What was it like with your leo?

  • Thread starter AnAndalusianDog
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AnAndalusianDog

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My pretty baby Monty is about 10 years old this year, and I'm afraid it might be her last. (getting teary eyed..) In the past year she has faded from a brilliant yellow-orange to a dull milky gray, even after shedding. She eats fine still, and sheds regularly, but I still feel like I'm losing her. Her symptoms are:

-a small bump on the side of her mouth
-severely dulled color
-she can no longer shed skin from around her eyes, and is going blind from damage, despite my MANY attempts to help.
-tip of her tail is scabbed over and does not shed easily.
-slightly less energetic
-weight loss

Every few days I roll a Q-tip around her eyelids to remove skin as she always seems to have pieces left. Whenever she sheds, she removes all the skin except around her eyes, which tear off around the lids and leave sheets inside her eyes.
She is losing weight, and sleeps all the time.
I also moved her upstairs this year, and changed the substrate from sand to tile. My basement is about 5-10 degrees cooler.

I just want to know, do you feel like she may be dying? And what was it like for you, if you've ever lost a leo from age or illness? I'll be devastated when I lose her, I love her so much :(
 
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Necromantica

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Leopard geckos can live longer then 10 years. This may be an actual health issue and not age at all.
1. If their is a bump she needs to see a vet asap.
2. You said shes losing her color? Have you checked the temperatures in her tank some causes for darkening is from not having the proper temperatures in the tank.
3. Don't give up on her, I don't think its age, I think she needs medical attention. If you can get her to a vet right away, then she could live another many years most likely.

Her lack in energy could be some form of lethargy which geckos can get when they are young also its an indication your gecko might be either malnurished "hinting at weight loss." or your gecko could be very sick.

Wrong cage temps can cause digestive problems which can lead to lethargy and weight loss, which can also lead to bad sheds such as you have described.

I would advise double checking cage temps, and a emergency trip to the vet.

Thats your best chance at saving her.
 
A

AnAndalusianDog

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Unfortunately I haven't been able to locate an herb doctor anywhere near where I live. About a month ago I paid $50 to get her checked out (regarding her eye problems) and the "specialist" vet told me she mainly works with birds and doesn't know a lot about reptiles. She did nothing to help me, and I expect her to do the same if I visit again, and I'm not sure it's worth $50 (I'm 16) for her to look at her and tell me nothing (which is why I joined this forum).
Is it possible I could treat her myself? :main_huh: Please help. She's my first reptile I've ever owned and don't know how to treat all the problems at once.
 
A

AnAndalusianDog

Guest
So I decided the move upstairs must have been whats causing the problems. I went to ***** and bought two new thermometers and a humidity gauge. It turns out my old thermometer was broken. It read the cage's temperature at 85 degrees, and the two new ones I bought read 110 on the hot side and 95 on the cool side. I immediately moved the cage to a shaded spot and now the hot side says its 85 and the cool side is a 80. Is this appropriate?
Humidity should be around 40-60% right?
I'll update to see if she improves :)
 
Tony C

Tony C

Wayward Frogger
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How are you heating the enclosure? 95 on the hot side and 80 on the cool is a good gradient, you were too hot before, but too cold now. How are you measuring the temperature? Are the temps you gave air or ground temps?
 
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AnAndalusianDog

Guest
The thermometers stick on the sides of the cage, so air.
 
Allee Toler

Allee Toler

New Member
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Mission Bay, CA
Get a DIGITAL THERMOMETER, and place the probe on the floor for an accurate reading, where your girl spends her time.

The abscess can be deadly.
 
Allee Toler

Allee Toler

New Member
Messages
382
Location
Mission Bay, CA
Those are very inaccurate, and it's a shame pet stores still sell things like these.

I ran a test, had a dial, digital, and a strip thermometer laid out on the floor of my tank, the dial read 81-83F, digital read 106F, and the strip read 78F.

Digital is the most accurate way to read the floor temp, beside a temp gun. Even if you just get one digital and put it on the hot side, it's important.

Abscesses can grow. I had one on my leo, it was a salmonella abscess, I left it, not being able to afford a vet, three months went by and she developed another one near it, and they were 6x the size of when the bump first started, i had to go to the vet, and he cut it open, drained it, then filled it with special antibiotics. I had to keep antibiotic for nearly a month.
After the treatment, her eye got infected, I assumed from the ointment in her eye because the abscesses were so close to her eye, but it ended up being salmonella that traveled in her ear canal into her eye.

Now I have a partially blind leo, who only had an infected eye for not even 2 days.

From personal experience, it needs to be checked out asap before it gets worse. It won't improve, it'll only get worse. And if you cut it open yourself it will get infected. Infections are deadly on something so small.

Good luck to you, and it's a "herp" vet not a "herb" vet, incase you were typing that on google or something, might help out a bit more. Also, post your location, people will point you to one near you.
 
A

AnAndalusianDog

Guest
Oh that's embarrassing, no I know it's herp that was typo. I live in Wichita, KS.
 
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Alusdra

Alusdra

New Member
Messages
475
Location
Washington, DC
Unless you want to watch her die slowly (and probably painfully), then you need to find a way to gather some money and go to a reptile specialist. I don't know any in Kansas, sorry. Perhaps your parents or other relatives can help with the cost? Perhaps you can get a job of some sort to help pay (though pay back someone who can lend it to you in a lump sum, this needs to be seen ASAP).

The sooner you get it seen, the less expensive it will be and the better chance your gecko will recover. With luck and medical care she could live another decade or two even. Not to be harsh, but she deserves veterinary care and you are the only one she can count on to provide it.
 
acpart

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
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Somerville, MA
I'm going to guess that if you take a reptile to a vet who doesn't specialize in reptiles and there is an obvious problem like the lump, that vet should be able to treat it. It seems to me that anyone who is trained as a vet could lance and clean out an abcess (I think if I had an abcess and could only find a vet, not an MD I'd probably let him/her do it). I think it's a different deal when it's not clear what's wrong with the reptile. I also hope you can figure out the real temperature soon and adjust accordingly.

ALiza
 
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