Giant Leaf Tailed Gecko Infection / Sick?? Please help.

[Fumbles]

I am having what seems to be a similar issue to this post: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...oplatus/68675-giant-leaf-tail-gecko-sick.html

The first sign of issue was her eye. It didn't shed properly. Then she started developing a bump on her mouth. Now you can see by the pictures what that has turned into. Major discoloration. I have absolutely no idea how to help her. I don't even know whats wrong. The other uroplatus (male) in the case is super healthy and strong. This one is a female and she used to be even stronger than the male. Her grip was unbelievable, now she can barely cling to a tree so she sleeps in odd positions.

Please help - if anyone knows what's wrong .. it doesn't seem like she has a lot of time and I just lost one of my sikorae to some other issue. :sad:

Nothing changed about her care at all. Same cage and setup for at least two years.

 

[Fumbles]

Just a little more background info which may or may not help - the discoloration seems to be where she snaps at prey. She grabs crickets with the side of her mouth and will regularly scrape the natural background. It's hard and rough, so that may be where that's coming from, but I still can't explain why it's so discolored. It's almost the color of her skin when she sheds.

Also, the eye thing seems to be bugging her. I'm too afraid to touch it because it looks like some of the skin is still attached. I think that it's bugging her because sometimes she opens her mouth all the way open and sort of flails her neck, like a dramatic yawn.

This all happened within the last two weeks.

The more I read the more it seems like a calcium crash - closed feet, lethargic, can't stick to anything well. If anyone knows a remedy for this please let me know, it might be a good place to start.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Please seek veterinary help for this Uroplatus. These guys are very sensitive to any changes at all :-(. The internet is no substitute for hands-on vet care.

A vet will be able to take a scraping of the area, look at it under the microscope, and treat the gecko before it dies.

 

[Fumbles]

Please seek veterinary help for this Uroplatus. These guys are very sensitive to any changes at all :-(. The internet is no substitute for hands-on vet care.

A vet will be able to take a scraping of the area, look at it under the microscope, and treat the gecko before it dies.

I made the appointment for tomorrow - 9:30 AM. The base price for a reptile exam was reasonable. Hope she survives....man...all I can think of is that thread that was posted a while ago "The Downside of the Hobby."

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I made the appointment for tomorrow - 9:30 AM. The base price for a reptile exam was reasonable. Hope she survives....man...all I can think of is that thread that was posted a while ago "The Downside of the Hobby."

Good, I'm glad that you did that! Be sure to update this thread after the appointment.

Wish some uro experts would check in here :sad:.

 

[Fumbles]

I'll certainly post any progress.

She's in bad shape - very skinny. I can see her chest bone but she's refusing hand fed crickets. I could kick myself for not getting help sooner but she's gone downhill so rapidly only today was I certain she was in trouble.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I'll certainly post any progress.

She's in bad shape - very skinny. I can see her chest bone but she's refusing hand fed crickets. I could kick myself for not getting help sooner but she's gone downhill so rapidly only today was I certain she was in trouble.

From your pictures it seems like some of her flesh on her head is missing.

 

[Fumbles]

From your pictures it seems like some of her flesh on her head is missing.

Those were pretty bad pics. All her flesh is there. If anything there's a callus over it.

This was her about three or four weeks ago. Notice the inflammation on the lip. Nothing too concerning.






This is her now. The discoloration started this week. She's so lethargic she fell off a tree recently and barely hangs on in my hand. Hopefully she makes it to the vet.



Edit: The whitish residue is from the calcium water I tried to drop on her nose.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Perhaps the inflammation signaled an infection?

Have you been giving her the app calcium with D3 (probably) all along?

Be sure to bring these pictures to the vet's tomorrow.

How have you been keeping her hydrated? Maybe steam up your bathroom and have her in the bathroom???

 

[Fumbles]

I use zoo-med reptivite without D3. There's a 13 watt UVB 5.0 bulb inside the enclosure. Their resting spot is about 12-18 inches below the bulb. Setup and supplement has been the same since I've had the pair (3 years for the male, 2 for the female). Enclosure is 55 gallon tall.

All enclosures are misted for 30 seconds twice per day. It's always 80 - 100 humidity in them.

I did change the gutload in the crickets from Nature Zone Cricket Total Bites to romaine lettuce just a couple weeks ago, but I was told this wouldn't affect the geckos because I'm dusting and it also provides adequate hydration for the crickets.

I always dust the crickets with a 50/50 mix of the zoo-med "reptivite" and zoo-med "repti-calcium"


Edit: And as I wrote that post I see this: "Avoid kale, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, and romaine lettuce, however, because these greens contain an ingredient that prevents reptiles from absorbing calcium properly."

Great. Looks like I'm going back to the Total Bites.

 

[thorrshamri]

This is what I think. My opinion only, it needs to be confirmed by a qualified vet.
If you don't remove the hopping legs from insect feeders, the tiny spikes on crickets' hopping legs are sharp enough to cause some accidental damage. Not something common, but it does happen sometimes.
You mentionned an eye injury, then that jaw issue. Other feeders than crickets can cause this too, such as superworms for example or locusts; or else it could be a sharp twig somewhere in its enclosure.
I think there was first an infection behind the ocular globe, then the infection spread as a jaw abcess. Hence the coloration change you mentionned.
If this can be confirmed through a vet examination, your gecko needs appropriate antibiotics asap.
MBD would cause the jaw to be both deformed and more or less hanging, with weak muscular responses. An X-ray photo would confirm or deny the presence of MBD, but IMHO this is more likely an infection issue.
Browse the threads about anorexic geckos and sick geckos not eating, you will find several ways to feed your animal so that its overall condition does not decline even faster than it actually does

 

[Fumbles]

Regarding her eye - Any opinions on how to handle that? The last pic clearly shows how the middle of her "lens" is clear and seems to be attached but the outsides are curling in. I've read we should assist in the event of a bad shed but the eye is something I'm not enthused about taking dull tweezers to.

 

[thorrshamri]

DON'T try to remove it yourself. You will probably damage the cornea and cause a crack in it, which easily turns into an ulcer. Her damaged eye is probably one of the reasons of her inability to hunt prey and eat alone. Any vet specialized in eye problems can help on this. The accumulation of old shed on her eye won't make things easy, but there are adequate treatments for that sort of issue. Sending you a PM with an article.
EDIT: I can't send attached files here, PM me your e-mail address if you want the article.

 

[gnuisance]

Man I hope you get this sorted out. If you don't mind me asking where do you live and how did you find a good vet that can handle an animal this obscure?

 

[Fumbles]

Man...RIP little girl

She was so strong .. only a week ago she was great. The small lightish colored spot on her lip was only a mild concern. That spot grew into the infection I posted pictures of and I caught it too late. Of course I blame myself personally but fortunately things can be learned from this. I wasn't aware how fast a reptile can go downhill and there's a threshold where they seem to give up. Plus I should be more vigilant in examining them and watch any abnormality closer.

I was with her all night. I kept checking on her...when she started to fall off the tree I cupped her gently in my hands until she seizured and dropped her tail...then I put her in her cage for the final breaths. Found her this morning still clung to a tree - a more dignified position than upside down on the ground IMO.

Thanks everyone for your help on this and thorrshamri for PMing me that info on the eye. I'll probably be using D3 supplements and losing the high Kelvin UVB light. Also, no greens like romaine lettuce for gutloading crickets.

Super lame.

I'm sure some of the uro experts that saw this knew right away she was a on that decline.

Gnuisance - I asked the petshop where I got her about the vet. They don't sell uroplatus anymore but they do sell other exotic animals so I figured they'd know. In my area it was Dr. Thomas H. Boyer at the Pet Hospital of Penasquitos. The reptile exam base price was $35 for a new client so I thought that was more than reasonable. Without surgery I couldn't see antibiotics and tests costing more than a few hundred dollars.

Time to cancel the vet appt.

 

[gnuisance]

dang, sorry to hear that

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I am so very sorry for your loss.

Hope that you will be able to troubleshoot the causes :sad:

 

[cricket4u]

Man...RIP little girl

She was so strong .. only a week ago she was great. The small lightish colored spot on her lip was only a mild concern. That spot grew into the infection I posted pictures of and I caught it too late. Of course I blame myself personally but fortunately things can be learned from this. I wasn't aware how fast a reptile can go downhill and there's a threshold where they seem to give up. Plus I should be more vigilant in examining them and watch any abnormality closer.

I was with her all night. I kept checking on her...when she started to fall off the tree I cupped her gently in my hands until she seizured and dropped her tail...then I put her in her cage for the final breaths. Found her this morning still clung to a tree - a more dignified position than upside down on the ground IMO.

Thanks everyone for your help on this and thorrshamri for PMing me that info on the eye. I'll probably be using D3 supplements and losing the high Kelvin UVB light. Also, no greens like romaine lettuce for gutloading crickets.

Super lame.

I'm sure some of the uro experts that saw this knew right away she was a on that decline.

Gnuisance - I asked the petshop where I got her about the vet. They don't sell uroplatus anymore but they do sell other exotic animals so I figured they'd know. In my area it was Dr. Thomas H. Boyer at the Pet Hospital of Penasquitos. The reptile exam base price was $35 for a new client so I thought that was more than reasonable. Without surgery I couldn't see antibiotics and tests costing more than a few hundred dollars.

Time to cancel the vet appt.

Hi,

I have no experience with these species, however maybe a few suggestions can help the story from repeating itself? Perhaps providing a larger temp gradient and more than one humidity(within the higher range) option can make a difference? This will allow the gecko to choose in the future and allow very little room for error. Observing the gecko will help you determine what he/she prefers.

The symptoms you described along with convulsions or seizures can be a result of septicemia. Something to think about before you run and grab calcium.

May your little one rest in peace.

 

[miguel camacho!]

If I had to make a guess, I'd say there's some sort of serious bacterial infection going on there, if nothing else.

Are you saying that your UVB bulbs are 3 years old and you don't supplement with D3? UVB bulbs don't emit UVB continuously throughout their lives. There is a decline in the UVB output, and I've seen it recommended that you change your bulbs once every 6 months. Even then, I believe the bulbs only afford UVB exposure to objects within 18 inches or so.

Edit: whoops, didn't realize I missed anything beyond the first page.

 

[thorrshamri]

Sorry for your loss. Uroplatus are fragile geckos and losses are not uncommon at all. It happens to the best keepers of these strange-looking fellas.