Taking care of gecko with bacterial infection - how can I help (in addition to meds)?

**lukef** · 02-18-2021, 05:32 PM

LOG IN TO CLOSE THIS AD

Hi all,
I posted here a few days ago about my gecko (4yo female) being lethargic, which I had initially chalked up to her ovulating. Today, she did a poop that was greenish with a bit of mucus and blood in it. I took the sample to the vet - they haven't examined it yet but they gave me antibiotics and dewormer for her (Baytril and Panacur), which she started on today. Unfortunately she's not eating, but that's normal for her this time of year and her weight has stayed pretty steady. Just sucks she doesn't have the help of some good nutrition. I raised her temps by a few degrees, hoping that will help her immune system out and maybe encourage her to start eating sooner (floor temps on the cool side are now upper 70s, hot side stayed 89-91, air temps are gradient of 75-85). I was also thinking of keeping the higher temp setup overnight. It's super cold here right now, and I live in an old house, so I figure it might be better to overshoot a little bit (I do have a thermostat to keep things from getting too hot). Is there anything else I can do for her? I just feel terrible, the poor girl looks like she must feel so icky. The vet didn't seem too concerned, but the blood in her poop really scared me and I could use some reassurance. Thanks guys.

**lukef** · 02-18-2021, 09:13 PM

Hey, just letting you all know Sophie passed away tonight

She took a bad turn after I gave her the antibiotics, and I took her to the vet hospital at the local university, where she passed away while they were examining her. They think she had some kind of rupture, probably in her reproductive system, that led to an internal infection. Unfortunately the early symptoms looked a lot like lethargy from her ovulating or a more basic bacterial infection, so by the time things got bad enough to know it was something different, it was too late. I let the vet school keep her body to autopsy, so hopefully some students can learn something and they will have a more definitive answer as to what happened in a month or so. I'm super bummed. From what it sounds like this was just kinda a freak accident type thing, and there's not much I could have done husbandry wise. It just really sucks that she died so young, but I think she was only sick for three days or so, so I'm glad she didn't suffer for too long. Anyways, just thought I'd let you know I don't need help anymore so I don't leave folks hanging.

**acpart** · 02-18-2021, 11:14 PM

Sorry for your loss. It's so sad when a gecko that seemed to be doing fine goes downhill so fast. I've experienced it with mine as well and it's tough. It's so easy to wonder whether we should have done something different to save them. You gave her the best home and best care possible.

Aliza

**lukef** · 02-19-2021, 12:08 AM

Thanks. I definitely enjoyed keeping her, and I think eventually I'd like to keep another gecko, but it will probably be a minute before I'm ready for that. I do really appreciate all the help I've gotten from this forum, and I can sleep a lot easier knowing I did everything I possibly could given the information I had.