[Saskia]

Hello to all!

I am starting this thread as a favor to a friend of mine, I myself keep leopard geckos only, probably in the future will expand my collection to other species, but right now just leos... my friend (who works in a vet clinic) keeps leos, cresties, phelsumas and other geckos... being the creasties the newest addition to his collection, he bought a pair from Strictly Reptiles a few weeks ago, they are juveniles...

A couple of days ago he noticed one of the cresties had a darkened couple of fingers, and from that moment he think it has expanded to the foot, it honestly looks like the foot was necrosing or that he burned himself but there is nothing hot in the enclosure, first of all I´ll tell you about the husbandry and feeding:
(2 cresties being kept together, juvelines, unsexed)

Humidity: About 80%
Substrate: Coco fiber
Feeding: baby crickets every day and fruit baby food, or natural fruit 3x per week.
Temperatura Range: From 75 to 78F (from 24 to 26C)
Enclosure size: 12 x 12 x 19 inches (30 x 30 x 50 cms)
Decor: Natural plants, some wood.
Heating: Heat lighting bulb 5.0 on 9 hours a day, right outside the enclosure, covered with a metalic web so the geckos can´t touch it.

I´ll post some pictures so you can see, I must add I know very little about R. ciliatus so please I´d love some help, my friend is very very responsible for his animals, and that´s why he is asking me to post this here, because I´ve told him about this forum (he doesn´t speak english, that´s why I am helping him), and another thing to consider is that there are no reptile veterinarians in our country, in fact he is a vet student (first year) and he is intending to become the first in the country, so, a visit to the vet is not a possibility, he has the ways to do exams because he works in a clinic, but I would have to tell him every thing to do step by step.

I even got to think that is this continues to expand he might have to consider amputation, but he really doesn´t want to go that far without trying everything, since yesterday he has being very lethargic, refusing to eat, and barely walking...

Has anyone had a similar experience? What would yo advise? If you need any other information I´d be more that happy to ask my friend, I myself haven´t seen the animal, just the pictures.

Thanks for any help!!

[lauraleellbp]

I'd start off by giving the gecko a sauna and after about a half an hour (time for the skin to soften up) try working at it with a Q-tip to see if he can loosen and get any of the debris and probably stuck shed off. A pair of blunt-nosed tweezers can be useful too, if he can find an edge of loose shed to grab and VERY gently pull away. It MAY all come off if he works at it for a while, and the swelling might be caused just by restricted blood flow.

If a few saunas and cleaning don't completely do the trick, then the gecko probably needs to get to a vet to see if there's an infection going.

Here's how to give a gecko a sauna:

Crested Gecko "Bath" - YouTube

[Hannibal]

Totally agree with Laura! It looks pretty bad in the photos and does need to see a reptile/exotics vet as soon as possible. Do the sauna/baths until the little guy can get seen by the vet.

[Saskia]

Thanks for te advise, I´ll tell him about the sauna!! A trip to the vet is sadly not an option because there are no reptile veterinarians in my country, welcome to the third world that´s why we have to figure it out using the tools we have (such as this forum) thanks a lot!

[lauraleellbp]

If he's got an infection going he'll need to get on antibiotics. Are there any vets around who could help you with what type and dosage would be appropriate?

He MAY not need to go, once his foot is all cleaned off the swelling might go down- but I'd start researching now to be on the safe side.

[Kristy]

Obviously there is a lack of blood circulation. I would be concerned about gang green too. I don't know if it is related to stuck shed. I would try the sauna. I wonder if he injured it, broke it or something. You may want to have your friend consider a slightly healthier diet too, to keep him strong. I would cut out the baby food, way too much sugar. Make sure he is sprinkling calcium powder on the crickets. You can give the crickets much less often and try Repashy crested gecko diet. It is a powder you mix with water. It is a little costly, but lasts a while. This has the proper nutrition balance and will help keep the little guy stronger. You can get it on amazon. I hope you can find a reptile specialist somehow! He sure is pretty.
Here is a link. I think the guy shown is dead, but someone at the zoological university may be able to answer questions.
http://www.serpientesdevenezuela.net...s/lancini.html

[Saskia]

Thanks to all of you for the help, Kirsty, thanks for taking the time to researcj about my country, actually I know some people from Serpientes de Venezuela, the link you sent, I{ll be taking a look into it, sadly the gecko died today, my friend just called me, when he got home from work a little while ago he fouund the little guy dead... He just had him for a couple of weeks, I doubt the issue was the shed, I believe the poor shed was a symptom for some sort of inter infection or disease going on, he surely went bad incredibly fast, one week ago he was perfect, about 3-4 days ago he noticed 2 fingers starting to turn dark but the gecko was acting normal, and yesterday the black part had expanded a little and he didn´t want to eat, this morning he noticed he refused to eat again and was lethargic, he went to work at noon, and this afternoon he was dead.
This little guy came from a big distributer (Strictly Reptile) and is not uncommon for this kind of places to sell ill animals, my friend and myself are very sad, he truly cares about his animals, and we still can´t believe how fast this all happened

[lauraleellbp]

So sorry the little guy didn't make it.

[Hannibal]

Sorry to hear he past, RIP little one.

[Kristy]

Oh, I am so sorry, tell your friend. Best of luck to him if he tries another crested.