Leopard gecko weight question

[IggysMomma16]

I have a 1 1/2 year old blizzard female that will not stop gaining weight. She hardly eats anything: 3 or 4 roaches/mealworms (alternated) every 3 days. I offer her food but she's hardly ever hungry. Sometimes she goes almost a week without eating.Now most people would worry she'd lose weight but it's the exact opposite,she keeps gaining weight. She weighed 65 grams 3 months ago,74 grams alittle over a month ago and she now weighs 83 grams as of today 11/28/2209. She is obese,I think, as she has huge fat pockets behind her elbows and has what I call ''love handles'' where her belly bulges out near her back legs and she almost waddles she's sooo fat. I have been very diligent about watching her food intake and it's not helping. The vet checked her out and said she has no health issues she's healthy, except for the fact she's very fat. I'm worried her body is putting a ton of weight on her little joints. Has anybody else had this problem?Here are a few pics of her about 2 months ago she is A LOT fatter now but I can't load any new pics as my camera is dead.She is NOT gravid I've checked already and ruled that out.Plus when she is gravid she never gets this large.Thanks. THE DATES ARE OFF IN THE PICS SORRY.

On a different note I rescued a skinny baby from petco on tuesday and she's doing great. She is only 2 grams (not sure about age but vet puts her at about 3 weeks old) and nothing but a walking skeleton.She had dry skin,was lethargic and skinny. Took her to the vet,got fecal work done and she is clear of parasites just very skinny. When I fed her the 1st night she ate 15 mini mealworms and 3 x-small roaches,she was so full her belly looked bloated.I had no idea she was gonna eat so much,which tells me they were not feeding her properly or caring for her properly,what else is new. She shed yesterday and looks much better now that her skin is moist. I will post pics as soon as I can and keep everyone updated on little miss Daisy,she just looked like a Daisy, hehe.

 

[Allee Toler]

Sorry I can't help much, buy boyyy is she obese...

I have a boy, Bennett, who eats abou 5 medium crickets every other night. I take him out for 10 minutes or so everynight, put him on the floor, and let him run. When he stops running I stand next to him and nudge him with my toe. "vigorous" activity, I guess I would call it. If I don't do this he balloons up to be my fatboy.

So I guess what I'm saying is try to take her out and make her exercise?

The "bubbles" behind her arms are calcium deposits. Lay off the calcium dust for a few days or so until they go away, it's a quick fix.

 

[IggysMomma16]

Thanks Allee I'll try the exercise thing. She is just sooo fat I'm worried about her as I said those pics are a few months old and she is much bigger now. Hopefully with some cardio she'll thin out,lol.Thank you!

 

[Allee Toler]

I'd be worried about health risks that come with obesity, plus the strain on her joints.

After a "work out" soak her in some warm water. I'm sure her poor joints will be screaming for it. I know after I run I like to soak in the tub.

 

[IggysMomma16]

Thanks I tried the work out last night and she was breathing so hard within 5 min I stopped.So we'll be building up to 10 min I think, she was so tired she flopped under her heat lamp and passed out. When I checked her this morning she looked good. I'll try saoking her afterwards too might help her alittle.

I also worry about the joint issue and also the risk of heart disease. She is now on a very strict diet and exercise regimen and hopefully in a few weeks we'll see a difference. I've just never dealt with this before. I also have a female with fatty liver disease and she isn't even close to Iris's weight. Skinny geckos are what I'm used to especially when they eat as little as she does but she just keeps porkin out.She has my vet stumped and my vet specializes in reptiles and has owned leopard geckos for 15 years. I was planning on breeding her but now I've decided not too as I'm worried this is a genetic defect and could be passed on. She laid her last clutch about 4 months ago none of the eggs were fertile as she wasn't exposed to a male.I'll keep you updated on her progress.Thanks again.

 

[Allee Toler]

Do you think your vet checked for diabetes? I had a cat growing up who only ate 1/2 a cup of dry food (weight control, since he was fat) and he kept getting bigger and bigger. We ended up having to put him to sleep at about 1 year old. If cat's can get it, then why not geckos? If not that, maybe another metabolism issue. It'd only be controlled by diet, anyways.

If she was that exhausted then she must never move around much during the day and night. Take a before weight. Lol. Then do the exercises, then weigh her once a week for results. Don't work her out too hard if she's that pooped after 5 minutes, just slowly build up. I sure hope she loses weight, I don't want to see her get any health problems.

Keep me updated. =] Good luck with her.

 

[IggysMomma16]

Yep we had blood work done on her to check for diabetes cause that was the 1st thing that came to mind as my mom had diabetes and had very similar symptoms,she had the gastric bypass surgery and now it's resolved. We found no metabloic issues either. As for moving around in her tank she moves from her warm hide to her cool but thats about the extent of it.She's so lazy she wont hunt,if the food passes her she'll grab it but she makes no effort to hunt. I've never met a gecko a lazy as her. The only time she perks up is when shes being held cause she hates being held she'll wiggle and squirm to get loose. As off last night she weighs 83 grams so I'll weigh her in a week and see if she starts losing weight. She is now on roaches only no more mealies so we'll see if that helps too,she was eating both previously. I definetly will keep u updated.Thanks.

 

[Captain Stitch-Mozart]

Allee, when you say you let your gecko run around on the floor, do you have some kind of enclosed space? So that they don't run off? I like the sound of giving my gecko some exercise to keep her healthy but I am just wondering the logistics of it.

 

[Allee Toler]

I have my entire gecko room gated and gecko proof. Have GiGi who wonders all the time so having any other gecko out wouldn't matter.

I took a baby gate and put plexiglass (you can use some other smooth surface) on it. So the whole area is shut off from the rest of the apartment and they can't get out. The babygate just folds up easier for me.

I have wood blocks under my rack system and along the back so they can't hide behind/under it.

 

[BlackIrisReptiles]

That's so peculiar. It sounds like it has to be some kind of condition (thyroid?) but if you've checked her for everything then who knows, she might just have a super slow metabolism. Excersise will definately work for her. If you want a safe area to let her run around you can get a huge plastic bin and decorate it with places to climb and stuff. Since geckos always explore, having her climb up and down will definately be good for her.

 

[blackyisdabest]

i think it might have trouble digesting