Leopard gecko, refusing food. Unhealthy thin.

Jheuloh

Jheuloh

New member
Ever since October 16th, when I last cleaned out my leopard gecko's terrarium, I noticed his tail was getting thin, at first I went about as usual to see if it would resolve itself on its own, but it didn't, and then he began to refuse food, which lead to a fecal test being done at the nearest vet office to determine what was wrong. The results showed a pinworm infection. So, after giving a week's dosage of panacur (approximately 1 milliliter a day, for 7 days), he's still refusing to eat and mostly acting like he did before being treated for pinworms (although at night he has been walking around, something he'd never done before until after finishing the pinworm treatment) He's still completely refusing food though, treatment the only thing keeping him (only just) alive is repta-aid (which I've been giving on a nightly basis.)

Basking temperature: 84-86 degrees (constant, no night-time drop)

Age: Approximately 2 years.

So, I ask of the better resourced and better experienced; asides from giving repta-aid, is there anything else I can do to keep my leopard gecko alive while waiting to bring him directly to a veterinarian's office? (Unfortunately, "soon as possible" involves waiting - the vet office's only reptile veterinarian went through surgery, and is only available by phone until next week.)

Edit: Pardon me if I posted this in the wrong section of the forum, wasn't sure if this would go under pests & disease or under the Leopard Gecko section.
 
Last edited:
C

chazaliae

New member
Hi there Jheuloh,

I am really very sorry to hear that the little one isn't very well. It's really good that you managed to get him to a vet - a lot of people don't bother so it's good to read of a caring owner for a change. It's good to know that he's walking around in the evening unlike before - it can only be a good thing. Panacur is often the first mode of treatment for a parasitic infection and I have known geckos to need another course or to move onto another treatment such as Metrondizole (brand name: Flagyl), but this depends on the diagnosis also. You can offer vegetable-based baby foods and don't have to force feed this, you can easily just dab a bit on his lips and see if he'll lick it off. It may not tempt him to eat if there is a further problem but it's worth a go. The critical care formula is also good to add to his water just ensure you don't exceed the recommended dosage (as written on the bottle/pot label). Could it be an idea to try and track down another reptile vet in the mean time? I know this is obvious but it's worth a mention. I'm also guessing he has not successfully eaten anything at all recently and not passing any fecal matter or urates? Weird question I know, but good to know as much as possible. I read in your other thread that the vet advised temperatures 77-86C - I know a lot of keepers including myself would dispute this to an extent. Of course you don't want to dehydrate the gecko if he's taking in less water, so increasing temps could be a bad idea. 77C in my opinion should be a night temperature at the very most and throughout the daytime this is too cool. If the gecko did want to eat, 77C isn't a viable temperature for the gecko to digest its food at.

I hope some of this helps, do keep us updated.
 
Last edited:
Jheuloh

Jheuloh

New member
chazaliae -

This is very eye-opening to me as to how to keep my gecko alive, thank you for the insight! :D

Anyways;

I was thinking something similar, maybe the panacur he got didn't do enough (I do admit, I made several mistakes due to my inexperience. Didn't realize the tape over the syringes was to keep the panacur moist, and this was also the first time I'd ever had to give medicine to an animal.) I'll see if the vegetable-based baby foods appeal to my gecko's sense of taste too. I would've never thought to add the repta-aid to the water as well; would it modify how often I have to change the water out? (Every 12 hours or so rather than a 'daily basis'?)

Unfortunately, there's not much in the way of vets trained to work with reptiles, the one I have is more or less the only one available at an accessible distance (but, I place my trust in the vet I did find.)

You're right on the topic of eating and defecating too, nothing's been eaten & nothing's been passed (no urates or feces.) Unfortunately, however, the gecko's been vomiting out the repta-aid I gave him before I placed him in a more sterile terrarium.

On the topic of temperatures & hydration; I've been trying to raise the day-temperatures to about 92 F, and oddly enough, my gecko seems to be taking in more water than usual (but then again, being more willing to walk around in my presence probably affects my perception of how regularly he's hydrating himself.)

Good insight to be had, thank you again, chazaliae. :idea:
 
C

chazaliae

New member
Hi again,

Right I knew Repta-Aid was a critical care formula but I didn't know that it was designed for syringe only feeding. To my mind, there are better alternatives out there which you can add to the water - like Critical Care Formula and Reptoboost (made by Vetark) - both of which are widely available and affordable. The syringe feeding of Repta-Aid, in my mind, could be a source of stress. I am sure it works well but I wouldn't personally use it. The thing I like about Reptoboost is that you can add it to the water and the gecko will drink it when it wants to and not when we choose. So, don't add Repta-Aid to the drinking water -it was my mistake. Repta-Aid isn't available where I live and I've never come across it before but I've read up on it and it's not advisable to disregard instructions. If you can get a formula one you can add to the water it would be great.

Reading on, I see he has been regurgitating the Repta-Aid. This isn't a good sign. This probably means that you're giving him too much too quickly, this would explain such a reaction. Another reason could be that the formula isn't right - but I expect you weighed him and mixed the formula to water accordingly right? This would be another reason to get Reptoboost. I can always help find you a website that you can order from.

Temps and hydration: 92F is a good daytime temp, I keep mine around 90F in the hot end of vivaria. It's good that your gecko is taking in more water than usual, that definitely is a bad sign. Low temps can discourage geckos from eating as they don't have the heat for proper digestion, as I mentioned earlier. Raising temps is also a common feature of recovery programmes for leos, so it can't be a bad thing. As for perception, you can't be more right - I often forget that geckos do a lot whilst I am sleeping :)

If you have any more worries do not hesitate to contact me, I am always about. I answer my PMs too. Any word on when the vet is returning to work?
 
Jheuloh

Jheuloh

New member
Can you point links to what the Critical Care Formula & Reptaboost are? Anyways, the repta-aid does do its job at keeping him alive, but you're also right, it probably is a significant source of stress too. I cleaned the repta-aid out of the water this morning as well.

I've been going on a 1:1 ratio of formula and water, for some reason the 2:1 ratio the package recommends turns into a glue like substance. As for what I'm actually dosing, I'd been giving him 0.5 milliliters on a daily basis up until I moved him into a new terrarium.

Unfortunately, I don't know how much he actually weighs (no gram-scales at my home), though my best guess is "less than 19 grams" (guesses obviously may not be correct though, I'll need to get his exact weight to assess if I'm giving too much or too little.)
 
Last edited:
C

chazaliae

New member
I have had a look for the Vetark products but they don't seem to be available in the US. I can recommend the following:

T-Rex Hydrolife - T-Rex Hydro-Life - Reptile Electrolyte Formula

Exo Terra - Products : Electrolyte

There is a detailed outline of dosage instructions here > http://www.flukerfarms.com/PDFs/CarnivoreInstructions.pdf. it tells you exactly how much you need. Just ensure that you feed him a little bit of the Repta Aid at a time, to allow him to swallow it properly and this should stop regurgitation.
 
jmhherpetology

jmhherpetology

New member
Go to walmart get meat based baby food. Mix it with smashed mealworms and/or crickets. Get a glob on your finger and smear it on his mouth until he licks it off...repeat a gazillion times...I did this with one of my good breeders for months until he got better.
 
Jheuloh

Jheuloh

New member
jmhherpetology said:
Go to walmart get meat based baby food. Mix it with smashed mealworms and/or crickets. Get a glob on your finger and smear it on his mouth until he licks it off...repeat a gazillion times...I did this with one of my good breeders for months until he got better.
Click to expand...

You mean a gazillion and one, right? :p
 
Jheuloh

Jheuloh

New member
You mean like the powder supplements usually sprinkled over insects? I have rep-cal with D3 & herptivite handy, in that case. :idea:
 
Jheuloh

Jheuloh

New member
Mashed crickets & mealworms, meat baby food, and calcium + vitamin powder. Sounds like a plan.

Edit: Question, what would I mash the crickets & mealworms with?
 
C

chazaliae

New member
Jheuloh said:
He ate a cricket today! :yahoo: Hopefully he'll continue to eat on his own like he did today. :!:
Click to expand...

Eating on his own is fantastic - do not attempt to hand feed him now! By all means offer him one on tweezers but try and help him maintain that appetite to grab his own food. For future reference, I usually use a pestel and mortar for mashing up livefoods, bought specially as they're very cheap. Otherwise maybe use the tip and back of a spoon.
 
Jheuloh

Jheuloh

New member
chazaliae said:
Eating on his own is fantastic - do not attempt to hand feed him now! By all means offer him one on tweezers but try and help him maintain that appetite to grab his own food. For future reference, I usually use a pestel and mortar for mashing up livefoods, bought specially as they're very cheap. Otherwise maybe use the tip and back of a spoon.
Click to expand...

Last night I offered a waxworm to him. He didn't take it right away, but he didn't turn away from it like he had previously done. The waxworm "mysteriously" disappeared when I left the room for a moment though.

Unfortunately, he passed the cricket as diarrhea, which means he probably still has an infection, but even so, he's eating again (and more importantly, at least has a little bit to carry him on if he stops eating again.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top