[lickyoureyeballs]

Hi,
I have a pair of Uroplatus fimbs I picked up over the summer. I moved them into a larger enclosure (3' wide X 3' tall X 2' deep) about 2 weeks ago. About a week ago my male started to go downhill. He's looking really skinny, tail wasn't fanned out and I don't think he moved at all throughout the night. I figured he would probably be dead by morning, but he wasn't. He seems to be hanging in there and I want to know if anyone has any advice on how to make him more comfortable, sorta speak. Is there anything I can do to help him recover? I have been misting him 2x/day and he is drinking very well. I don't believe he has eaten in the last week.
Thank you,
Audra

[JoeG]

My gut reaction would be to check/treat for parasites. Take him to a vet, asap.

[D.B.Johnson]

I remember a number of years back I moved a wc male fimbriatus from a smallish cage into a significantly larger one... he didn't seem interested in eating for a while afterwards. He started eating again, though. He's still in the same cage right now as a matter of fact. I think for some reason fimbs need time occasionally to settle in to a large cage. If your gecko has really lost a lot of weight in just two weeks, I guess you may have a more serious problem than that..?

[jadrig]

Isolate him...

Put him in a smaller cage...

the last thing you need to do is bring it to a vet or treat for parasites...

He needs NUTRITION...

with an eyedropper...mix some calcium in with some baby food...

My henkels/satanics/mossies will lap up the Fruit Medley babyfood...

Henkels love it...

You might want to thin it out a little bit with some water...

put a drop of it on his snout...

If he does not lick it off...spray him, then put a drop on his snout again and after he starts to lick put one drop on his snout at a time...

You have to be PATIENT!!!

you can save the animal...Trust me...

He needs nutrition...try getting as much into his stomach as possible...

If you can get him to lick the babyfood, which you should be able to, try slipping a small dead cricket/cricket abdomen into the corner of his mouth.

I have done this with my henkels...My one female did not eat on her own for over three weeks...

Just be patient and dont make him move around more than he has too...

Make sure you Isolate him and try the babyfood think...

Any kind of fruit babyfood will work, but mine like the Fruit Medley...

I dont think they can really digest chicken or any kinda meat babyfood so dont try that...

[jadrig]

Also, the isolation is beneficial so that you can see what his droppings look like if and when he does eliminate...

I have had a male WC henkels for over 4 years now and he just recently crapped out 5 large(almost 1 cm each) round worms...

I know that simple over the counter panacure will work fine, but I havent gotten around to it...

The parasites are designed to live WITH the host and not kill the host...

The only time that the parasites start to overtake the host is when they are stressed and not eating properly...

The most important thing is to get some nourishment in his stomach...

[lickyoureyeballs]

THANK YOU ! !

-Audra

[JoeG]

While I don't want to muddy the waters here, and i do sort of agree with the concept of a balanced parasitic relationship/hand feeding, there are parasitic infections other than round worm types that do need to be thought of, specifically Entamoeba invadens. Sudden onset of rapid weight loss is very typical, and no matter HOW MUCH you hand feed him, the weight will never be gained back. Now add to that, the difficulty to detect as these infections are often not seen in fecal floats and the administration of antibiotics/vet trip to get them, might not seem like such a bad idea.

You might ask where he could have gotten this infection, well just about any thing in a new cage, not completely sterilized, could have been the fomite. Personally, I hope I am wrong, I have treated entamoeba infections before, with great success, but the window of opportunity is small and the later you discover this, the more difficult it becomes.

[cindy]

I cannot agree with you Jadrig... Althoug nutrition is vital, it's very wrong to leave a serious parasite infestation untreated! In nature there's a simbiotic relationship between an animal host and various microbes and bacteria. Those are called 'normal flora'
However; Geckos in captivity can never be compared to wild living specimens!! In captivity there's always a certain degree off stress, malnourishment, or other factors that could cause an inbalance between parasites and host. Therefore, those animals (that we've choosed to be our pets) should always be treated by a veterinarian!
Please be aware off the advise you have given....It might cause a gecko's life! And that shouldn't be the purpose...
Regards,

Cindy

[lickyoureyeballs]

I actually found jadrig's advice to be very helpful. When an animal is sick, yes, everyones first reaction is to take it to the vet. But even "exotic specialists" have often never worked with these species. If we were talking about leopard geckos it would be another story.
I would like to get a fecal sample and that's what I'll use the vet for, not necessarily to pump my animals full of meds.

I fed the uro some baby food this morning and will keep you guys updated.
Thank you for all the feedback.
-Audra

[jadrig]

In the states, there is a Vet in every decent sized city...Many Vet offices...

I am almost positive that that less then .01% have ever seen a Uroplatus picture...let alone handled/cared for one...

Thats kinda besides the point...

I have a decent background in parasitology, aside from taking courses in undergrads...My brother and I used to do fecals for some Pet Shop in NJ a while back...A guy we knew had connections for any kind of medicine for parasite treatment...He would give us dozens of samples...and we would treat his animals...

It would be pointless to treat an animal with meds if it is going to die of malnutrition in less than a week...

After the animal is 'healthy' then you can treat it for whatever parasites the Vet 'Says' you need to treat for...if it will help you sleep at night...

I am not saying that NO ONE should take their Uroplatus to the vet, I personally believe that if my gecko is in such bad shape, I will bring the vet pictures, and if they know enough about the Genus, they will understand me not wanting to stress the animal out so much...
Also, I, personally do not feel like a trip to the Vet would benefit the cause of any of my animals...much in the same manner when my 'Check Engine' light is on in my car...The last two times I had to get my car inspected, the light was on...Brought it to the mechanic and tried charging me all kinds of money for this sensor and that sensor...plus $75/hr labor...(Yes, mechanics DO charge more than Vets!)...I just bought an On Board Diagnostic sensor to read the codes that my car is putting off...I dont trust mechanics!!!

Also, I think Audra's main concern was 'how to get some nutrition back into her gecko cuz he was withering away'...

Audra, if you give it some babyfood a couple times a day, it should put back some life into his body...

After he aquires a taste for the babyfood and gains your trust/gets used to it...Try sneaking some sort of insect protein into his mouth with small forceps while he is lapping up the babyfood...Maybe a baby roach or cricket abdomen...

I did this for my female henkels that is in my photo album for over two weeks with baby superworms(3mm long)...good luck

In the wild, these geckos/reptiles dont live a fraction of the time in comparison to how long the live in captivitly...

No predators, unlimited food...If the captive conditions are 'fair'...

Just about ALL reptiles do 100X better in captivity then in the wild(few exceptions:certain monitors, sea turtles...) even without medical treatment...

The closer to the 'bottom' of the 'Food Pyramid/food Chain' you get, the more successful the animals are in captive conditions...