EMERGENCY CALL: Gecko Near Drowning After-Care!!

[Lenewen]

Hello everyone,

Aisa, my pride and joy, is a 2-3yrs old Female and very healthy. I will attach a picture of her loveliness. She is my cuddle bug, always attached to me. I recently acquired her (a rescue) and the skin on her nails and toes is TIGHT and does not come off easily! The last one I managed to rub off in a warm bath even made her bleed a little. She never had a moist hide and I am worried she is going to lose several toes due to this.Therefore, as i have done with my 7 other geckos who've had leftover skin, i gave her a hot steam bath. Usually geckos relax when placed in this water. Here is what happened:

The water was only about 2' deep in the tupperware, and we had a lid askew to allow in air but keep in steam. The water was not too hot, maybe 85 degrees. However, Aisa was panicking in the water. Though if she had just stood still (like the rest of them figured out) she would have been quite comfortable and those fingers would have gotten a much needed soaking before I worked at them with cotton swabs. While in panic, she must have put her head under the water and inhaled. She instantly rolled over and began flailing. My boyfriend grabbed her and held her upside down, I pulled her mouth open, and he gently but quickly worked the tummy to get the water out. We watched about a teaspoon of water come out of her. Then he basically performed CPR on her and brought her back. I thought we had lost her for a moment!!! All I could do afterward, when she was breathing and resting was cry. She is my favorite gecko and I have an ever expanding collection. I hang out with her every day! I have back problems, so she sits on my shoulders by my heating pad for hours. I'd absolutely lose it if i lost this gecko so soon.

My question is this: Is it safe for me to give her a dab of Terramycin to prevent pneumonia, via ingestion?

I tempted her with a waxworm and she was not interested. Maybe too soon for eating.

I know shes traumatized because shes clinging to me right now, but she appears very relaxed and her breathing is normal. She has taken a few steps, reluctant at first. I am going to be monitoring her for 24hrs and if she's fine, looks like we saved her life.

Is there anything else I can do? I cant find ANY info on a gecko actually surviving a drowning. Looks like the best way is to catch it fast, and give CPR as you would an infant, which is exactly what we did,

Ron even performed mouth to mouth, blowing oxygen into her lungs, We love this gecko so much, we went that far just to save her.

Thanks for any help. I hope she survives.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

The best thing you can do for her right now is to give her a few days of ZERO contact so that she can destress and reacclimate. Don't feed her, don't touch her, don't look at her constantly. Just leave her alone and let her settle. In the future, since it's just her toes that are of concern, instead of using so much water (2" in deep for a gecko), just use enough to cover her feet (like an 1/8th of an inch).

 

[TheOneBlueGecko]

I do not know what to say about that medicine specifically as I have not had experience with it, but I would not give it to her. For something to get pneumonia usually they need to inhale bacteria as well, the water you had her in is probably clean so I would think that she will be ok.

I would just keep monitoring her breathing to make sure it does not seem like she is in distress, but it is not necessarily the case that she will get pneumonia just from inhaling water.

I was on another forum where some one talked about a turtle (I think, it was a while ago) having a similar near drowning. She was fine, but passed away like a day later. However, this animal did not have the really amazing quick help that yours did, they found her some time after the incident and only then helped her so she probably had more of a period with no oxygen. I don't mean this as a something to keep you worried, I just would be cautious for the next few days.

Also, if it were me, I would try to make her tank really safe for a few days to make sure she does not have any issues. Something as stressful as the near drowning could potentially cause her to have breathing issues that may cause her to have trouble moving as she would normally (not to say this will happen, but it is a possibility) So I would keep the water level in her water bowl really low so that if she does have an issue she could not fall in there and drowned. I would also remove any really high things that she could possibly climb on and fall off of.

I really hope she does well, she sounds like such a great gecko and you have done so much for her.

 

[Lenewen]

The best thing you can do for her right now is to give her a few days of ZERO contact so that she can destress and reacclimate. Don't feed her, don't touch her, don't look at her constantly. Just leave her alone and let her settle. In the future, since it's just her toes that are of concern, instead of using so much water (2" in deep for a gecko), just use enough to cover her feet (like an 1/8th of an inch).

hahaha, i wish you luck getting her off me! She sees me as a hide, too, you know. And a heat source. Ill tuck her away in her tank once shes done with this nap and I will leave her be. Its a 75gal long with only 2 other geckos in it that are really benign so im sure they will let her get her rest.

I really hope she makes it. There was too much water. This has never happened...Ive given sooo many baths and never....she just panicked too much and there was nothing I could do except grab her, pump the water out and get her breathing again.

God, I'm still crying.

 

[Lenewen]

For something to get pneumonia usually they need to inhale bacteria as well, the water you had her in is probably clean so I would think that she will be ok.

I would just keep monitoring her breathing to make sure it does not seem like she is in distress, but it is not necessarily the case that she will get pneumonia just from inhaling water.

I was on another forum where some one talked about a turtle (I think, it was a while ago) having a similar near drowning. She was fine, but passed away like a day later. However, this animal did not have the really amazing quick help that yours did, they found her some time after the incident and only then helped her so she probably had more of a period with no oxygen. I don't mean this as a something to keep you worried, I just would be cautious for the next few days.

It was filtered water. We keep a huge water jug thing in our fridge, and filter the water we put in it. So maybe you're right. I only see that medicine used on the eyes for a leopard gecko. I am unsure of ingestion safety.

I think we caught her in time. Dear God, I really hope we did. She's pretty much my only friend right now as she likes to cuddle, and Ive been home sick for quite some time, unable to do much.

 

[Mardy]

Wow I'm glad you were able to save that gecko, never heard of cpr for geckos before but nicely done. I don't have experience in this matter so I can't offer anything constructive. But I would suggest keeping the environment fairly dry to make sure she gets the water all dried out. Geckos can get respiratory infections if the environment is too humid, or in her case, if the water in her nostrils & system doesn't dry out.

 

[Lenewen]

My body appears to be a favored part of her world, and my heating pad that I use for myself keeps her mighty comfy. I don't think she's going to move for awhile.

It was a really stressful experience for her, but she is not showing signs of shock or stress so she's either really comfortable/trusting of us, or just hiding her fear very well.

Shes napping right now. Im monitoring her breathing.

 

[LightShow]

Heat her up! Get her cage temp a few degrees hotter on the hot side. A respiratory infection usually occurs with cold temps...

If she starts wheezing, sneezing, or breathing heavy take her to the vet immediately.

 

[M&S-328]

If you are still worried about her toes you should get a tupperware dish and paper towels. Fold or layer the parer towels and soak them thoroughly with warm/hot water (about 90-100 degrees is fine). then just set her in the tupperware with the soaked paper towels beneath her, and let her sit for 15 min or so minutes. If she will not stay in, then try using the lid - but if she will stay in without a lid on, thats fine too.

But in the mean time, like River Reptiles said, she needs time to be alone. You may love her company, but letting her get too clingy isnt always such a great idea. What if you go on a vacation or aare in the hospital for awhile, how will she cope with not being handled for a few days if shes used to constant handling?
Its the nature of leos to need some non-handling time to destress. So you dont want to take that piece of nature away from her.
You sound like a great owner! BUt just remember, they are geckos, not kittys and puppies, they have to follow some of the reptile "rules" for their own good. =]

Good luck!