Help with sick Leopard Gecko

[vince174]

He seems to be doing better.

Hi. Well he's still kicking. I think he's moving in the right direction. His eyes actually seem like they are getting better. A couple nights ago I used a Q-tip and pulled a good deal of skin out of his eye. Since then his eyes seem better than they have in months. His skin seems to be getting better also. He doesn't seem to be in a perpetual state of shedding. We feed him that Hills A/D stuff mixed with water and put a little ReptiVite in it. We use a syringe and put a little bit on the side of his mouth and he licks it up. There is also a dish of the calcium in the tank.

So he does seem better and we are still trying to nurse him back to normal. My biggest concern right now is that he seems to have a bunch of dead/dry/old skin on both sides of his vent. Not really sure what it is. Its kind of dark/black-looks like old skin. We give him a nightly soak and I'm hoping that will take care of that.

Thanks for checking back. Sorry I didn't see your message sooner.....

Vince

 

[cricket4u]

Hi. Well he's still kicking. I think he's moving in the right direction. His eyes actually seem like they are getting better. A couple nights ago I used a Q-tip and pulled a good deal of skin out of his eye. Since then his eyes seem better than they have in months. His skin seems to be getting better also. He doesn't seem to be in a perpetual state of shedding. We feed him that Hills A/D stuff mixed with water and put a little ReptiVite in it. We use a syringe and put a little bit on the side of his mouth and he licks it up. There is also a dish of the calcium in the tank.

So he does seem better and we are still trying to nurse him back to normal. My biggest concern right now is that he seems to have a bunch of dead/dry/old skin on both sides of his vent. Not really sure what it is. Its kind of dark/black-looks like old skin. We give him a nightly soak and I'm hoping that will take care of that.

Thanks for checking back. Sorry I didn't see your message sooner.....

Vince

Hello,

Thanks for updating me, I was a bit concerned, but glad he is still kicking.
Did you read the post before the last? I just want to make just you read when I mentioned to turn off the other bulb as well. The Reptivite is to dust the insects and I fear hypervitaminosis if your adding to the Hill's A/D. You can add a very small amount, but only once every 2 weeks to be on the safe side. Well I can't guess what's on his rear, but if it does not come off with more soaks a vet visit to a new reptile vet would be best. Just a reminder that the calcium in the tank must be plain calcium (No D3). keep me updated when possible.

 

[Yoshi'smom]

The blackish looking things near his vent may indeed be sperm plugs. If you have a follow up vet appointment, the vet can remove them for you. I had some sperm plugs stuck on one of my boys and the vet helped me to remove them. You don't want to let this problem go for too long either. It can lead to other infections or loss of the hemipenes. Good luck and thanks for the update.

 

[vince174]

Hi. Not sure what was on his vent, but the stuff on one side fell off and the other thing seems to be close to doing the same-I will watch it.

Cricket4U, I have to say thank you for all your help. Tonight, Bullet looks better than he has since Xmas. His eyes look perfect ! My son said two nights ago Bullet shedded and it was a normal shed i.e. he got all the skin off with normal effort. So right now his skin looks good and his eyes look great. I don't want to jinx things, but right things are definately looking up !

But, I still have a few questions. He still looks underweight-skinny tail-and we are still feeding him witha syringe with the A/D. Oh ya, I only mix a very small amount of the Reptivite in with the A/D. I plan to try mealworms or crickets in a couple days to see if he will start eating those. I have several dead crickets (can o crickets) in a dish in the tank but he is not touching them. So, what would recommend to keep moving in the right direction with him ? We did read the care sheet, but I'm wondering how to preceed to keep him on the path to recovery.....

Thanks again for eveything you've told us....

Vince

 

[cricket4u]

Hi. Not sure what was on his vent, but the stuff on one side fell off and the other thing seems to be close to doing the same-I will watch it.

Cricket4U, I have to say thank you for all your help. Tonight, Bullet looks better than he has since Xmas. His eyes look perfect ! My son said two nights ago Bullet shedded and it was a normal shed i.e. he got all the skin off with normal effort. So right now his skin looks good and his eyes look great. I don't want to jinx things, but right things are definately looking up !

But, I still have a few questions. He still looks underweight-skinny tail-and we are still feeding him witha syringe with the A/D. Oh ya, I only mix a very small amount of the Reptivite in with the A/D. I plan to try mealworms or crickets in a couple days to see if he will start eating those. I have several dead crickets (can o crickets) in a dish in the tank but he is not touching them. So, what would recommend to keep moving in the right direction with him ? We did read the care sheet, but I'm wondering how to preceed to keep him on the path to recovery.....

Thanks again for eveything you've told us....

Vince

Hello,

Your welcome, I am just very happy to hear he has made progress. It's possible what your seeing is layers of shed on his rear if one side fell off. Please do not feed canned crickets. Buy live and gutload them well and supply them with water so that it's passed on to Bullet.It's important that Bullet gets the best nutrition possible at this point. Can you purchase silkworms? Most people have to buy them on line. This is where I buy them. Live Silkworms or coastalsilkworms.com

You can try the live crickets first, but small silkworms and/or hornworms have worked to jumpstart an anoretic geckos appetite. Silkworms are higher in calcium and very nutritious. Silkworms will be a huge help to boost his appetite and health. I am not sure if there has been any negative impact on his vision, so try to rub the insect on his mouth to see if that helps. I am not a fan of mealworms and prefer to avoid them. Let me know if he starts eating with your assistance and post a picture of him when possible.

How does his feces look? loose or solid brown? urate are white or yellow?

 

[vince174]

Hi Crickets for You. Bullet continues to do well. He ate 4 crickets and a couple meal worms. He looks real good-eyes look good and skin looks good too. Still has that thing hanging off one side of his vent, but I think it will fall off as the other side did.

I have a question. You mentioned to get the sand out of the tank. Did you say that because Bullet might eat the sand if we were to put crickets in there for him to eat ? Since Bullet was young, we put the crickets in a plasic tank and then Bullet in the plastic tank so he would eat so there was no chance he would eat sand with the crickets. IS it OK to go back to sand since he's doing better ? I just don't like the way the tank looks. I have a piece of slate tile on one side and paper towel on the other side.

Just looking for your opinion about how the tank should be set up now that he seems to be doing much better.

Thanks

Vince

 

[cricket4u]

Hi Crickets for You. Bullet continues to do well. He ate 4 crickets and a couple meal worms. He looks real good-eyes look good and skin looks good too. Still has that thing hanging off one side of his vent, but I think it will fall off as the other side did.

I have a question. You mentioned to get the sand out of the tank. Did you say that because Bullet might eat the sand if we were to put crickets in there for him to eat ? Since Bullet was young, we put the crickets in a plasic tank and then Bullet in the plastic tank so he would eat so there was no chance he would eat sand with the crickets. IS it OK to go back to sand since he's doing better ? I just don't like the way the tank looks. I have a piece of slate tile on one side and paper towel on the other side.

Just looking for your opinion about how the tank should be set up now that he seems to be doing much better.

Thanks

Vince

Hello Vince,

The least of your worries should be the way the tank looks. The most important factor is Bullet's health. I meant get rid of it completely. Buy slate tiles as in the example in the caresheet. Looks nice, easy to clean, great heat conductor for their belly which they need to digest properly. There are many problems associated with the use of sand.

Leopard geckos are prone to bacterial infections and dehydration. Sand cannot be cleaned, can cause eye irritation (your laying on the beach and sand blows in your eyes-not a comfortable feeling), can cause impaction and even cloaca infections. When they defecate some of the sand can get retracted inside the cloaca (vent) along with their hemipene.

Here is a recent incident: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...pharis/62733-recovering-prolapse-surgery.html

He has been through enough and I am sure you do not want to risk further problems. Most people on here with leopard geckos use slate tiles and they love it, including myself. Glad to hear he is eating insects. Thanks for keeping me updated and post a picture of him. We would love to see the progress and a happier and heathier gecko.

 

[cricket4u]

:feedback:

 

[vince174]

Hi Cricket4U. Sorry I haven't typed back sooner; been busy. Bullet is doing very well. I'd say he is completely back to normal. He has been eating crickets, silkworms and wax worms. I attached a few pics of him. What do you think ? The only thing that does not seem quite right is his vision. He seems to have issues eating crickets-almost like he cannot quite see them ? He does eat some on his own, but they almost have to run into him. However, when we put some worms in his feeding dish at night when his light is off, he goes right over and eats them all on his own. It almost seems like he can't see as good in the light ?? I'm really not sure though. Anyway, thank you again for all your help. I'd say you saved Bullet's life !!

I'm having trouble's attaching photos. I will try in the next message

 

[vince174]

Pics

 

[vince174]

Pics

 

[vince174]

One more try

 

[cricket4u]

Yes, feed him in the dark, they are sensitive to light. Thank you so much for sharing the picture. :cheer: What a difference. He is gorgeous!

 

[XoVictoryXo]

WOW what a difference from the first batch of pictures to the second. The first was heartbreaking!! He looks beautiful now. Thank goodness!!
Are we able to confirm this happened from sand?

 

[cricket4u]

Hi Cricket4U. Sorry I haven't typed back sooner; been busy. Bullet is doing very well. I'd say he is completely back to normal. He has been eating crickets, silkworms and wax worms. I attached a few pics of him. What do you think ? The only thing that does not seem quite right is his vision. He seems to have issues eating crickets-almost like he cannot quite see them ? He does eat some on his own, but they almost have to run into him. However, when we put some worms in his feeding dish at night when his light is off, he goes right over and eats them all on his own. It almost seems like he can't see as good in the light ?? I'm really not sure though. Anyway, thank you again for all your help. I'd say you saved Bullet's life !!

I'm having trouble's attaching photos. I will try in the next message

Waxworms are actually worst than feeding mealworms. It would be best to remove the waxworms from his diet. You can add roaches and/or phoenix worms instead. As far as his vision, I am not sure if his vision is effected. If you have not already, a recheck visit to the vet may be a good idea. I hope he continues on the right path.

 

[cricket4u]

Bump (I guess that's the word )

This is one of the reason I have tried to convince people to purchase longer cages. 4 feet long minimum so that it's an option and the leo can escape the UVB rays.

 

[JIMI]

Bump (I guess that's the word )

This is one of the reason I have tried to convince people to purchase longer cages. 4 feet long minimum so that it's an option and the leo can escape the UVB rays.

At a reptile expo that I recently attended, I was checking out custom enclosures so I would tell them of the dimensions that I desired, which is 4'x2'x2'. Each time they would ask me what I was housing and when I told them it was for a leopard gecko they all gave me a crazy look and tried convincing me to purchase enclosures that were smaller than 20 gallon longs! I would ask them about under tank heating and again they looked at me like I was crazy. I had a feeling that they felt that I am a horrible owner. I can imagine the reactions I would have gotten If I had mentioned that I was interested in installing UV lighting:lol:. It's amazing how people are so against putting leos in larger enclosures.

 

[cricket4u]

At a reptile expo that I recently attended, I was checking out custom enclosures so I would tell them of the dimensions that I desired, which is 4'x2'x2'. Each time they would ask me what I was housing and when I told them it was for a leopard gecko they all gave me a crazy look and tried convincing me to purchase enclosures that were smaller than 20 gallon longs! I would ask them about under tank heating and again they looked at me like I was crazy. I had a feeling that they felt that I am a horrible owner. I can imagine the reactions I would have gotten If I had mentioned that I was interested in installing UV lighting:lol:. It's amazing how people are so against putting leos in larger enclosures.

JIMI,

I'm so tired of repeating and explaining to people that I'm about to print this out on index cards and hand them out to people. :lol:

Assessing Reptile Welfare Using Behavioural Criteria
Journal of the British Veterinary Association...March 2013

Spatial considerations
"Many reptiles are mistakenly and inhumanely kept in small cages due to erroneous advice handed down from one pet trader, hobbyist or ill-informed keeper to another. Common false understandings are that many reptiles ‘feel safer’ in small environments and that they are naturally ‘sedentary and don’t need space'. This rationale may suit the convenience of those seeking to promote reptiles as a ‘cage pet’, but it is scientifically and ethically wrong.

While reptiles, like other animals, require shelter to which they can voluntarily withdraw, the key elements are that the animal seeks a ‘hiding place’ when it senses the need for it and it does this voluntarily. Imposing a confined space on an animal is biologically equivalent to trapping it.

Home range studies of reptiles have frequently shown them to be highly active and that they travel either within local ranges of several hundreds of square meters or indefinite ranges measured in hundreds or thousands of kilometres. For example, arboreal monitors have been documented moving daily ranges greater than 186 m, home ranges for some skink lizards are 1 ha, box turtles 40 ha, indigo snakes 158 ha, and for sea turtles, travel can be measured in the thousands of kilometres.

Small species and juveniles commonly utilize as much, and sometimes more, total space than large species and adults. Smaller forms are often insectivorous and these may need to feed more frequently than larger forms and also require a great deal of activity to track and catch their highly active prey.

Regardless of these differences, all reptiles are active, including species such as pythons that are popularly, but wrongly, perceived as sedentary. Some species, in particular large carnivores such as monitor lizards and pythons, may adopt brief sedentary periods following consumption of large meals, but this is a transient phase and not one that should be used to judge an animal's general activity pattern or spatial needs."

People make me sick sometimes. A pet should be treated as a family member, not baseball collection cards. It's very sad to look at picture of what should be an agile lizard, but instead I see a toad.

 

[JIMI]

That is the exact article that I really wish I had on hand that day! Even if I had tried to explain it to them they would have probably ignored me because they were much older and had been collecting for decades so why would they take advice from a young looking girl with just one leo?! There were a number of things, including an excited young boy leaving with a leo and an absolutely horrible "leopard gecko set up" (come on! A critter keeper?!:sad, I saw at the expo that made me cringe. The next time I go, I really might just print that out along with some other scientific articles on some index cards.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Cricket4u ~

What length Zoo Med 5.0 Reptisun tube fluorescents do you use in your 4.5 feet x 2 x 2 foot long enclosures?

What length tube fluorescents would you recommend for a 4 x 2 x 2 foot leo enclosure like JIMI is considering?

A vet told me quite recently that UVB cannot be overdosed using today's technology. What do you think?

I will print out that article very soon as a handout at the shows I attend.