Can a Gecko Stress To Death

[InsanePirateDragon]

So we had one last tank breach Friday that caused both my leos, Small Fry and Commanda to drop their tails and completely stressed out and not interested in food.

So I waited a couple of days with their tank covered to allow them to de-stress for a couple of days.

I dropped in some fresh crickets and mealworms for them and only my 8 mo mack snow (Small Fry) gobbled up and the dropped spot is nice and pink with no signs of dried blood.

But its my normal adult Commanda (came to me as Commando cause the past owners thought she was a he), not sure of her age but she's been passed through several homes before she was given to me, that has me worried.

She's had trouble in the past, eye infection and mouth rot that I've battled when I first got her and from what I was told from the vet I took her to in MO had left her partially blind, but able to get around the tank just fine and find food without a problem.

But since Friday, shes just been sitting on the warm side of my tank(between 85-90, with UTH attached to the side and basking light unsure of wattage it is) sitting in the corner showing no interest in any food today. I tried; crickets, mealies, naturezone bytes (strangly Fry loves these things), Zoo Med Leopard Gecko Food, and Gerber Chicken baby food with calcium powder...

Her tail stump is still pretty raw looking and bloody, with no signs of swelling or puss.

The enclosure is a 30 gallon tank with lizard carpet, calcium dish, 3 water dishes (they like so sit in the bowls so I provide extra, mealworm tub lids for feeding mealworms, bytes, and food) and two hides. I don't have a moist hide, Kansas weather isn't to dry so its something I never worried about.

The tank on the hot side is 85-90 and the cooler side is 74-78.

I'm afraid that she might be on her last legs, and was just stressed out to much to be saved, or does she just need more quiet time.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Yes, definitely, a gecko can die from stress, some more easily than others!

 

[Gecko'sPal]

I think you should put her on paper towels for the tail drop. As for the not eating, touch the food item to her mouth(if it's live, hold it with tweezers). I hope your Commanda makes a full recovery! Best wishes!

 

[InsanePirateDragon]

Okay so she still really hasn't moved much from her spot in the tank, but I did get her to eat a couple of mealies and a bite last night. But when I checked on her today, it looked as though she threw it up during the night, which now has me really worried right now. She's been off her food before, but the most its been is a couple of days.

I'm almost to the point of going to have to force feed her, but don't want to stress her more than she probably more than likely is.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

For Commanda, not eating since last Friday (August 23) should not really be that big of a deal, especially since you shared that she and Small Fry dropped their tails that day.

Give her more chance to recover. Generally leopard geckos are pretty tough. Adults usually do not eat every day. Let her rest of a couple days before you try to feed her again. Then try the chicken baby food (without extra calcium) right on her lips to see whether she will just lick it off.

Has she ever been kept on sand? Any chance the problem is an impaction? Read CRMason's threads on Peach (http://www.geckosunlimited.com/community/leopard-geckos-other-eublepharis/49884-my-dear-peach.html) and Sand Impaction) in the leopard gecko subforum.

Reptile carpet can harbor bacteria. Paper towels or tile are the safest substrates, at least till both tails have healed!

 

[InsanePirateDragon]

For Commanda, not eating since last Friday (August 23) should not really be that big of a deal, especially since you shared that she and Small Fry dropped their tails that day.

Give her more chance to recover. Generally leopard geckos are pretty tough. Adults usually do not eat every day. Let her rest of a couple days before you try to feed her again. Then try the chicken baby food (without extra calcium) right on her lips to see whether she will just lick it off.

Has she ever been kept on sand? Any chance the problem is an impaction? Read CRMason's threads on Peach (My dear Peach and Sand Impaction) in the leopard gecko subforum.

She's been on paper towels until last month when I've switched to the reptile carpet. She's had a slight impaction in the past and I switched her to paper towels as soon as it happened.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I recommend paper towels now to keep bacteria from her tail wound.

Did she totally pass her former impaction and recover from the other problems you mention?

 

[InsanePirateDragon]

I recommend paper towels now to keep bacteria from her tail wound.

Did she totally pass her former impaction and recover from the other problems you mention?

Totally, luckily it wasn't a very big one so soaks and some mineral oil helped a whole lot, her only problem she seems to have trouble seeing, but still gets around her tank without running into things and catch mealworms out of her bowl and what I offer from my fingers.

And I'm finishing up on laying down the paper towels and about to move the leos back into the tank.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi InsanePiratedragon ~

Excellent to hear that you are replacing the reptile carpet with paper towels, at least for now. It is an easy switch and will give those tails the best chance of recovery .

Are you talking a regular 30 gallon? If you build ramps, the leos will use more of their cage.

Do give her a break from food. If she has been eating up till recently, I would still give her lives concentrating more on that than any chicken baby food substitute. The CBF recommendation was just to get her past not eating. Crickets have more nutrition than mealies. Check out the stickies at the top of the leopard gecko subforum .

Does she look thin or more normal in body weight?

 

[InsanePirateDragon]

Hi InsanePiratedragon ~

Excellent to hear that you are replacing the reptile carpet with paper towels, at least for now. It is an easy switch and will give those tails the best chance of recovery .

Are you talking a regular 30 gallon? If you build ramps, the leos will use more of their cage.

Do give her a break from food. If she has been eating up till recently, I would still give her lives concentrating more on that than any chicken baby food substitute. The CBF recommendation was just to get her past not eating. Crickets have more nutrition than mealies. Check out the stickies at the top of the leopard gecko subforum .

Does she look thin or more normal in body weight?

She's more into her normal weight right now, as for her weight and length I need to get out the tape and measure her, and get a weight of her. And I'll get some new pics up, what I have was before she lost her tail.

 

[InsanePirateDragon]

Got the chance to measure Commanda and weigh her. From head to her vent she's at five inches and she's 34 grams right now (minus tail).

She still hasn't moved much from her corner, just turning and staying close to one of the water bowls.

But she continues to throw up, I offered her a couple of crickets and she took them but brought them up a couple of hours later.

I know she's not shedding, she did that a couple of days before the Attack of the Demon Spawn (kitten's new nickname).

She did poop though and poked through to check for worms, with no luck. I called the rep vet and won't be able to get her in until Monday.

I include a couple of recent pictures of Commanda the tank she and Fry share. She didn't loose her tail to close did she?

 

[InsanePirateDragon]

Today I had a bit more luck with Commanda. I had fed her a couple of crickets and a small mealie, hoping she'd hold them down. Get back from work and she had regiritated it.

So I decided to quarantine her away from Fry, and set her up in her old ten gallon tank with the light and one of the hides.

I offered her some crickets, but she only ate two.

After a bit I weighed her and she's down a few grams from when I last weighed her.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I'm not sure if Commanda lost her tail "too close". What you can do is keep the wound very clean by using paper towels as a substrate just like you have been doing in order to give her tail the chance to heal without infection.

Keep us posted after her vet visit this coming Monday. Has the vet requested that you bring in a fecal sample?

 

[MellowMan24]

you say they like to lay in the bowls so you give them more, do those bowls have water in them? because if they are soaking in water alot then that is a sign that they are in pain.

 

[InsanePirateDragon]

you say they like to lay in the bowls so you give them more, do those bowls have water in them? because if they are soaking in water alot then that is a sign that they are in pain.

A couple of the bowls are the waterbowls, but her sitting in it is something that Commanda always done.

 

[Poimandres]

You are going to definitely want to get some fecals done by your vet. Stress itself does not kill geckos, but it shocks the immune system and makes it so the animal cannot deal with the slightest parasite load or infection (if tail wound gets infected). So parasites that the gecko may have had before the incident that were for the most part benign or controlled by her immune system may now be overrunning her system - definitely ask for a fecal test even if your vet does not suggest it.

Sounds like you are doing everything you can in this situation and I wish you and your gecko the best.

 

[InsanePirateDragon]

I'm not sure if Commanda lost her tail "too close". What you can do is keep the wound very clean by using paper towels as a substrate just like you have been doing in order to give her tail the chance to heal without infection.

Keep us posted after her vet visit this coming Monday. Has the vet requested that you bring in a fecal sample?

He did.
And she finally seems to be perking up, she finally moved out of the corner and been going into the hides.

I still took her in and the vet said her stump is looking alright and tested the fecals that I had brought with me.

She is a bit underweight so he checked Commanda just to make sure she didn't have anything. He did find a millimeter tear at her vent, more than likely from the cat attack so that might have been why she wasn't wanting to move.

She is a little bit underweight, which he more than likely caused from the stress and since with her having trouble seeing, it took her longer to settle back down.

The fecals turned up negative, but gave me something for her to make sure that she didn't have anything.suggested I try the baby food with a bit of calci again, along with feeder and suggested try to get her to eat a little as to not shock her system after all the trouble we've had.

And luckily Demon Spawn no longer is interested in my geckos so the only worry they have to worry about being bugged by crickets while I'm wrangling up after their dinner time.