Question about Enigma Syndrome Gecko

[janalynne]

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Hello All,

About a little over a month ago I adopted a Leopard Gecko with mild ES and MBD. Since he has arrived, he NEVER leaves his hide that I see. Obviously he has gone to the bathroom so I know he leaves at some point. Eating has been a really big issue. On a good day I got him to eat like 6-10 mealworms, the ten meal worms happened 1 time and getting him to even eat six is very infrequent. Most of the time he will only eat 1 or 2 and lately I can't get him to eat at all. He is losing weight and I am really worried. The woman I got him from stated that he would eat 20 mealworms every two days out of these bowls that LLL Reptile carries. I got the bowls and he won't eat out of them at all. She mentioned she got him to eat superworms, I bought superworms I think one bit him and he spit the worm out and won't eat again. Does anyone have any advice? I am really worried about him and I'm not sure where to go. What is the normal amount of worms he should eat at a sitting? And how many times per week?


Thank you!

[Geopard Lecko]

Can we get some details about your setup? maybe some pics too of the gecko and tank an everything?

[Elizabeth Freer]

Welcome to Geckos Unlimited!

Are you close to PetCo (**) or PetSmart? Try hornworms. They are full of moisture and have decent protein! PetCo now sells them in 4-packs for about $10 from Timberline. If you only get 4 "smallish" worms, he may eat them all. Otherwise, here's how to care for hornworms.

For link 33 click: Hornworm Care Guidelines

Are you meeting these temperatures?

Temperatures - A temperature gradient from warm to cool maintains your leo's health. Here's a temperature guide for all leopard geckos as measured with the probe of a digital thermometer or a temp gun (and controlled by a thermostat set at 91*F/32.8*C):

• Warm end ground temperature: 88-92 F (31.1-33.3 C) inside a leo's warm dry hide and his moist hide too!
• Cool end ground temperature: 70ish-75 F (21.1-23.9 C) Usually the cool end ground temperature matches the room temperature where the enclosure sits.
• no greater than 82ish F (27.8ish C) air temperature - 4 inches (10 cm) above ground on the warm end
• no greater than 75 F (23.9 C) air temperature - 4 inches (10 cm) above ground on the cool end

Leave the heat mat/UTH on 24/7. If you wish, during the night turn off overhead lighting/heating (~12 hours on and ~12 hours off) unless ambient room temperatures drop lower than 67ish*F (19.4*C).

These details will be most helpful.

1. Video of your leo walking about
2. Photo of leo showing his entire body
3. Approximate age
4. Approximate length
5. Dimensions of enclosure
6. How are you heating the enclosure?
7. Photo of enclosure
8. Supplements you're using or plan to use.
9. Frequency of supplements
10. + anything else you feel is important

For link 81 (& 87) click: Leopard Gecko Care Sheet (abbreviated) -- June 2019 update (show handout)

[janalynne]

I am using a fairly small enclosure right now. I bought him a 20 gallon tank but he appears to get stressed out so I didn't end up giving him that tank. I had a 2nd hide but he wouldn't ever use it so I gave it to my normal leopard. I have a hide that I can made a moist hide. I heat with lamps that sit on top of the tank. I wasn't sure about UTH. I heard they can be bad to use with a paper towel substrate. Plus I wasn't sure if it would hurt the wood table the tanks sit on. I'm a newer owner so please correct me my naivety without being to mean. I do use a calcium supplement offered in tank as well as dusting his worms. My petco hasn't had hornworms everytime I check but I will start calling. The last picture on the brown paper towel is from when I first got him home. Cheeto Tank.jpg [/ATTACH]Cheeto full.jpgCheeto face.jpgcheeto.jpg

[Elizabeth Freer]

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I am using a fairly small enclosure right now. I bought him a 20 gallon tank but he appears to get stressed out so I didn't end up giving him that tank. I had a 2nd hide but he wouldn't ever use it so I gave it to my normal leopard. I have a hide that I can made a moist hide. I heat with lamps that sit on top of the tank. I wasn't sure about UTH. I heard they can be bad to use with a paper towel substrate. Plus I wasn't sure if it would hurt the wood table the tanks sit on. I'm a newer owner so please correct me my naivety without being to mean. I do use a calcium supplement offered in tank as well as dusting his worms. My petco hasn't had hornworms everytime I check but I will start calling. The last picture on the brown paper towel is from when I first got him home. Cheeto Tank.jpg [/ATTACH]Cheeto full.jpgCheeto face.jpgcheeto.jpg

It's important for me to know these things, IF you wish to reverse or improve his MBD. Which supplement do you leave in Cheeto's enclosure? Which supplement are you dusting with? How often? Which exact ones? All supplements are different.

Please ask PetCo when to expect their next hornworm shipment. Having him eat some will be encouraging.

All questions are fair game. It may seem like lots of details, but you're a "rescue" mom now. Once you're set leos are very easy to care for. Have you watched the video in leo care sheet 81 that I linked in my previous post?

To prevent wood damage from a heat mat and also to make certain a heat mat works properly, a heat mat NEEDS ventilation! Elevate each corner of the enclosure by cutting a Pink Pearl eraser in half. With a 10 gallon, elevate at each corner. If you have a 20 long (30 x 12 x 12 inches tall), elevate the 4 corners plus elevate the center front and center back. Plastic jar lids (bottle caps, pieces of wood) about 1/2 inch tall will also work.

All leos needs 3 hides. (Don't write him off.)

• warm dry
• warm moist/humid: any plastic container will do. Fill the warm humid hide with damp Eco Earth's coco fiber or sphagnum moss. Example:
  IMG_0234 (1).jpg
• cool dry

Accurate temps are the bottom line of ALL gecko husbandry. If temps are too cool, a leo will NOT be able to digest his food. Impaction can result. What is the ground temp underneath Cheeto's warm dry hide right on top of the substrate? That needs to be measured with a digital thermometer's probe. Zoo Med makes a yellow digital thermometer with probe that costs about $10.

It looks like you are using a 10 gallon. That's too small for Cheeto. A 20 tall = 16.75 inches tall; a 20 long = 12 inches tall. Since heat rises, a 20 tall will not be a good choice.