?Impacted leopard gecko

[dolphin_ac]

Hi all,

I have an 8 month male leopard gecko that I received from a breeder 2 months ago, and had been raised exclusively on mealworms. He is in a 30 gallon long tank, with an underpad heater and heat lamp on one side. His substrate is slate tile. Warm side is about 34 degrees, cool side is 27 - 28 degrees. He has 3 hides, one on each side and a moist one in the middle that gets misted daily. He is generally a good eater, eating about 6 - 11 mealworms a day, with an occasional silkworm or wax worm weekly. He has calcium only in his tank 24/7, and his food is dusted with vitamins once a week, and calcium with or without D3 3 times a week. I'm getting worried because he hasn't pooed since August 9, and hasn't peed since August 11. I've tried a warm bath for 15 minutes last night with no success. He has only eaten a few mealworms the last 2 days, but I think that's because he hasn't been able to poo. He is still very active. This morning I found him in his food bowl legs apart looking like he was trying to go but unable to. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[mecoat]

Have you tried rubbing his belly (from nose to tail)? Or had a look at his underside, the skin is a bit thin on the belly so you might be able to see if there's a dark blob? Does he have a water bowl too?

 

[dolphin_ac]

Hi mecoat,
I'll try the rubbing his belly tonight. When I looked last night I could make out a small dark line. He does have a water bowl that is changed daily, and I have seen him use it, but not recently.

 

[mecoat]

I find that having him stand on your non-dominant arm allows you to get your finger under his belly quite easily. (Non-dominant as you have more dexterity in your dominant hand for finger control.) Gentle strokes should work (of course if it does work, be aware he might go all over you!).
I asked about the water bowl, as I didn't see you mention it, and just wanted to check he had plenty of access to water, which it appears he does, so can (probably) rule out dehydration.
Not sure a line is impaction, perhaps a picture when you get him out tonight?

 

[dolphin_ac]

Will post picture tonight. Thanks a lot for the tip! I will be very happy if I get poop on my arm!

 

[mecoat]

Will post picture tonight. Thanks a lot for the tip! I will be very happy if I get poop on my arm!

Wow, you must be really worried. It won't just be on your arm though. Mine pood on me once, and it's quite wet when it comes out, and it almost exploded on me (bounced onto the floor, small shower of water...) Don't wear your favourite clothes is all I'm saying.

Also make sure your hand and arm are nice and warm before you start - cold hands will probably not help.

Good luck

 

[dolphin_ac]

I tried a 10 minute warm soak followed by a belly rub tonight, so we'll see if that helps out. He ate 1 silkworm and 2 mealworms this evening, so I'm not worried about his appetite. He's also still very active. Thanks again for your input.

 

[cricket4u]

Hi,

There's a good chance he is not defecating simply because he's not eating much. You mentioned he only ate a few mealworms within the last few days, his tummy looks clear and he's active. He's also eating which is unlikely with impaction. He's probably wondering what is your problem rubbing his belly.:biggrin: If he doesn't defecate within 2 days then there may be a problem. If he does not perhaps it will be best to fill out the health questionnaire.

http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...68527-helping-your-sick-gecko-read-first.html

He may be sitting in the food dish for other reasons. Can you post a picture of the enclosure?

Correction- Sorry, I don't use dishes for food with reptiles which I only feed insects to. I see dish, I think water.

 

[dolphin_ac]

Hi Cricket4u,

Thanks for your reply. I was only worried because he hasn't pooed since the 9th, and he was eating fine.... 12 mealworms on the 10th and 12th and 4 yesterday. I'll give it some more time though.
Thanks!

 

[cricket4u]

You're welcome. I added a question to the post.

mealworms on the 10th and 12th and 4 yesterday. This amount is actually not as much as it sounds. He's at at age in which he will begin slowing down. A lot of it goes to the tail. I can tell by his body condition. Do you have a thermostat controlling the UTH? What's the air temp in the warm end? Humidity?

I suggest that you begin to make changes to his diet especially at this age. I would feed more cricket, less mealworms, roaches, silkworms, hornworms, phoenix worms, butterworms(not a favorite) and delete the waxworms.

 

[dolphin_ac]

There is a thermostat controlling the UTH. There is also a heat lamp. I use a digital temp probe, and the ground temp at the warm side is 34 degrees, ground temp at the cool side is 28 degrees. I don't actually measure the air temp at the warm side, I do have a thermometer on the tank at the cool side, which shows 26 degrees. Humidity is 45 - 50. I have 2 reptile stores nearby, so no shortage of specialty worms like silks, hornworms, or butter worms. I would rather stick with a variety of worms then start him on crickets if I can. I thought at 8 months he was still a juvenile, so is it normal for him to be slowing down his eating already? View attachment 24800View attachment 24801

 

[GeckoManiac91]

There is a thermostat controlling the UTH. There is also a heat lamp. I use a digital temp probe, and the ground temp at the warm side is 34 degrees, ground temp at the cool side is 28 degrees. I don't actually measure the air temp at the warm side, I do have a thermometer on the tank at the cool side, which shows 26 degrees. Humidity is 45 - 50. I have 2 reptile stores nearby, so no shortage of specialty worms like silks, hornworms, or butter worms. I would rather stick with a variety of worms then start him on crickets if I can. I thought at 8 months he was still a juvenile, so is it normal for him to be slowing down his eating already? View attachment 24800View attachment 24801

Crickets really are the best staple diet especially with being in Canada and roaches being illegal. Mealworms just aren't that healthy, they have too much fat for being a staple. One thing I don't like about worms is they don't stimulate the gecko really. Worms pretty much stay in one place and wiggle. Crickets move causing the gecko to have to chase them and actually work for their food and get some excersice.

Mealworms are also tougher to digest because of their exoskeleton and can cause impaction. Clearly you know how bad impaction can be because you started a thread about it

I'm not saying dont ever use mealworms, I myself use them once every two weeks but that's all. For sure try variety through all the other sorts of worms Cricket mentioned but put some thoughts into crickets as a staple diet

 

[cricket4u]

The pictures did not show up.

The cool side should not exceed 25. Start monitoring the air temp on the warm side. It should be no higher than 30. You will have to connect the bulb to a rheostat.

Where does he spend most of his time?

 

[dolphin_ac]

Hi Cricket,

It's difficult to get the cool side of the tank lower than what it is already. I'm not putting any extra heat on that side. I'll pick up a rheostat for my bulb. He spends his day in his log on the cool side of the tank mostly (I think, as I'm at work) and in the evening he's in his warm hide and staying on the warm side of the tank. Will try to repost pics.

I like to drop a few mealworms in front of him so he chases them, then put the rest in the dish overnight.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

He has calcium only in his tank 24/7, and his food is dusted with vitamins once a week, and calcium with or without D3 3 times a week.

Good on the plain calcium in his tank (for backup only).

Seems like you could be overdoing the calcium with D3 and vitamins. Please tell us the brands, frequency of each, and whether your multivitamin contains vitamin D3.

 

[cricket4u]

He spends his day in his log on the cool side of the tank mostly (I think, as I'm at work) and

What's the room temperature? This must be corrected or your gecko can become dehydrated and it's also very stressful for your gecko.

 

[dolphin_ac]

Seems like you could be overdoing the calcium with D3 and vitamins. Please tell us the brands, frequency of each, and whether your multivitamin contains vitamin D3.[/QUOTE]



I use Reptivite with D3 once a week, and exo terra calcium 3 times a week, exo terra calcium with D3 once a week. He used to eat 10 - 15 mealworms a day but started eating less by first week in August.
Cricket, with the ground temp on the warm side at 34 degrees, I figured the air temp was probably around 30. Room temperature is about 24 degrees. UTH takes up 1/3 tank. Vet also suggested I use UVB for 10 - 12 hours during the day.

 

[GeckoManiac91]

View attachment 24818 View attachment 24819
I use Reptivite with D3 once a week, and exo terra calcium 3 times a week, exo terra calcium with D3 once a week. He used to eat 10 - 15 mealworms a day but started eating less by first week in August.
Cricket, with the ground temp on the warm side at 34 degrees, I figured the air temp was probably around 30. Room temperature is about 24 degrees. UTH takes up 1/3 tank. Vet also suggested I use UVB for 10 - 12 hours during the day.

Your air temperatures should be measured 4inches above the substrate. Exo-Terra products aren't really the best IMO. Try the Reptivite with D3 once a week and then Zoo-Med Calcium with D3 once a week.

Not sure what I think about using UVB in that size enclosure. I have no experience with it so I'll let someone else weigh in on it it just seems too small.