Sick Leo..need advice

[houseape57]

I have a one year old male leo and my concerns are very deep for this little guy. Mork had been very energenic, ate good, drank his water and was social until around Tuesday of last week. He lost interest in food, water and life in general. I thought it to be the weather change here in upstate ny where the temps are falling into the lower 40's at night and 60's to 70's day. I figured he was going into some sort of resting period. Today was even more different since yesterday. He is so lethargic that if I put him on his back he will stay there. Today I gave him 2.5 mls of Rep-aid and soaked him in a warm tub of pedialite for about 15 mins. He is dehydrated and upon feeding him the point of his tongue is cherry red. I have read that its not that his tongue that is red its that the rest of his tongue is pale (anemic). When he ate the rep-aid he almost acted in pain and even did the alligator roll. He keeps opening his month like a yawn but I know its not. He looks uncomfortable and bends his body in all sorts of ways. Last night he had his chest on the floor and his back bent and his rear end up in the air. His toes bend under when he lays down....
The vets are not open today or tomorrow, I have already called. They claim they really don't know much about reptiles but someone at this point is better then no one...besides, I worked there and they have lots of books.
My main concern...last week I found lots of what I believed to be fruit flies in his viv. Did they stress him out perhaps? I did have him on cal sand and as of yesterday I removed it, I find it a terrible substrate, holds to much moisture and some other matters with it I won't go into right now that I think could make an animal sick.
Is there anyone out there that can give me some advise on what to do with this beautiful lil guy of mine? Have you heard of this before? I don't want him in any pain and just want him to be comfortable until he can get to the doc's. I am leaving him alone but keeping an eye on him and praying that he will be ok. Oh and he is in a viv of his own, and I continuously wash my hands before touching anyone else.
If anyone can help you can even email me personally at
kat4842067@aol.com I thank you in advance.
kathy

 

[ratqwen]

sick gecko

i would clean out his cage intirely .
and put him on paper towels ... i would also try and locate a vet that deals with reptiles.
have you ever fed him calcuim?.
they need calcuim without 3D powered on there food
another thing i could think is maybe nerological problem?..
but a gecko bending? kinda sounds like MBD .
happens when you dont feed a gecko calcuim and or vitamin and they take the calcuim from there bones.. starting with there legs feet jaw area. becoming deformed.?
but you said you had him a year... so i would think your giving the little guy calcuim?
this kinda is that time of year were they fast... becuase winter is soon coming....
show some pictures if you can ?

 

[houseape57]

So Mork had his appointment today and the Dr told me I seem to know more about geckos then she does. We looked in the books for the symptoms that he shows to no avail. She told me to continue with the rep-aid, 3 warm soaks a day and warmth to see what happens. She gave him Pyrantal (wormer) and I am to give him 1-2 drops mineral oil later today. I could not bring a stool sample...there wasn't any to bring.
The closest herp vet is 4 hours away...drats! But...he does look better today, color coming back into his tongue, more energy and is moving around in his viv. His color has stayed bright through all of this. However he is still stiffing up and contorting his body and doing the alligator roll when held. He doesnt seem to be loosing weight (going to weigh him today) but his underbody seems caved in at times.
I have always supplied calcium, dusted crickets, mealies and wax worms when he was a juv and now have a lid full in his viv. The viv has been cleaned, scrubed, sanitized and now has reptile carpet (for ever). I just got done feeding him and then he got his soak. He is now warming up on his under tank heater pad. Wish us luck...prayers are always welcomed!

Kathy

 

[phearamedusa]

good luck, and hope things continue to improve with Mork.

 

[FallenAngel]

Hmm.. since he was on sand, one thought that comes to mind is impaction. Perhaps he ingested some sand and it's blocked up in his system? I am not sure. Some signs of impaction are blue, hardened areas on the belly.

He does sound like he's in pain if he is doing an alligator roll. It could help if you can post some pics. I agree that MBD is also a possibility, try giving him a dish with powdered calcium (leave it in the enclosure) and see if he licks it. Geckos know how much they need, and if he is deficient, he should lap the stuff up.

For a stool sample, try hand feeding him some baby food from a dropper or syringe. It's not going to be easy and it takes a lot of patience, but if you can get him to eat enough, it will give you the stool sample that you need. To feed him, just put it up to his mouth; the smell alone should trigger his taste response and he will begin to lick the air. You can then dab some onto his lips and he should lick the stuff up. Sometimes they just sit there with it on their lips, but eventually do lick it up, so just keep trying if this happens. Patience is key when it comes to hand feeding.

Best of luck to you, at least he does sound like he is getting better!

 

[houseape57]

Well Mr. Mork is still with us:yahoo: and tomorrow morning he and I are setting out for a four hour trip to the vets. I have been hand feeding him, with no problems, also giving him water to wash it down, plus he still gets his warm pedialite tubbies. He had pyrantal and I gave him two drops of mineral oil....last night he pooped! When I walked into the room last night, to my horror all I could see were four feet in the air. He was laying on his back, I thought he was gone. When I got to him I picked him up and he was still with me. I took his poop to have it checked this am and they did find parisites! But there are some more underlying problems that we will find out about tomorrow. This morning he was in the cool part of his viv (he hasnt moved by himself in days) and standing up for the first time in days, only thing is now he won't open his eyes. He didn't stiffen up when I picked him up which is a plus.
I have had Mork for a year now, he has been kept clean, his viv is spotless. Where would he of gotten parisites? Bad crickets/mealies/wax worms? Is this possible?
Please keep your fingers crossed that my lil man is starting to pull through this. Thank you for your concerns and replies. Kisses from the Mork Man and Me.
Kathy

 

[FallenAngel]

I am not sure where the parasites could have came from, but glad to hear that he pooped and is getting more treatment from a vet. Best of luck to the both of you!!

 

[phearamedusa]

it could be possible that the crickets or other feeders had parasites, some other posts have mentioned this type of thing. Glad things have gotten somewhat better and hope they continue to improve for Mork, good luck.

 

[acpart]

As I understand it (from my vet), all reptiles carry an acceptable parasite load but sometimes things happen that will decrease the immunity and have the parasites get out of control. I imagine it could be anything from bacteria in the environment, to the gecko not eating or drinking as he should or a variety of issues.

Aliza

 

[houseape57]

After our long trip to the vets yesterday I guess I will be Morks Doctor. They took an xray of Mork, and found it so very funny that they laid him on his back on the xray table and he didn't move.:-x He couldn't move he's sick! And I didnt' find it humorouse at all! Anyway everything shows normal on the xray. They couldn't get blood and after 4 tries I told them to stop. They never looked in his mouth/eyes/ears. All in all, they didn't know s*hit.
Soooo, I took it upon myself to get a bottle of pet tinic (for low iron) because he is anemic, and I got liquid calcium, and some boost to sustain him until he is well. As of this morning and this afternoon...he is fighting me which is a wonderful thing. Remember, he wasn't moving at all a couple of days ago, he would just lay there and let me do what ever I wanted. He is moving about his viv, very slowwwwly but finding the cool spots, and his reflexs are back about 50%. Only thing, he will not open his eyes, it's not that he can't, he won't. No alligator rolls today either. So I guess he is on his way back, slowly but he is trying. Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts. Ya know, I remember wondering awhile back, how could anyone love a reptile, now I know.:biggrin:
Kathy