Leopard gecko eating, but not pooping.

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cwatkins

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I ended up bring Hades to a vet just to get him checked out so my mind was at ease and since I am heading back to school where there is no reptile vets and it turns out he is likely impacted... In the x-ray showed that there was an obvious clogging in his lower intestine that diminished further down...

The sad thing is the people who sold him to me claimed to be reptile experts, yet whenever I asked them questions they ignored me or were very rude on emails, and they had him on sand at such a young age, and even at all.
I just hope that they will be able to make him pass a bowl movement without surgery.

Id just like to thank you all so much for your input and informing me so well! :) :)
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
cwatkins said:
I ended up bring Hades to a vet just to get him checked out so my mind was at ease and since I am heading back to school where there is no reptile vets and it turns out he is likely impacted... In the x-ray showed that there was an obvious clogging in his lower intestine that diminished further down...

The sad thing is the people who sold him to me claimed to be reptile experts, yet whenever I asked them questions they ignored me or were very rude on emails, and they had him on sand at such a young age, and even at all.
I just hope that they will be able to make him pass a bowl movement without surgery.

Id just like to thank you all so much for your input and informing me so well! :) :)
Click to expand...

Good decision to bring Hades to the vet. What advice did the vet give re his impaction?
 
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cwatkins

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Elizabeth Freer said:
Good decision to bring Hades to the vet. What advice did the vet give re his impaction?
Click to expand...

They did a mineral oil treatment twice today, and did something to hydrate him more. This was an attempt to help the sand pass better. They told me to give him another warm water bath tonight in order to aid the digestion and for the skin to also aborsbe more moisture to help the passing.
Then I am to see if he poops within the next 24 hours and to notify them. Besides that they said that they could do surgery... But they did not exactly specify what else could be done if this does not work besides surgery. I am guessing I will find this out if he does not poop and I will let you guys know!

Do you guys have any other helpful tips I could use to help this problem? I really do not have money for the surgery if it it more then 120 approx.. and I do not want to have to put him down, I've only had him since just before Christmas and I was really hoping our life together would be longer then this..
 
Embrace Calamity

Embrace Calamity

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The method I've heard suggested is to soak for 10-15 minutes in warm water and massage the underside in a downward motion and then give the oil. I've never used it, mind you, but I can't imagine it'd hurt anything to try.

~Maggot
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

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cwatkins said:
They did a mineral oil treatment twice today, and did something to hydrate him more. This was an attempt to help the sand pass better. They told me to give him another warm water bath tonight in order to aid the digestion and for the skin to also aborsbe more moisture to help the passing.
Then I am to see if he poops within the next 24 hours and to notify them. Besides that they said that they could do surgery... But they did not exactly specify what else could be done if this does not work besides surgery. I am guessing I will find this out if he does not poop and I will let you guys know!

Do you guys have any other helpful tips I could use to help this problem? I really do not have money for the surgery if it it more then 120 approx.. and I do not want to have to put him down, I've only had him since just before Christmas and I was really hoping our life together would be longer then this..
Click to expand...

Make sure her temps are correct and stable. This is the most important detail in order for her to pass the impaction.
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
cwatkins said:
They did a mineral oil treatment twice today, and did something to hydrate him more. This was an attempt to help the sand pass better. They told me to give him another warm water bath tonight in order to aid the digestion and for the skin to also aborsbe more moisture to help the passing.
Then I am to see if he poops within the next 24 hours and to notify them. Besides that they said that they could do surgery... But they did not exactly specify what else could be done if this does not work besides surgery. I am guessing I will find this out if he does not poop and I will let you guys know!

Do you guys have any other helpful tips I could use to help this problem? I really do not have money for the surgery if it it more then 120 approx.. and I do not want to have to put him down, I've only had him since just before Christmas and I was really hoping our life together would be longer then this..
Click to expand...

1x daily catlax (or 1-2 drops of mineral oil) to the lips
tepid water soak ~15 minutes
gentle massaging from the throat to the vent

I advise trying that method for at least several days, but I am NOT a vet :p. Do you know why the vet suggested getting back with them in 24 hours?

Would it be possible to talk with the manager of the store where you bought Hades letting them know of his sand impaction? Perhaps the pet store might change their setups? Maybe there is more that you could do?
 
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cwatkins

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Elizabeth Freer said:
1x daily catlax (or 1-2 drops of mineral oil) to the lips
tepid water soak ~15 minutes
gentle massaging from the throat to the vent

I advise trying that method for at least several days, but I am NOT a vet :p. Do you know why the vet suggested getting back with them in 24 hours?

Would it be possible to talk with the manager of the store where you bought Hades letting them know of his sand impaction? Perhaps the pet store might change their setups? Maybe there is more that you could do?
Click to expand...

He pooped! I have never been so happy to see poop in my life.
And I actually bought him off of Kijiji, and his previous owners claimed to be reptile experts, and offered to answer my questions but ended up being extremely rude when I did in fact email questions.. I'm half tempted to inform them that they are indeed not reptile experts...
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
cwatkins said:
He pooped! I have never been so happy to see poop in my life.
And I actually bought him off of Kijiji, and his previous owners claimed to be reptile experts, and offered to answer my questions but ended up being extremely rude when I did in fact email questions.. I'm half tempted to inform them that they are indeed not reptile experts...
Click to expand...

Good job, Hades! Was it a big poop? Hope he got it all. Might not be certain till the next poop, but it sounds like things are "moving" :p

Yeah, us gecko keepers get excited about poops, especially if they are overdue and even more so if the gecko has been diagnosed with an impaction.

Have you some chance to get some hornworms before you return to school? Good for variety and keeping things moving: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...worms-growing-until-wine-cooler-purchase.html

Is Kijiji like Craigslist in the USA? I recall you mentioning how rude the sellers have been! "pleasant" at first?
 
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cwatkins

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Elizabeth Freer said:
Good job, Hades! Was it a big poop? Hope he got it all. Might not be certain till the next poop, but it sounds like things are "moving" :p

Yeah, us gecko keepers get excited about poops, especially if they are overdue and even more so if the gecko has been diagnosed with an impaction.

Have you some chance to get some hornworms before you return to school? Good for variety and keeping things moving: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...worms-growing-until-wine-cooler-purchase.html

Is Kijiji like Craigslist in the USA? I recall you mentioning how rude the sellers have been! "pleasant" at first?
Click to expand...

I will have to see if the pet stores here sell them, or if my cricket supplier does.
I hope he got it all, but there wasn't much poop, but there was a large amount of urate, or more then usual at least. Except it was much yellower, and thick. And there was what I think was sand in it, unless that is impossible.. Then it was just a different looking urate. He has aten near 30 crickets before this poop, so I am assuming there must be must more poop in there..

Im wondering if I should continue with the warm water baths? Just because I know it is stressful for him, and if I should do a olive oil treatment or just let him be? I dont want to stress him out anymore then he already has been.

and yes, I think kijiji is similar... it is American too I believe. Its where anyone can put ads on it, and they are sorted by location and then what the ad is selling.
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Elizabeth Freer said:
1x daily catlax (or 1-2 drops of mineral oil) to the lips
tepid water soak ~15 minutes
gentle massaging from the throat to the vent

I advise trying that method for at least several days, but I am NOT a vet :p. Do you know why the vet suggested getting back with them in 24 hours?

Would it be possible to talk with the manager of the store where you bought Hades letting them know of his sand impaction? Perhaps the pet store might change their setups? Maybe there is more that you could do?
Click to expand...

Elizabeth Freer said:
Good job, Hades! Was it a big poop? Hope he got it all. Might not be certain till the next poop, but it sounds like things are "moving" :p

Yeah, us gecko keepers get excited about poops, especially if they are overdue and even more so if the gecko has been diagnosed with an impaction.

Have you some chance to get some hornworms before you return to school? Good for variety and keeping things moving: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...worms-growing-until-wine-cooler-purchase.html

Is Kijiji like Craigslist in the USA? I recall you mentioning how rude the sellers have been! "pleasant" at first?
Click to expand...

cwatkins said:
I will have to see if the pet stores here sell them, or if my cricket supplier does.
I hope he got it all, but there wasn't much poop, but there was a large amount of urate, or more then usual at least. Except it was much yellower, and thick. And there was what I think was sand in it, unless that is impossible.. Then it was just a different looking urate. He has aten near 30 crickets before this poop, so I am assuming there must be must more poop in there..

Im wondering if I should continue with the warm water baths? Just because I know it is stressful for him, and if I should do a olive oil treatment or just let him be? I dont want to stress him out anymore then he already has been.

and yes, I think kijiji is similar... it is American too I believe. Its where anyone can put ads on it, and they are sorted by location and then what the ad is selling.
Click to expand...

He is not "out of the woods" yet :-(.

Even maybe cut back on food, not water, till you are certain the impaction has passed. At any rate feed NOTHING fibrous or chitonous like mealies or crickets or locusts. Feed only turkey baby food or chicken baby food till you are certain the impaction is passed. Advice from my vet in the past. Continue with the method in bold till the next poop especially because the impaction has been verified. You mention additional blockage (more significant) further up in the intestines.

Be sure temps and humidity hide are spot on, just like cricket4u mentions.
 
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cwatkins

New member
Elizabeth Freer said:
He is not "out of the woods" yet :-(.

Even maybe cut back on food, not water, till you are certain the impaction has passed. At any rate feed NOTHING fibrous or chitonous like mealies or crickets or locusts. Feed only turkey baby food or chicken baby food till you are certain the impaction is passed. Advice from my vet in the past. Continue with the method in bold till the next poop especially because the impaction has been verified. You mention additional blockage (more significant) further up in the intestines.

Be sure temps and humidity hide are spot on, just like cricket4u mentions.
Click to expand...

Okay, I will try that. Thank you so much!
 
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Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
cwatkins said:
I was also curious, how should I go about feeding him this baby food?
Click to expand...

Just put a dab of chicken or turkey BF on the snout. People say be careful not to get it on their nostrils, but in a year of feeding a sensitive gecko this way, and others over the years, I have never had such problem.

The other way is to get a medium size plastic syringe with no needle. Insert small amounts of food directly into the mouth. Wait for the leo to swallow, before adding more food.

Here goes the "humanizing" factor (again). Somehow it seems that geckos "know" not to breathe through their nostrils when there is food on them. (The risk is aspiration into the lungs, but I've not seen it happen.)
 
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cwatkins

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Elizabeth Freer said:
Just put a dab of chicken or turkey BF on the snout. People say be careful not to get it on their nostrils, but in a year of feeding a sensitive gecko this way, and others over the years, I have never had such problem.

The other way is to get a medium size plastic syringe with no needle. Insert small amounts of food directly into the mouth. Wait for the leo to swallow, before adding more food.

Here goes the "humanizing" factor (again). Somehow it seems that geckos "know" not to breathe through their nostrils when there is food on them. (The risk is aspiration into the lungs, but I've not seen it happen.)
Click to expand...

Okay perfect! How much approximately should I feed him?

I have Chicken with Broth baby food, and Sweet Potato with Turkey, there was no plain chicken or plain turkey at the Super Store. Which one should I use or does it matter?
EDIT: The chicken has 13g of protein, while the turkey had 4, along with 2g of fiber so I am assuming the chicken.
 
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