Weight loss

[frost1375]

Within the past month or so, I've noticed that one of my male geckos is really losing weight. He shares a tank with another gecko, so its hard to tell if he's eating or not. I never usually see any of them eat. His tail has gotten a lot skinnier, and I'm afraid we have a problem. He is not on sand. He's on tile, so I don't think it could be impaction due to sand. He sheds a lot and I think the problem may be from that. I don't know the name of it, but the hole where they go to the bathroom from and the area where you can tell if they are male or female... well, there is always shed skin stuck around that. I soak him in warm water for so long, so many times, and I can't seem to pull that shed off. I don't want to pull harder and hurt him. I'm sure its a sensitive area and it's very hard for me to get to. The skin has been getting stuck in that area for a few months now, but I never really thought anything of it. Could this be why he's losing weight? I can't actually tell if he's going to the bathroom either, since he is in there with another gecko. Any ideas before I take him to the vet? There is only one vet that I know of around here who sees reptiles and I've come to the conclusion that he's sort of dumb. So I'd rather try some things before I bring him to the vet and spend a lot of money. Thank you!!!

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

First of all, you need separate your geckos ASAP. Dinsinfect all your water and food bowls, and observe your male's eating and pooping habits while he's by himself. Stress can cause some of the symptoms you are describing.

Also, check your hot-side temperatures on the floor surface... it should be between 88-94 degrees where the gecko's tummy is. Too much heat and not enough humidity can create shed issues.

 

[frost1375]

Should I be worried that if he's separated from his mate for a while that they will fight when they are returned to each other? I was just trying to soak him again and examining him. He doesn't have stuck shed where his poop comes out, only on the holes that determine the sex. Should I be trying to get that off? Is there a reason that he would be stressed? He's been in the same environment for over a year. Nothing has changed. Could it be a parasite that's only affecting him? He's lost about 1/4 of an ounce in a month. I'm assuming that's a lot? I'll separate him and disinfect everything. Any other tips or ideas meanwhile?

 

[frost1375]

Oh yeah... and the belly heat on the hot side is set at about 90 degrees.

 

[frost1375]

So I separated him. I put in 5 small meal worms and he was going for them. But it seemed like he couldn't see them. He was sort of looking in front of the worm and tried to attack a few times, but missed. I don't know what that's about. So he didn't eat any, but looked like he wanted to. Also, he's been very active since I separated him. He's been crawling and climbing all over the place which is unusual for him. So what do I do now? Just wait and see if he's eating and going to the bathroom?

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Give hime a little more time. He is in a new environment, and probably feels stressed. The fact that he was interested in the feeders is a good sign!

 

[Alusdra]

It's good that he's exploring the new environment, and definitely good that he's interested in the food. It is possible that the reason he's been getting thinner is he can no longer compete with the female for the mealworms, if the strike-and-miss that you are describing has been going on for a while. The question is why is he missing his food? It could be a lot of reasons and could potentially be serious.

Keep an eye on him, see if he is eating the mealworms you give and his poos look normal. Once you know what his intake and output is, then you'll have a much better idea how serious this is, and be armed with enough information to help the vet figure out what is going on. Have you weighed this gecko before? Usually a 10-20% loss is considered serious and he needs to be seen right away and will probably need aggressive intervention. Is there another vet in your area that will see geckos, if you do not like the one you went to before?

In general: weight loss is one of the things you need to look out for when you group house your animals. If you are planning on keeping some or all of your geckos together with others, you should invest in a scale for weekly or bi-weekly weight checks and/or feed your geckos in separate containers away from the main cage. Also have spare tanks ready at all times in case you need to separate them for weight loss, disease conditions or fighting.

 

[frost1375]

Well, good news. He ate two crickets but it took him about an hour to actually get them. He still hasn't eaten any meal worms. He was doing this weird thing at his water bowl a few minutes ago. He had his front arms on the bowl and was looking up. It looked like he was praying sort of. In a weird position. I saw him do that once a long time ago, but I'm not sure what it means. He also peed... there was this liquid in the tank after he ate the first cricket.
As for being housed with the female, I believe he's been with her since they were young. I got them more than a year ago and I was told they have always been housed together. They always are together. Like cuddling and laying on each other. They haven't mated. I was told it was because they are bother overweight.
But, the vet that I brought him to, didn't seem too knowledgeable even though I was told he trained in reptiles. It took forever for me to find that vet, so it will be pretty hard to find another vet. I'm assuming if he doesn't gain the weight back or keeps losing it, that I'll have to find a new vet.

 

[frost1375]

Okay... so he ate one more cricket. That's three total since Saturday. And he peed again. Which is sort of weird because I thought their excrement was always solid. I never noticed actual liquid before. So either I'm just stupid, or the liquid is strange? He still won't eat meal worms. And he seems to have a lot of trouble catching the crickets. Hopefully he'll continue to eat. Any thoughts or whatever would be great. I'll just keep his situation posted in case I need any help. Thank you.

 

[Tx4Codeman]

How much weight has he lost? Mine is in terrible condition now from weight loss and im trying to pull him through with the slurry.

 

[frost1375]

My scale is sort of stupid. It weighs in lbs/oz and grams/kgs but the grams and kilograms don't seem to be correct. So since a month ago, he lost 1/4 of an once. I only started weighing them a month ago, cuz he was starting to get skinny. His tail is skinner, but he doesn't' look extremely sick like some of the pictures I've seen on here. He ate a few crickets and one meal worm, I think. He just hasn't had any solid poop, just pee since I started monitoring on Sunday. Because he is eating some, I'm not sure I need to feed him the slurry yet. I'm just going to keep monitoring him.

 

[Tx4Codeman]

Mine started eating less and less, and now he as at the point you can see in my thread. I have owned him for a year 1/2.

 

[frost1375]

I'm sorry your gecko isn't doing too well. Its terrible when are loved ones get sick and no one knows how to make them better. I hope your little guy pulls through. A few years ago my mother brought home a gecko and I had him for about a year and then he stopped eating and started losing weight. No one knew how to help him. I finally had to take him to the emergency room and they told me he was so bad, he'd have to be put to sleep. He passed away right after that, sparing me the horrible decision. Its such a heart breaking thing. I wish I could have done more for him and I wish I was more knowledgeable.

 

[estott]

i had a male that stoped eating on me recently he droped 23Gs before he started to eat again which was actualy 2 weeks ago, he is eating well and putting back on his weight nicely now. good sign your males stricking at prey items tho. im sure he will come around for you. males seem to always be the finiky eaters.

best of luck to you,
Erick Stott

 

[frost1375]

Well, in the week and a half since I first posted, he's lost more weight. He's now at 1 5/8 ounces. When I weighed him back then, he had gone from 2 1/4 to 2 ounces. So he is still losing weight. I'm starting to get really scared cuz I don't want to lose another gecko this way. It's heartbreaking to just watch him wither away to nothing. He does eat very occasionally, but I haven't found any feces. I found a vet that sees reptiles, but I just had a problem with them with my rabbit. So if the doctor isn't too knowledgeable with rabbits, I fear he won't be any better with geckos. There was another reptile vet on the list, but I don't even know who to trust anymore. I live in Wilmington, MA. If anyone knows any good reptile vets around, please let me know. I think he should be seen. Any other advice for me, I would really appreciate. Thank you so much for all the help already.

 

[frost1375]

I also think he's dehydrated because I pinched his skin and it stayed in place. I'm having a real hard time trusting vets lately. I don't know who I should bring him to.

 

[leonut]

have you tried feeding him at night? if he can't see them you could try that. i switched from feeding during the day to feeding at night and there's a noticable difference.

 

[frost1375]

Well, I just leave the worms in their with him all the time and I had the crickets in there at night with him. I was going to buy him more crickets soon. But, I'm just too scared to let this go on longer, so I'm actually taking him to Angell Memorial in Boston tonight. Supposedly they have a reptile specialist there. I hope they can help him! Even if he is eating a little, he's still losing weight, and that scares me. So I'll let you all know what the vet says. Hopefully it's good news!

 

[frost1375]

So I took my boy to the vet. She couldn't get any blood out of him. She said his circulation is probably poor. So I'm going to bring him in again in the morning for the day. She'll pump fluids in him and hopefully get a blood sample. She was able to squeeze out some clear liquid, which she said was urine. And it was a lot and she said it was odd. She sucked it off the table with a syringe and it filled practically the whole thing. After a little squeezing or pushing or whatever she did, she finally got some stool out. Along with the stool was a pile of yellow crystals, which she said was crystallized urine. She looked at the feces and didn't see any visible parasites under the microscope. She sent the urine and feces to the labs for tests. If these tests come back negative, then we'll do an xray. I'm fearing the worst because she couldn't find anything wrong on first examination. I feel as if I'm going to get news that his kidneys are failing or something. I have very bad luck, especially when it comes to my pets. I love them all dearly and I always take full responsibility for whatever happens to them. I also feel very guilty afterward. I'm already feeling guilty and I'm very upset. Does anyone know just by hearing this if I will be able to get good news? Has this happened before to anyone???

 

[frost1375]

I'm sorry for all the posts! I'm just really concerned and it would be good for people to know what's going on anyway. The vet gave my little guy some fluids, but still couldn't get any blood for a blood sample. The fecal test came back with no parasites. The urinalysis says there are some white blood cells in his urine and it's really watered down. Also, some of the urine is crystallized, so it's not being processed correctly. One fecal test hasn't come back yet. Its the one for the crypto something. The disease she said that's incurable and contagious. So I hope he doesn't have that. She told me to try to fix the kidneys, we have to hydrate him. So I have to soak him a few times a day, try to force feed him some water. Also, since he's not eating much and the food isn't being digested completely, she gave me some chicken baby food to try to feed to him, and a liquid calcium. Hopefully he'll start to get better soon! Does anyone have anything else to add to this? Any other ideas? Think I should also feed him some of the slurry? Let me know! Thank you.