Albino Leopard Gecko severely emaciated and dehydrated!!

N

N2froggie

New member
Another Moron went into a pet store and bought an animal they had no idea how to take care of. Lucky for the little guy they had the nerve to bring him back for a refund, which, they did not get nor did they get him back. (BTW This store has NEVER sold albino Leos).My daughter works at the store and offered to bring him home to try and nurse him back to health. She has had the same Leo's since her cousin left for college in 2003. So we took him to our vet who shook his head and said if any one can save him its my daughter, but not to get out hopes up. He has no tail fat (but no signs of infection) what so ever but she refused to euthanize without putting effort toward getting him better, She has gotten him to drink some and even tricked him into swallowing a gutloaded pinhead. He has held a slightly larger cricket in his mouth but just refused to swallow it. We think he swallowed the pin head because she rubbed his belly. He seems to like that. She is misting him to try and rehydrate him he actually seems to have energy. Anyone have ideas? She is trying everything the vet and her could come up with!

MOM to
Norbert The Red Eyed Tree frog
and the girl with
10 Tarantulas
3 Leopard Geckos
2 Bearded Dragons and
1 supposedly lonely Albino Corn Snake
 
C

cookie

New member
Try hand feeding him more, or maybe make a liquid meal and use an eye dropper to to feed it to him.

~Best of luck to you and him.
 
gizmo143

gizmo143

New member
wow! tell your daughter that we are rootin for her! good luck! here is a recipe for a recovering/not eating leo:
This slurry was developed years ago when I was trying to rehabilitate sick geckos. It has saved the lives of many geckos, and is being recommended and used by many veterinarians and Universities now. Keep in mind that this slurry IS NOT medicine, nor will it cure anything! It is designed to be used as nutrition for anorexic geckos that are off-food and being treated by a veterinarian for a diagnosed clinical disease or illness.

Here is my recipe for the mixture:


In a blender, combine:

1 small can Hill's A/D pet food (available at most vets)

1 jar baby food squash cup Ensure (not chocolate)

¼ cup Ensure (not chocolate)

¼ cup Pedialite

Contents of 2 capsules Milk Thistle (herbal supplement, liver purifier, found at most drug stores)

¼ tsp. each calcium powder and herp vitamin powder

3-5 X-large handfuls of mealworms, added slowly while mixture is blending, until consistency of milkshake


Puree all ingredients until completely smooth, and pour into ice cube tray and freeze. Store frozen cubes in zip-lock bag in the freezer until ready to use, then thaw out 1 cube at a time and store in fridge for 2-3 days. You can use the empty baby food jar for this purpose, washing it thoroughly after each batch.

Using this mixture, draw a full 1ml dropper (eye dropper type) for adults, and 1/2 dropper for juveniles, and place a drop on the gecko's nose, and avoid plugging the nostrils. Be patient and do not force-feed! The gecko will lick it off its nose, and as it does, slowly squeeze out a little at a time as the gecko licks it. Be careful not to let the gecko choke, allowing for time to swallow. Most geckos love this food, and will lap it up. Patience is a key factor!
Hope this helps!
 
N

N2froggie

New member
Well We picked up "Lazarus" some Reptaid today and did the nose trick. And he ate it right up we went slow and let his instincts take over. Got some water into him that way too. He still seems awful perky. It just amazes me that he is so skeletal next to her healthy happy ones. He is the one that looks up when she enters the room. She is working on soaking some leftover shed on his eyes. Slowly but surely. He wasn't interested in crickets tonight but we will keep trying. Keep on keepin' on right? I do worry that since he isn't eating he will develop a eating disorder. We are thinking of the slurry because of the higher fat content of the mealworms.

MOM to
Norbert The Red Eyed Tree frog
and the girl with
10 Tarantulas
3 Leopard Geckos
2 Bearded Dragons and
1 supposedly lonely Albino Corn Snake
 
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