least a few days
C) Problem
Described above

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: A 10 gallon while she's sick
- Type: Glass aquarium
- Type of substrate: Reptile carpet
- Hides, how many, what kind: Three, one wood on the warm side, one humid hide, and one plastic on the cool side.
B) Heating
- Heat source: UTH
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)
- Method of regulating heat source: I just monitor it closely
- What are you using to measure your temps: Digital temperature probes
- Do you have any lights: No lights
C) Cage mates
- How many: One also sickly female
- Describe health, or previous problems: Described above

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- She refuses to eat, but what I've tried is above.
- What vitamin/minerals are you using: Herptivite and reptical.
- What are you gut loading food with: Fluker's cricket gut loading food

 

[Cesar_Da_KIng]

You might need to seperrate them cause she could be being bullied even though you might not have seen it or her cage mate might be stressing her out

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

In addition to separating them, I would suggest a tank that is slightly warmer in temps all around (90-93 on the hot side) and also could be that the little one has parasites. I'd get her into the vet asap.

DO you have access to repta-aid? It is a appetite stimulant. It might help her want to eat. Also, google "Golden Gate Gecko's slurry" for a good recipe to try to get the little one to eat.

Warm baths also help, but if she's weak, you'll probably need to help keep her above water and keep her head out of the water so she doesn't drown.

 

[katie_]

Find a new vet.
Any clinic that refuses service for a week is not great.
They have emergency spots for situations like this, if I were you I would just show up.

 

[getgeckos]

You are in the 14 day return period for PETCO. I would return her and ask If she could be sent to their vet. My first foray into geckos was from PETCO and it didn't turn out well. After 11 days of trying and trying I could get her to eat on her own, i did return her and from there on out I bought my Leos from my local reptile expo and local breeders. Hope things turn around for her. Good luck

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Cesar_Da_KIng]

Please dont return it to Petco. For one i dont think getgeckos knows what hes talking about if he returned it after only elevn days of not eating, some geckos can take a month before they eat after being introduced to a new home. I have a gecko from petco and he is doing great. Two, if Petco even has a vet, wich i dont think they do (mine dosent) and you return it, even if you ask them to, all they will do is euthenise it. It is to "expensive" for them to fix it and resell it and they dont care about the animal any way, their there to make money.

 

[katie_]

Please dont return it to Petco. For one i dont think getgeckos knows what hes talking about if he returned it after only elevn days of not eating, some geckos can take a month before they eat after being introduced to a new home. I have a gecko from petco and he is doing great. Two, if Petco even has a vet, wich i dont think they do (mine dosent) and you return it, even if you ask them to, all they will do is euthenise it. It is to "expensive" for them to fix it and resell it and they dont care about the animal any way, their there to make money.

Not true.

 

[Cesar_Da_KIng]

Not tryin to be rude katie because they might have changed it in the last 12 years or it might just be somthing they do in Florida (dowt it, though), but im pretty shur thats how they do it. See, my high school bio teacher and the sponsor for our school reptile club, used to work there about 12 years ago as a small job that he did after his regular job (teaching high school) and he said when ever they brought any reptiles in for return, and he still has no clue why because they didnt do it with the mammals or birds, just the reptiles, they used to ask the customer why they were returning it. He said if the customer said that it just wasnt their thing or somthing like that they would quarentine it for a week and put it back with the others. But if the customer said it had any medical issuses they would take it put it in a box and ship it back to, im not shure what he called it but i think he said it was where Petco breeds its animals, they have a name for the place, i just cant recall it, but anyways, one day he asked the manager what they did with the ones they ship off in the boxes and the manager said they euthanised them because it was usaully cheaper than treating them. Then MR. Stults (my bio teacher) said well dosent the drugs used to euthanize them cost a few bucks and the manager said they put them in this little freezer thing that freezes them in like 30 secs. and cost very little to use. The next day Mr. Stults quit his job at Petco. Now before every one starts jumping on me with their opinions and how stupid i am, im just going off what my teacher who worked there and whom i trust said, keeping in mind that it was about 12 years ago and it might have changed. Once again im just going off what he said, katie not sayin your wrong, but please people dont start heckling me, i was just giving my advice and OPINION, trying to put the animals saftey first. I personally dont think returning him to Petco is a good idea, if you want him off your hands give him to a shelter or somwhere where your SHURE he is in good hands. Wants again it might have changed, dont harrass me with how wrong i am.

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

Please dont return it to Petco. For one i dont think getgeckos knows what hes talking about if he returned it after only elevn days of not eating, some geckos can take a month before they eat after being introduced to a new home. I have a gecko from petco and he is doing great. Two, if Petco even has a vet, wich i dont think they do (mine dosent) and you return it, even if you ask them to, all they will do is euthenise it. It is to "expensive" for them to fix it and resell it and they dont care about the animal any way, their there to make money.

I am personally friends with the assistant manager of a Petco nearby me and I KNOW that they never euthanize their surrenders or returns. I also know for a fact that they do have a vet- not on site but within a very short trip- and this vet is very knowledgeable as to how to treat a leopard gecko. The Petco manager has actually helped me save a couple of my geckos by getting me in touch with the other vet.

Not to be condescending or rude, but if you do give information on a topic, please use information that is less than 3 years old because knowledge on leopard geckos has changed drastically during the last 15 years.

 

[katie_]

Not tryin to be rude katie because they might have changed it in the last 12 years or it might just be somthing they do in Florida (dowt it, though), but im pretty shur thats how they do it. See, my high school bio teacher and the sponsor for our school reptile club, used to work there about 12 years ago as a small job that he did after his regular job (teaching high school) and he said when ever they brought any reptiles in for return, and he still has no clue why because they didnt do it with the mammals or birds, just the reptiles, they used to ask the customer why they were returning it. He said if the customer said that it just wasnt their thing or somthing like that they would quarentine it for a week and put it back with the others. But if the customer said it had any medical issuses they would take it put it in a box and ship it back to, im not shure what he called it but i think he said it was where Petco breeds its animals, they have a name for the place, i just cant recall it, but anyways, one day he asked the manager what they did with the ones they ship off in the boxes and the manager said they euthanised them because it was usaully cheaper than treating them. Then MR. Stults (my bio teacher) said well dosent the drugs used to euthanize them cost a few bucks and the manager said they put them in this little freezer thing that freezes them in like 30 secs. and cost very little to use. The next day Mr. Stults quit his job at Petco. Now before every one starts jumping on me with their opinions and how stupid i am, im just going off what my teacher who worked there and whom i trust said, keeping in mind that it was about 12 years ago and it might have changed. Once again im just going off what he said, katie not sayin your wrong, but please people dont start heckling me, i was just giving my advice and OPINION, trying to put the animals saftey first. I personally dont think returning him to Petco is a good idea, if you want him off your hands give him to a shelter or somwhere where your SHURE he is in good hands. Wants again it might have changed, dont harrass me with how wrong i am.

It's not a great idea to slander a company on the internet. You don't work there, and you are basing your opinion on hearsay.

Telling you that your statement is untrue is far from harassment.

 

[Cesar_Da_KIng]

Now i wasnt saying you were harrassing me, i just didnt want it to escalate to that. You to are probably right, and i do apologize for not thinking before giving my outdated info. My apologies i was just a little worried about her returning the gecko basing it on what i had been told true, but obviously i have nothing to worry about. Thank you very much for enlightning me

 

[Cesar_Da_KIng]

Pyxis i also apologize to you for giving false info that might have prevented you from giving your gecko proper care.

 

[Pyxis]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm halfway to deciding to just give her to a local exotics and reptiles specialty store and have them help her and find her a new home, because my vet can't get me in. It's not their fault, as they are the only vet for miles around that actually does exotics well and they already overbooked. They told me I could try an emergency vet but they don't do reptiles there. I know that the store I think I might give her to would get her treatment and that she'd be happy and they'd find her a good home. Every time anyone buys a reptile they run through the necessary supplies with a customer and make sure they have them, and then they go through proper care, too. I'm thinking this may be what's best for her. What do you all think? Should I give her to the store, or should I hold out and try to get to the vet? This is assuming the store agrees to take her, being as sick as she is.

 

[Pyxis]

Pyxis i also apologize to you for giving false info that might have prevented you from giving your gecko proper care.

No problem Either way, that particular Petco will not be getting her back anyway, because of how they treat their healthy geckos, as evidenced by the other little girl I adopted. I have no desire for them to get her help and then just put her back in a bad situation.

 

[getgeckos]

Just wanted to wish you luck in whatever you decide to do with your gecko. My advice is based on the information available that the gecko would not be able to see a vet for over a week. If you read the paperwork you signed from PETCO, it talks about the option of having the animal see one of their vets. When someone purchases a sickly animal in hopes of "saving" it, what is really happening is that we are reinforcing the store's poor husbandry practices because they can still sell geckos regardless of how they maintained them. The bottom line is what ultimately matters to the corporate offices and the lack of sales can change business practices.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Pyxis]

I did report the store for the lack of a humid hide. It's actually company policy to have one in the tank with them, and now they have them in the tanks, so hopefully no more toeless geckos. In the future, though, I will be MUCH less likely to purchase a gecko from any store that has an incorrect setup. I've learned a hard lesson here.

 

[Cesar_Da_KIng]

My Petco has the cage humidity level at 90% ! i almost thru up when i saw it

 

[kaws]

I honestly DON'T UNDERSTAND why people still buy animals from petstores. ESPECIALLY ones that don't treat their animals right.

Here's another person who says they "RESCUED" some animals, but in reality your helping the store make a PROFIT from the purchase and helps them PURCHASE MORE ANIMALS to abuse.

 

[katie_]

Exactly.
Don't like your local pet store? DON'T SUPPORT IT!

 

[Pyxis]

I'm not meaning to sound rude, but to all you people who keep coming in here and bashing me for buying these two geckos, you are all very unhelpful. And never once did I say I didn't like my Petco. The staff were uninformed on how to properly care for these animals, and just needed someone to tell them what to do. I saw two suffering animals, and I couldn't walk away from them. I then informed the pet store what had caused the problem, and as of today they have fixed it. They now have a perfectly good setup and future animals at the store won't suffer because I spoke up. I also gave the geckos a good home, and they will be properly cared for. If I hadn't purchased them, someone else would have, and that person wouldn't necessarily have cared for them correctly, and they may have just ended up suffering more. This thread is supposed to be about helping a sick animal survive, and instead you've come in and made unhelpful comments, distracted everyone from actually helping me any, and have bashed me for taking in mistreated animals to give them a good life. In fact, it seems like some people ONLY came in here to make rude comments about me, which I do not appreciate. I am a new user here, and this is my only experience with this entire community. This type of attitude is exactly what can drive away new people just looking for information on how to properly care for their pets. I don't think anyone wants that. I do not want my thread to turn into a debate. I only want help for my gecko, without anyone making rude comments and presumptions about me. Is that too much to ask?

Anyway, back on topic now. She's turned around. She stays in the warm side, and is eating. I'm giving her wax worms to help her put on weight. Thank you to everyone who made helpful comments and tried to help me help a sick animal, because it looks like she's going to make it. If anyone else has any advice on how to help her gain weight and get back to being healthy and happy, I'd love to hear it.