New rescue super thin. Advice please?

[SamanthaLovely]

We rescued this little guy today. We named him Frodo.
This is little Frodo. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I've got him some ExoTerra Electrolyte and vitamin D3 supplement and the Flukers Repta+Boost formula. He had some of the formula. Just 0.6cc. That's the dose they said for 10gm. No my scale is hardly sensitive enough for this kind of thing so it's probably not accurate.

He's very dry. His skin is flaky looking. I don't know how well you can see it in -this picture,
Frodo's skin | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

His eyes are bright but he doesn't have interest in the cricket I offered.
Another picture,
He's a trooper. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I've read alot of the threads about this sort of thing. So my questions are,

-Do I keep giving him the Repta+Boost if he wants it?
-Is 0.6cc enough for him?
-Can I put him in a warm bath for 20mins?
-Is the electrolyte with D3 alright?
-I also have hornworms and crickets I can mush and try to feed him. Should I?
-The lady at the pet store gave me some wax worms but I've heard bad stories so I haven't used them. Should I?
Should I mix a large batch of the electrolyte water for his water dish?
How often should I get him to drink it? It's 2 drops per 30ml.
Any other advice?

We have a vet appointment at 10:30 tomorrow morning for him. So hopefully he'll have a poo we can take in.

 

[cricket4u]

We rescued this little guy today. We named him Frodo.
This is little Frodo. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I've got him some ExoTerra Electrolyte and vitamin D3 supplement and the Flukers Repta+Boost formula. He had some of the formula. Just 0.6cc. That's the dose they said for 10gm. No my scale is hardly sensitive enough for this kind of thing so it's probably not accurate.

He's very dry. His skin is flaky looking. I don't know how well you can see it in -this picture,
Frodo's skin | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

His eyes are bright but he doesn't have interest in the cricket I offered.
Another picture,
He's a trooper. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I've read alot of the threads about this sort of thing. So my questions are,

-Do I keep giving him the Repta+Boost if he wants it?
-Is 0.6cc enough for him?
-Can I put him in a warm bath for 20mins?
-Is the electrolyte with D3 alright?
-I also have hornworms and crickets I can mush and try to feed him. Should I?
-The lady at the pet store gave me some wax worms but I've heard bad stories so I haven't used them. Should I?
Should I mix a large batch of the electrolyte water for his water dish?
How often should I get him to drink it? It's 2 drops per 30ml.
Any other advice?

We have a vet appointment at 10:30 tomorrow morning for him. So hopefully he'll have a poo we can take in.

Poor Frodo,

Nice of you to take him in. I would soak him for 15-20 min. Then try offering him the Repta+boost alone without adding anything. Nothing but plain water in his water dish. Wait to see what the vet says tomorrow. Keep us posted!

 

[cricket4u]

He is obviously dehydrated and so I think it will be best to add a bit more water to the repta+boost than recommended. Normally I would focus on hydration first, but since he is seeing a vet tomorrow offering the repta+boost can possibly provide a stool sample. You are not forcing this, so there is no reason to worry about amount. He will lick up as much as he can which I imagine won't me much.

 

[SamanthaLovely]

I gave him a bath. He didn't seem particularily impressed with it but hopefully it got some moisture onto him. He did eat a bit more of the boost but not much. We got more on me then in him I tried a little cricket but he wasn't really interested. Are they nomally skittish when they're so thin?
Is it alright to mist his tank? He doesn't seem to want to go in his moist hide and I'm kindof nervous of him getting too cold during the night. Should I leave the moist hide on the warm side?
Thank you so much for your help

 

[cricket4u]

I gave him a bath. He didn't seem particularily impressed with it but hopefully it got some moisture onto him. He did eat a bit more of the boost but not much. We got more on me then in him I tried a little cricket but he wasn't really interested. Are they nomally skittish when they're so thin?
Is it alright to mist his tank? He doesn't seem to want to go in his moist hide and I'm kindof nervous of him getting too cold during the night. Should I leave the moist hide on the warm side?
Thank you so much for your help

I doubt being thin has much to do with being skittish. I would not mist at this point to avoid further stress. If the humidity is low you can wet a towel and cover half of the tank. The moist hide should be closer to the warm end. I would provide the same day gradient (cool to warm) 24 hours under his condition.

 

[SamanthaLovely]

Alright I will do that if it gets low. He must just be a skittish fellow then. He was with two other geckos who were better than him but still kind of thin. They had some fat to their tails but not as much as I like to see. Had I the money I would have bought all three. But I'm thinking they may have been hogging the food on him. They all seem to be the same age range. She said he's possibly six months old. I'm going to keep the heat on in the room tonight to keep his temp up. Is it alright for my other two to be warm for the night? I haven't had time to move furniture to get them into the other room yet.

 

[cricket4u]

Alright I will do that if it gets low. He must just be a skittish fellow then. He was with two other geckos who were better than him but still kind of thin. They had some fat to their tails but not as much as I like to see. Had I the money I would have bought all three. But I'm thinking they may have been hogging the food on him. They all seem to be the same age range. She said he's possibly six months old. I'm going to keep the heat on in the room tonight to keep his temp up. Is it alright for my other two to be warm for the night? I haven't had time to move furniture to get them into the other room yet.

As long as they have a cool side it's fine.

 

[XoVictoryXo]

this just breaks my heart :*( Thank you for helping him, best of luck to you!

 

[Yoshi'smom]

From one rescuer to another: I truly thank you for taking in little Frodo. My best wishes for him and his recovery. I hope we can help him get better and soon.

 

[Harley_Davidson]

Wow Samantha, good on you for taking in poor little Frodo. Keep up the good work and hopefully all goes well at the vets today.

 

[Saskia]

Augh!! Little Frodo reminds me so much of a rescue of mine, Thor.... although Fodo looks a great deal better than Thor did.... I think being skittish is a good sign because it shows he has strenght to fight, when they are too weak they are very very calmed because they have no strenght left.... Thank you so much for rescuing him!! Hope someone does the same for the ther 2 guys, I am also a gecko rescuer like you and Kelly :biggrin:

 

[SamanthaLovely]

So we just got out of the vets. She says that he looks healthy for the condition he's in. She gave him so water under the skin for dehydration and a dewormer. We didn't actually get a focal sample in but she said when they come in looking that thin she dewormer them anyways. Hopefully it doesn't make him feel worse. I'm going to keep offering crickets and the ReptaBoost. I don't think he'll be eating for alittle while with all the stress. I'm gonna offer him a silkworm if they have them in today. If he Doesn't want them should I mush some crickets or worms and try to syringe feed him that? Thank you everyone for your support and guidence. If I can I'm going to see what I can do about the other two.

 

[cricket4u]

So we just got out of the vets. She says that he looks healthy for the condition he's in. She gave him so water under the skin for dehydration and a dewormer. We didn't actually get a focal sample in but she said when they come in looking that thin she dewormer them anyways. Hopefully it doesn't make him feel worse. I'm going to keep offering crickets and the ReptaBoost. I don't think he'll be eating for alittle while with all the stress. I'm gonna offer him a silkworm if they have them in today. If he Doesn't want them should I mush some crickets or worms and try to syringe feed him that? Thank you everyone for your support and guidence. If I can I'm going to see what I can do about the other two.

:shock: I am blown away! This is the first I have heard of a vet following proper protocal on a reptile administering fluids subcutaneously first.:banana:
What I would do is offer a more exciting insect like a silkworm first. If he refuses I would just give him the Reptaboost alone because it provides a broad amount of nutrition. Although it's not the greatest product, it will be balanced unlike smashed up worms, but continue to offer the insects first. Also baby hornworms are great for hydration and very appealing to most small reptiles.

 

[SamanthaLovely]

I'll defiantly pick up some silkworms and hornworms tonight. If he Doesn't want them my other two will. I was given a few wax worms yesturday and I'm wondering what to do with them. Not necessarily for him but maybe the others? I've heard bad about them so I'm afraid touse them as feed. As for the vet she said she bred them for a while so that's my guess as to why she does it right

 

[cricket4u]

I do not like the idea of an anoretic gecko taking in a sudden load of fat (waxworms). To be honest I do not feed them at all.

 

[SamanthaLovely]

I didn't think so. Even the lady at the pet store said they're not very nutritious. Unfortunatly because of the holiday they're not getting any more worms til next wednesday. All they have is large horn worms which are almost as big as him. Though I did get the smallest two yesturday with thoughts of blending them. But since that's not exactly the best idea I'll stick to crickets and the Repta+Boost. They had mealworms and butter worms at the pet store but the lady said butter worms aren't very nutritious either and the mealies come in containers of 50 and my other geckos don't like tham at all.

I've been using paper towel as his substrate and in his moist box. Can I use coconut fibre or moss in his moist hide? The paper towel seems to dry out too fast.

Now the bad news, Frodo is a girl! So I have to change his name and get used to not calling her little man. Poor girl. We've been calling her a boy all night and day :coverlaugh:

 

[cricket4u]

:lol: Well, if it was a male I would stick with paper towels. For females I always provide a nesting site regardless, so using moss or eco-earth in a hide serves both purposes. Just keep an eye during shedding to make sure she does not accidentally swallow it. Also you want to be careful that a cricket does not hide in it. That will just give her another reason to eat it along with the cricket.

 

[SamanthaLovely]

I tend to take everything out of their tanks when I feed them because the crickets used to get under the papertowels/carpet and get smooshed. So I would think they got eaten when they weren't. I've been using coconut fibre in the laybox/moist hide for my other two. Is that ok for everybody?

When I got home from the hospital today I noticed Frodo's dry hide was moved so I picked it up to put it in the back corner and I find a poo! It's sort of runny looking but solid in the middle. Though the paper towel was pretty wet so tha could have had an effect on it.
A poo! | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Also just now I put a little cricket in her tank. She didn't seem to want to go for it but she was looking so I guided her into her dry hide and she ate it! She ate two! Just little ones, a bit bigger than a pinhead. I'm so glad. I'm keeping an eye out for any regurgitation. So far so good. Should I try for more in a few hours?

I'm so happy she's eating and pooping.

 

[cricket4u]

Well I did not expect to see a perfect poop,at least she is defecating. Very happy to hear she started eating. The SQ injection is great, but will only take her so far. How dehydrated did she appear to the vet? I would call and ask the vet if she felt that further hydration assistance is needed.

 

[SamanthaLovely]

She didn't really say to rehydrate anymore. She mostly said don't force anything on her and let her adjust. I'm still going to be syringe feeding her water if she takes it and giving her baths. And keeping the moist hide moist. Is there anything you could suggest in helping keep hydration up? Right now I've got them in a seperate room with the heat on. But if that's too drying I could turn the heat off and turn on the heat lamps. Maybe turn on the humidifier?