Need help with leopard geckos

[Oregonherpaholic]

Hi all. I rescued 8 yearling (but very small) leopard geckos 3 weeks ago(ALL MALES)..that are horribly under weight. I have been feeding small and medium crickets DAILY. 1-2 dozen crickets EACH FEEDING. But these lizards look as scrawny as when I took them in..a couple look worse...the worse of them has needle size tail..

How do I put weight on these guys? I have bowl of mealworms in tank all the time. So getting enough food is not the problem.

I will be adding a UV light to see if that helps. And a bowl of waxworms weekly..but What else can I try??

Is it possible they may have worms? I am pretty sure they have ONLY had captive crickets, but not positive.

Any help at this point, is greatly appreciated.

Billie

 

[acpart]

At the moment, your best bet is the following:

--keep them warmer than you may normally do, possibly mid 90's (F) instead of low 90's belly heat

--if you're not already doing this, don't use a particle substrate. Use paper towel, repti-carpet, tile or something like that

--I assume each male is separate. If not, you will need to separate to avoid fights and bullying (if they're not hurting each other now and are together, they may be too sick)

--most important, get a poop sample (as much as possible) and take it to a herp vet, or, if that's not possible, to a non-herp vet who should be able to check it for parasites. They could have developed a large parasite load because of stress alone. If the sample comes back negative, consider having a test done for cryptosproridiosis which is a different test than the usual fecal. If this is positive it is not good news and they may not be salvageable

--if you're not already doing this, keep very strict quarantine if you have any other reptiles. Always handle these new guys last, don't mix any feeders or supplies with the others' stuff and wash a lot.

If you already know all this stuff, I'm sorry to be reciting the basics. In any case, you may notice that I haven't included anything about fattening them up because I think the weight loss is a symptom, not the real problem.

Good luck with them,

Aliza

 

[Oregonherpaholic]

Thanks for the tips. Especially the parasite - didnt think of stress causing that.

>>>keep them warmer than you may normally do, possibly mid 90's (F) instead of low 90's belly heat

Belly heat and over head heat is a constant. Hot end is 90 -


>>>Use paper towel, repti-carpet, tile or something like that >>>I assume each male is separate. If not, you will need to separate to avoid fights and bullying (if they're not hurting each other now and are together, they may be too sick)

With this many poopers...paper towel is a must. No, they are together right now. Did not expect 8 males. But they are the size of 6 month olds so think I can get away with it. I HOPE to fatten them up and adopt them out before too long. I do keep good eye on them, have not seen any fighting and the only nips are food misses.

As for sick, they are alert with no discharge or dirty vents. Just scrawny as hell. I believe the original owners simply could not get bugs and fed every week...possibly every other week.

--keep very strict quarantine

YEP!! No where NEAR the rest of my crew.

I will be setting up separate tanks this week. Maybe individual care is what they need. That way I can monitor who does what.

Cold-blooded Regards.

Billie

 

[herplover22]

i would up temps to 95 degrees

what are you using for heating?

as for parasites they can get parasites from captive bred crickets. if they are kept in poor conditions(the crickets, not the animals they are fed to) then they are mostly always going to have parasites

and most animals have parasites so if the leos are stressed they can get a parasite flare up, which i am guessing from the poor conditions they came in and being housed together, reptile bully differently than people do, you wont always see it and sometimes it can be from just being housed with others

what kind of suppliments have you been giving them?

like the above poster said get a fecal sample into the vet, i am sure they have parasites

good luck

 

[Cartman]

hello


sorry in advance for Croatian - English :rofl: :rofl:

8 leos... wow... there a challenge :shock:

there is few things i would do if I were you... Separate the weakest from the "normal" leos... Strong will out compete the weak... Law of nature... Strong may attempt to eat weak ones tail thinking its some kind of worm... (happened to me):roll: And strong will take food of weak ones unless you hand fed them.

i think there is no certain way to determine sex of your Leos for now... they are too young... small geckos will have thinner tali then grown ups because they are spending more on growth not on fatten up...

do they stand on one place or do they go around and explore....?
parasites are normal in any animal in wild... i doubt that these one are o dangers that they will kill them... Animals have much stronger immunity than humans...

If previews owner didn't fed them just give them something to eat...

are there any sign of MBD? they maybe cant eat... please see if the jaw are dislocated or something like that... their legs also... give them a lot of calcium

and everything will be ok.. don't worry... the way I see it they leaked love and care... the thing they are obviously leak no more... ;-);-)

 

[Oregonherpaholic]

thanks all, and cartman..your english is fine.

>>>i think there is no certain way to determine sex of your Leos for now... they are too young...

There is a definate bulge in 6 of them but I can always hope for females(easier to house). The breeder had the incubator up too high..surprised they lived.

>>do they stand on one place or do they go around and explore....?

Other then pouncing on crickets and exploring food bowl, they pretty much stay under hide. I have UTH and heat lamp where the hide is..so they might just like the heat.

>>>If previews owner didn't fed them just give them something to eat...

I feed, they eat A LOT and poop, but no improvements. Maybe too soon, but where does the food go???

>>are there any sign of MBD?

The weakest one has odd looking leg..may be MBD, but not jaw or spine deformities. And with the amount of poo...they have no problem eating.

I dust with Calcium/d3 plus use Miner-all twice week. They also have calcium bowl that they empty daily. Not sure if I should be concerned about too much calcium.

I have kept and raised reptiles for years..including leopard geckos..but have never seen babies this thin. I am sure they will bounce back(most of them should), but signs of improvement would be nice.

thanks again.

Billie

 

[Cartman]

if they have some kind of dangerous parasites they wouldn't eat... they would lost appetite...

you can't see the difference? they are skin and bone? i feed my youngster every day and grown ups 2 times a week... and grown up is like a opera singer sorry if I ask a lot but can you put pictures... I'm not a expert but if someones is picture would help

 

[herplover22]

i have to kindly disagree with you on that

yes they do always have parasites in their intestines but being stressed will cause them to flare up (things like pin worms, coccidia etc)
if they have parasites they will still eat and cant absorb any nutrients but they will still eat(alot of times anyway)


they need a fecal exam to rule out parasites

as for high incubations temps that would make them female most likly
temps really high it makes a "hot" female

anyway i would take their poo to the vet to be sure anyway
a fecal usually only cost $10 or so anyway

 

[OffshoreMetal]

You said you leave a calcium dish in the tank , Is it with D3 ? I heard that it is best to give w/o D3 in the tank and dust with d3 to prevent them eating too much D3.
Yeah pics would be really helpfull. A picture worth a tousand words.

 

[Oregonherpaholic]

You said you leave a calcium dish in the tank , Is it with D3 ? I heard that it is best to give w/o D3 in the tank and dust with d3 to prevent them eating too much D3.
.

there is SO much opinions on this..wish there was a set answer.. I have been told use the miner-all only..the indoor formula has all they need... I have been told minerall is HORRIBLE.. I have also been told by several breeders... if they have UVB.. DO NOT USE D3. As they are getting the D3 from the bulb(or sun).



I leave ground up cuttlebone for calcium dish and dust with miner-all OR plain Calcium and vary this weekly..I do this for all my LizRads(should be spelled this way, cuz lizards are rad:blushing.


they do gobble up the cuttlebone..which the vet thinks is a sign they need it.

I will try to do pics but cellphone is not too good...and they are horribly squirmy..

 

[Leopardgeckoz]

Their is a supplement called repti-aid can be found just about anywhere. You will need the kind for carnivorous reptiles, it will nourish, and help get your geckos back to weight, while also educing appetite. I find it great for my new edition reptiles, helps prevent death and illness from stress related to change of environment. But it can be used for any eating problem.

 

[Oregonherpaholic]

thought i'd give an update. Took fecal and all geckos to reptile vet.. no parasites..good thing. The worse off did not make it, but all the others are doing good. 5 confirmed males, 1 female..the female is still thin compared to others but she is now by herself.

All were given oral med for the respirtory infection..which I did NOT detect. I was given a liquid vitamin d3 to give by mouth twice a week..easy since they threaten my whenever I pick them up.

I guess it will just take time to repair the damage that was done to them, but they are on the road to better health.

thanks for all the great advice..

Billie

 

[OffshoreMetal]

Good to hear this , Hope they heal fast !