Whats wrong with my gecko?

[TANGERINEGECKO12]

A few months ago I got geico, she's been very healthy. but in the past little while she has been getting skinnier. She is still eating and drinking, she is also very active but he is just not getting any bigger :main_no: her tail is also getting very skinny.

 

[geckochick89]

pics would help. It sounds like he might have some sort of parasite.

 

[grboxa]

What do the bowel movements look like?, solid?,runny?. Fill this out, it helps.

About your leo:
- Sex
- Age & Weight
- How long have you owned your leo
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)
- When was the last time he/she went
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size
- Type (ex. glass tank)
- Type of substrate
- Hides, how many, what kind
B) Heating
- Heat source
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)
- Method of regulating heat source
- What are you using to measure your temps
- Do you have any lights (describe)
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females)
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)
- What are you gut loading food with

 

[TANGERINEGECKO12]

About your leo:
- Sex: female
- Age & Weight: I don't know how old he is but he is 4 inches long and 8 grams
- How long have you owned your leo: 3 1/2 months
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): pet store

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo once: every second day
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.: she is getting very skinny
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)
- When was the last time he/she went
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size 18x18x18
- Type (ex. glass tank):exo terra glass tank
- Type of substrate: reptile carpet
- Hides, how many, what kind : one rock cave an one log
B) Heating
- Heat source :75 watt sunlight bulb
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) hot side is around 90 and cool side is around 80
- Method of regulating heat source
- What are you using to measure your temps thermometers
- Do you have any lights (describe) one day light

C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females) :male
- Describe health, or previous problems: He is a very healthy gecko

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much) I put about ten crickets in the cage every 2 days, I also put a couple wax and meal worms in once a week
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) Is use the tubes from the cricket keeper to put the crickets in and I use tweezers to put the worms in
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) rep-cal multivitimans and calcium to dust the crickets
- What are you gut loading food with i gut load the crickets with Flukers complete cricket diet

 

[TANGERINEGECKO12]

here are the photos

 

[LeopardShade]

The tail girth of that gecko is very small and poor. I noticed you did not describe the fecals of your gecko in the questionnaire. Abnormal consistency/color of fecals can be a big indicator for a problem. While I'm not a vet and am not qualified to make any kind of diagnosis, the little you've described sounds like a parasitic infection to me. Parasites need a host to survive, and will consume virtually all the nutrients the gecko receives. That is why your gecko could still be eating, but not be receiving any nutrients from the food; the parasites could be stealing them. A common symptom of parasitic infections is thinning of the tail, which it looks as if your gecko has. I'd say a vet visit should be in order, along with a fecal sample to make a diagnosis.

From your description of your care, I also noticed you did not mention using a UTH (undertank heater) for your gecko. This is the preferred heating source for leopard geckos, as they absorb a majority of heat through their bellies. Bright day lights can be stressful to the animal, and they are essentially superfluous when keeping nocturnal reptiles like leopard geckos. I'd recommend investing in one.

 

[TANGERINEGECKO12]

Thank you, Could my other gecko get the parasites?

 

[LeopardShade]

If housed in the same enclosure with a parasite-positive gecko, yes, there is a chance they could be passed via water or fecal contamination. If you figure out this particular gecko has parasites, I'd separate any others housed in the same enclosure at once, put the sick one on a strict quarantine with fastidious cage cleaning while undergoing medical treatment, and also keep a watchful eye on the others for detrimental symptoms indicative of a similar problem. When housing multiple geckos together, the risk for bacterial/parasitic infection and transmission increases, which is something to keep in mind. Meanwhile, you should also clean the enclosures and cage furniture with something strong such as bleach or ammonia.

If your geckos are housed individually, there is a much less likely chance of transmission. However, you should always do feeding/cage cleaning/etc to a parasitic gecko after you do so for your other geckos, and wash your hands after handling one as precautionary measures.

Provided, these are things to do if your gecko truly has parasites, which a fecal sample taken to a vet should confirm. Keep us posted!

 

[TANGERINEGECKO12]

I took him to the vet and they gave me some medicine he has taken it all now and seems to be getting skinnier and weaker what should i do?

 

[ElapidSVT]

get rid of the light and use a proper undertank heat source.
i would also recommend housing it separately. quarantining any new arrival is a necessary element of proper husbandry to avoid transmission of diseases or parasites.
what size crickets are you feeding it?
an 8g leopard gecko should eat the equivalent of 1 adult cricket every day or two. they can easily eat adult crickets at that size. keeping a full dish of mealworms can reduce the hassle of feeding daily. just top off the dish every couple days so the animal can feed freely.
good luck!

 

[sausage]

agreed, UTH NOT heat lamps. this could be a reason shes lost condition as she would be unable to digest the food