Does this poop look right?

lindsaydo · #1 03-15-2010, 02:22 PM

My gecko has had a bit of impaction from a bit of sand and vermiculite. She has eaten this regardless of the amount of dust i use on the crickets or calcium I provide in a lick bowl.
Anyway, when she started having sandy poo's I removed her from the sand, gave her warm soaks, tummy rubs etc. She passed some sand, and has been pooing, but not regularly. I have taken her off solids, and I have been feeding her some stuff I made up, which is 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil, 2 teaspoons of Strawberry and Apple Purée, half teaspoon of honey and some calcium. She has been eating it fine. Obviously she won't eat it all at once, I have given her maybe 5ml once a day for past two days.
Yesterday she didn't poop, but today I saw her with the poop in the picture. It looks pretty nasty. The red is from the strawberry purée. I know its poop because there is urates there too. There is pieces of vermiculite in it too. I have taken her off the vermiculite.
What I am wanting to know is, is this ok? She is going to the vets tomorrow because she is really lethargic, she isn't losing weight as such, not from what I have seen. She is in her own tank, with just paper towels down, a lick bowl and water, and her damp hide, which I know have to clean out

I am feeding her Repashy Superfoods Leopard Gecko Calcium Plus. Is this ok? It contains all different nutrients, thats whats making her poop green. Also find it a bit weird that the surrounding tissue looks blueish.
I am going to take her off that stuff, and just get her some Nutrabol.
Any thing else that anyone can tell me?
Sorry for the long post

bobafett · #2 03-15-2010, 02:34 PM

picture is too fuzzy to make a decision. I know the fruit is not a good idea, as they should be eating insects.

**Riverside Reptiles** · #3 03-15-2010, 02:37 PM

Can't really tell much from that pic. It's too blurry. However, now that she's pooping, I'd get her back on eating whole prey items as soon as possible. That's what she's made to eat and what she'll be healthiest on.

lindsaydo · #4 03-15-2010, 02:59 PM

@Bobafett, if a gecko is impacted, feeding them prey items will only make it worse and cause more pain.
I know the picture is quite fuzzy, but everything looks normal now, she is holding her head up properly instead of just slouching. I will give her a cricket or two if she will take it.
What do you think to the blue coming from the dust?

bobafett · #5 03-15-2010, 03:04 PM

Never heard of blue, could be a dye I know some products use blueberry extract, I would try to get the lil guy on some smaller crickets or fresh shed mealworms. It sounds like the impaction has cleared up, so it will be much easier to pass the food. if you are concerned you can up the tank temp to 90 degress to make digesting easier.

lindsaydo · #6 03-15-2010, 03:13 PM

Yeh she is on a heat mat at the moment, as I moved her from the tank she shares with another female. She has perked up a lot since pooing. There is still a hard lump in her tummy, so i am taking her to the vets still, I don't think there is a problem with parasites, but i might refrigerate the poop just so he can have a look at it.
Thanks guys

**Riverside Reptiles** · #7 03-15-2010, 03:58 PM

You definitely want to take a fresh fecal sample with you to the vets. Put it in a plastic baggy and put that in the fridge to keep it fresh until you go.

Allee Toler · #8 03-15-2010, 05:54 PM

Feeding her fruit isn't the bed idea. If you strongly feel like she needs a slurry, use chicken baby food next time. It's high in protein and helps form a solid poo. This species isn't meant to eat fruit, so to me the liquid poo is from not digesting the fruit properly. Since you're going to the vets, next poo put it in a ziplock bag and in the fridge. Then take it to the vet, as Ethan suggested. He can test it for parasites and worms.

lindsaydo · #9 03-15-2010, 06:15 PM

Cool, thanks again Allee, your always helping me out. Ethan, you are a star too.
This site has a great community and I am very glad for joining it.
It is very confusing, and knowing the right stuff can be very hard, for example I have read other places that Leo's can eat fruit. I will just have to eat the left over purée myself

I saw other baby foods at the shop, but thought that they might contain things such as rice that the gecko may find hard to digest.
I will definatley get a jar of chicken dinner, or something with an equivalent protein amount.
She is doing really well now. She hasn't pooped again, but I have put a cricket in, which she isn't that interested in.
Also, I noticed a poo in her tank today, it was a cricket. It had passed through her system and not been digested at all. It was poo shaped, and had a bit of black stuff stuck to it. I found that very strange. Is it possible that she has a problem with actually digesting stuff, that's why she ate sand, to help her digest? I don't know if gecko's do it, but I have heard of other species eating things to help them digest food in the stomach. Because she has always had plenty of calcium.
I am using straight up Nutrabol now. I am not using that other stuff, they don't seem to like it as much anyway, it has a bubblegum scent to it, and it might be putting them off.
I am just a bit concerned now as to what I do for a laying medium, as I don't want to put her on any loose substrate as she is eating it. She has a moist paper towel, but she is a keen digger, and I don't want it to discourage her or stress her from laying.
Any idea's?

Allee Toler · #10 03-15-2010, 06:23 PM

I really think you shouldn't do anything further until you visit the vet.

Since she likes to burrow, give her lots of tunnels to climb through. Paper towel/kitchen towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, etc. And angle them over things so she can climb. Loose substrate right now wouldn't help her.

If she didn't digest the poo it could be either stress (from treating her without knowing the issue) or her temps are too low. Try getting her hot spot to 95F. I keep mine on 95F 24/7 and 78F on the other side.