Fallingspeaker
New member
Hi all,
A wild gold dust lives in my condo. He had lost its tail somewhere and a new one was growing out. He would normally bask in the sun on the side of some cabinets and would venture onto our coffee table while we were there, to look for treats or crumbs or other stuff. He was around for about a month.
One day I found him stuck in a weevil trap. We're not sure how long he was stuck there but I would say up to 3 days max (since we hadn't spotted him for a few days). I was able to free him using olive oil and a q-tip to massage him very gently. After i freed him he stayed over night in a box and took water from a dropper and ate some jellies and mashed fruits. he left a poop in the box so i think his internals are ok. The next day he left the box and started hanging out in our kitchen hanging from various things and drinking water and eating fruit we would leave out.
Over the next week he would change hides a few times. The last couple of weeks he now lives on the ground and has lost weight. I think he doesn't have the strength to climb. We've been leaving food out daily for him such as papaya and honey. I bought some zoo med tropical meal but he doesn't touch it. His hides have been away from direct sunlight so I'm concerned he's malnourished and vitamin deficient.
This morning I saw him walking and then rolling to one side and then the other, as if having a seizure (or trying to take shed off). I spent the whole morning researching and found that he may be vitamin deficient. Today I mixed some zoo med calcium/D3 with papaya and he ate some of it. Not enough to fill his stomach. I tried feeding him mealworms and he was very interested, chasing and following them around, but they were too big for him to eat. As soon as I cut it into smaller pieces, he lost interest and walked away. I'm planning on buying small crickets when the store gets them in stock and try to get him to eat something.
Just today I found him away from the darker areas and back in his original sunny basking spot, albeit on the ground versus climbing. He also made a yellow pee.
What I needed advice on was whether I can rehab him with him living in the condo or if I should catch him and put him into a terrarium. He has lost weight and his spine is showing more. Since he's wild, I don't want to stress him even further than he probably is right now. He goes through moods of tolerating our presence or being very timid. The last week has been very timid.
Thank you,
John
A wild gold dust lives in my condo. He had lost its tail somewhere and a new one was growing out. He would normally bask in the sun on the side of some cabinets and would venture onto our coffee table while we were there, to look for treats or crumbs or other stuff. He was around for about a month.
One day I found him stuck in a weevil trap. We're not sure how long he was stuck there but I would say up to 3 days max (since we hadn't spotted him for a few days). I was able to free him using olive oil and a q-tip to massage him very gently. After i freed him he stayed over night in a box and took water from a dropper and ate some jellies and mashed fruits. he left a poop in the box so i think his internals are ok. The next day he left the box and started hanging out in our kitchen hanging from various things and drinking water and eating fruit we would leave out.
Over the next week he would change hides a few times. The last couple of weeks he now lives on the ground and has lost weight. I think he doesn't have the strength to climb. We've been leaving food out daily for him such as papaya and honey. I bought some zoo med tropical meal but he doesn't touch it. His hides have been away from direct sunlight so I'm concerned he's malnourished and vitamin deficient.
This morning I saw him walking and then rolling to one side and then the other, as if having a seizure (or trying to take shed off). I spent the whole morning researching and found that he may be vitamin deficient. Today I mixed some zoo med calcium/D3 with papaya and he ate some of it. Not enough to fill his stomach. I tried feeding him mealworms and he was very interested, chasing and following them around, but they were too big for him to eat. As soon as I cut it into smaller pieces, he lost interest and walked away. I'm planning on buying small crickets when the store gets them in stock and try to get him to eat something.
Just today I found him away from the darker areas and back in his original sunny basking spot, albeit on the ground versus climbing. He also made a yellow pee.
What I needed advice on was whether I can rehab him with him living in the condo or if I should catch him and put him into a terrarium. He has lost weight and his spine is showing more. Since he's wild, I don't want to stress him even further than he probably is right now. He goes through moods of tolerating our presence or being very timid. The last week has been very timid.
Thank you,
John
Vitamin D3 has a fairly wide safety margin. Please don't depend upon sunlight to supply his D3/calcium needs at this time. Inside he probably needs additional heat to digest his food. A 15 or a 25 watt incandescent bulb in an overhead dome might be sufficient. This wee gecko isn't accustomed to eating inside. He also needs to regain his climbing ability to survive outside. 
