young gecko not eating

[paul75]

hi, iv had my gecko about 3 weeks now, he will be almost 2 months old now, i have tried to feed him crickets since i got him but he wouldnt touch them, i tried killing them and holding them by his mouth but he still wouldnt eat them, i went back to the shop i got him from after a week to get some mealworms but they advised me not to give him mealworms, i was more or less told that when he is hungry enough he will eat, 2 dasy ago i got some meal worms, i killed one and held it up to him and he took it but since then he will not take anymore, i have an under tank heatmat, i had the temp at about 85 as this is what i was told by the shop, a few days ago i raised the temp to about 90-92 in the warm side and its about 70 in the cool side, he has not shed his skin since i have had him, i keep him in a plastic tub with 2 hides, the one in the warm side has wet kitchen paper in it, i have only seen him go in here once, i have kitchen paper on the floor. he seems alert and moves fairly fast when i pick him up as he is not used to being handled yet as i decided to let him get used to his home before i stop anoying him, its kitchen paper i use on the floor.
does anyone have any ideas on how to get him to eat, i have tried squeezing the inside out and putting it up to his mouth but he keeps turning and walking away
thanks

 

[johnnyboy4783]

get a fecal done to check for parasites

 

[lil_katiedan]

Mealworms are fine to feed him and you don't have to kill them first. If you have tried wiping the guts of a cricket or mealworms on his face and he still doesn't seem to have the slightest interest I would try feeding him some of Marcia's slurry or chicken baby food. If you can get a fecal done you might be able to catch any parasites he could have contracted before they cause any real damage. Good luck!

 

[paul75]

thanks for the replys, i got home today and went to try and feed him a mealworm but he turned his head away from it, i then noticed he is starting to shed his skin from his tail, he is sitting in the cooler side of the tanks, this is where the humidity is the highest beside his water dish, he was in his humid box for a while last night but he not went back to it, i added some more water to his dish and put some water on the kitchen paper to try and raise the humidity a bit, hopefully this is all that was putting him off his food
thanks

 

[blizzard]

i'd definitely get him to a vet just to check him good. if he's drinking good, maybe just to add a little bit of gatorade to the water not too much just enough to flavor the water and give it a little color. this will provide electolytes to shock him a little and give him a little sugar for energy and maybe he'll spend himself and want to eat. I done this once with my leo when she wasn't eating properly and within days she was acting normally. maybe it worked maybe not but...

 

[paul75]

since last night he hasnt opened his eys when iv checked on him even when iv seen him walk, iv had a look through this site at other people pictures and it looks like just hatched geckos are fatter than mine, his tail is also very thin, when i was at the shop i got him from the guy said when there tail is thin you know something is wrong, i told him that his tail is very thin and the guy said well he is only 4 weeks old, i had a look in their tanks and all the young geckos were the same.
heres a picture i just took

 

[malt_geckos]

He is VERY thin. He needs to see a vet ASAP. Those people at the pet shop shouldn't own that store if they don't know that the gecko they sold you was sick. I would take a little tub with some luke warm water in it, just a little bit. Put him in the water for a bit...it should be up to his elbows. He has stuck shed all over his toes. Once he's done soaking in the water, GENTLY with a pair of tweezers, pull the shed off his toes. Be very careful to not get his actual toes. If he has any she stuck any other place, take it off. My guess is that he has shed in his eyes. With that shed, it is very difficult to get off and should only be carefully taken off with a damp Q-tip.

He also looks like he has MBD developing in his legs. This is called Metallic Bone Disease. It's a calcium deficiency in the diet. I would go to the vet and get a fecal done to check for parasites, and get some liquid calcium and learn how to administer it.

I'm sorry to tell you, but I doubt your little one will make it. I am rooting for you but when they look that bad, the only thing you can do is take it to the vet and hope that the medicine works.

 

[paul75]

He is VERY thin. He needs to see a vet ASAP. Those people at the pet shop shouldn't own that store if they don't know that the gecko they sold you was sick.

QUOTE]

thats not the worst, when i went back in to the shop they had a dead gecko in the tank and there were quite a few ants, the guy muttered something about ants and lifted the dead gecko and the newspaper out the tank

 

[malt_geckos]

Omg! I would have called animal cruelty on them! That's awful. I wouldn't go back there or buy anything else from them because it's just supporting what they are doing.

I hope you get him to the vet soon and good luck. Keep us updated.

 

[paul75]

vets wont be open again till monday, iv got the shed off his feet and i gently rubbed a wet cotton bud on his eye lids, he has opened both his eyes a few times so hopefully it has helped, he still seems lively enough when i handle him

 

[Hale]

Do you have calcium supplements? It is a calcium dust, and you should provide him with a dish of calcium, AND dump your live insects in there before then feeding it to him. Do this in the meantime, but also continue to do so after you check in with the vets. Add gatorade to the water as Blizzard said - but only a little to provide him with energy so that he can eat. He is probably too weak right now.

Your two main goals should be getting him to eat so he does not starve to death. And getting him to the vet - also I would suggest returning to the store you came from, check the conditions of the other reptiles, and if they do seem to be in the same condition as you said, report it to animal control...or whatever you have in that area that deals with abused animals.

*edit*

I wonder if after doing so with the latter, if you could be provided money for the vet bills, or something from that store because of selling you and others sick and dying reptiles.

 

[paul75]

i got calcium plus food for crickets when i got him from the shop, i also got some calcium dust a few days ago when i got the meal worms, but with him not eating he hasnt been getting anything

 

[Rejoice in the Lord]

He appears to be a very sick little fellow, and needs the vet asap.

As thin as he is, I would suggest that you go ahead and make the slurry now, and see if he will lick a few drops off of the end of his nose every few hours. Be careful not to get it into his nostrils though. Also, up the temps to 92, possibly even up to 94. With the temps that high, be sure that his humid hide stays humid, and (especially if you don't notice him using it) it might be a good idea to give him a daily soak to prevent dehydration. Keep offering him live foods, and if he will accept them, feed him them instead of the slurry.

Things don't look good for the little guy, but as long as he's breathing, there is still hope that he will be able to pull through.