[raiderchick]

I recently started feeding my crested gecko phoenix worms once a week to replace dusted crickets or wax worms (that were treats).

Today I fed him 3 small phoenix worms and when he was in his kritter keeper I saw something come out from his vent. At this point he'd already eaten the worms. They are about the size of the space between his eyes, but still smaller than any other feeders I have given them which were usually a little bigger than that.

Anywho, it went back in his vent? It didn't look like poop, it looked like a worm. I am worried that maybe since he didn't chew them that they managed to get there? Is that possible?

I tried to look this up and saw that people have seen this happen with pac frogs and have been recommended to poke pinholes in the worms before feeding them to aid with digestion.

He was last fed these worms about 5 days ago and have pooped normally and eaten cgd since then.

It was just startling to see and then think that this worm may have been wiggling around inside him :/ if that's what it was.

Since the worms are soft bodied I would think they would digest faster than crickets or wax worms, but I guess he usually chews those..

[Geitje]

Hemipene (his sexual reproductive apparatus) was inverted. Supply a female and he'll put it to good usage

Jon
ps. their hemipenes are roughly the size, color and shape of a phoenix worm. Just an odd coincidence.....

[lauraleellbp]

What color was what you saw? If it was thin, white, and looked like a worm- then it probably was.

It's very common for geckos to get worms. I'd recommend getting a fresh fecal sample and getting it to a good vet. Herp Vet Connection is a good place to find herp vets in the USA.

Most likely nothing at all to do with feeding phoenix worms.

[Spyral]

Generally, no feeder will survive in the digestive system of any insect-eating herp, or likely any animal. Stomach acids combined with the churning and constriction will put an end to their wiggling pretty quickly. However, some geckos don't digest certain bugs or bug parts. So if you are seeing pooped out whole feeders undigested, probably best to switch to something else.

As for the thing in the vent, could be nematode (parasitic worm) or possibly a hemipene. Fecal sample would help be sure.

[JT Gecko]

strange that the acid didn't kill the worm

[Spyral]

Originally Posted by JT Gecko

strange that the acid didn't kill the worm

As part of nematode lifecycle, the eggs (or in some cases encapsulated larvae) are highly resistant to stomach acid. The adult form lives and reproduces in the intestines, where there isn't a lot of strong acids. This is also where a lot of beneficial organisms live. Sometimes you can see the worms in poop, but mostly it's the eggs to pass them along to another host animal.

I just read that female pinworm will poke out of the anus to oxygenate their developing eggs so maybe that's what the OP saw...