Hi all,
I've been reading the forum for several months now, and figure it is time to come in from lurkdom. Admittedly, the more I read, the more convinced I am that dumb luck has kept our girls in reasonable condition.
Labor Day weekend 2012 we picked out two older juvenile females at the Reptile Expo in our area. We chose the Expo versus PetSmart or PetCo because I wanted to be sure of the sex of the geckos and to avoid some of the pet shop pitfalls. I also wanted to talk with people who have expertise with geckos versus a care sheet that they quote from. These are our first reptiles, and we did a little research, but as it has become clear to me, not enough research before getting them.
Speedie caught my son's eye first - as she paced in her display box and appeared to be intrigued by all that was going on around her. What I now realize is that instead of seeing a curious gecko, we were watching a very stressed gecko in action - she spent the next two months in hiding and went on a hunger strike for about a week after we brought her home. She weighed in at 17 grams the first time we weighed her. (Now 63 grams and overweight)
Goldie was picked because my son liked her coloring - and this is where, in hindsight, more experience would have helped us. What we did not notice was a slight underbite and a growth/swelling on a hind leg. We have monitored both, and there has been no change, the swelling looks a little smaller. She also has multiple missing toes which I assume is from her frequent and inefficient shedding - she sheds like clockwork about every 10 days. She weighed in at 27 grams when we brought her home and was a good eater. (Now 53 grams an a bit underweight)
I asked the kids at the booth if the difference in size was going to be an issue (Speedie was the only one available in her size range - I would guess she is a month or two younger than Goldie) and they assured me they were close enough in size that it was fine. Looking back, I think they were wrong... I also know now that I imposed my feelings on the need for Speedie to have a companion and that she would have been perfectly happy alone.
So fast forward a year - both are eating regularly - Goldie prefers tongs and Speedie to have the mealworm placed in front of her. Neither showed an interest in crickets and I spent more time chasing the crickets to get them back out of the tank so that they wouldn't bother the girls that the crickets were dying well before they were eaten. We have recently re-introduced crickets to their diet and Speedie is showing interest in hunting.
Goldie spends most of her time in the moist hide (moss in a rubbermaid box) and unfortunately this led to us missing a problem. We started to notice her squinting one eye in the late fall. Her appetite and energy were high, so we didn't pay too much attention to it, figuring it would go away (mistake).
In January, she was having noticeable problems shedding, and I noticed a weight loss as well, thinner tail but not horribly so just a little less bulgy. I started reading up on what might be behind the squinting and realized we probably had an eye infection on our hands. Happily, my vet practice (Corgis) recently hired a reptile specialist so we didn't have to find a completely new vet practice.
Dr. L agreed that there is an eye infection and suspects something systemic as well. She helped to remove several layers of shed from the eye taught me how to help Goldie as well. For the past month we have been administering eye drops multiple times a day, syringe feeding with Carnivore Care, saunas/soaks - were daily but have reduced in frequency as she was getting stressed and after the most recent visit injecting with an antibiotic every third day. She is still shedding every 10 days, but we are helping her with the shed so that she is not getting it stuck on her face and toes anymore.
Goldie is gaining weight again, starting to show interest in crickets (prefers them from my fingers but will watch them and follow their movement - so I know she has some vision restored). Her tail is plumping out nicely. She is definitely my special needs girl. Knowing what I know now, she probably should not have been offered for sale to a rank amateur.
For our first vet visit, Speedie went along for the ride. Dr. L commented that Goldie was on the thin side, but not dangerously so and that Speedie is obese (now on a diet). We discussed what ideal body condition should be and have a target to shoot for - in the middle of the two of them.
We have our fourth eye appointment on Friday - though the incoming storm may necessitate that being rescheduled. We have also had an unofficial "take your lizard to work day" as I did not have time to take her home after our second visit - this will be repeated on Friday if we are not iced in. She has quite a following at my office now.
I'll post pictures soon. Have to figure out the best way to do so.
Cheers, K
I've been reading the forum for several months now, and figure it is time to come in from lurkdom. Admittedly, the more I read, the more convinced I am that dumb luck has kept our girls in reasonable condition.
Labor Day weekend 2012 we picked out two older juvenile females at the Reptile Expo in our area. We chose the Expo versus PetSmart or PetCo because I wanted to be sure of the sex of the geckos and to avoid some of the pet shop pitfalls. I also wanted to talk with people who have expertise with geckos versus a care sheet that they quote from. These are our first reptiles, and we did a little research, but as it has become clear to me, not enough research before getting them.
Speedie caught my son's eye first - as she paced in her display box and appeared to be intrigued by all that was going on around her. What I now realize is that instead of seeing a curious gecko, we were watching a very stressed gecko in action - she spent the next two months in hiding and went on a hunger strike for about a week after we brought her home. She weighed in at 17 grams the first time we weighed her. (Now 63 grams and overweight)
Goldie was picked because my son liked her coloring - and this is where, in hindsight, more experience would have helped us. What we did not notice was a slight underbite and a growth/swelling on a hind leg. We have monitored both, and there has been no change, the swelling looks a little smaller. She also has multiple missing toes which I assume is from her frequent and inefficient shedding - she sheds like clockwork about every 10 days. She weighed in at 27 grams when we brought her home and was a good eater. (Now 53 grams an a bit underweight)
I asked the kids at the booth if the difference in size was going to be an issue (Speedie was the only one available in her size range - I would guess she is a month or two younger than Goldie) and they assured me they were close enough in size that it was fine. Looking back, I think they were wrong... I also know now that I imposed my feelings on the need for Speedie to have a companion and that she would have been perfectly happy alone.
So fast forward a year - both are eating regularly - Goldie prefers tongs and Speedie to have the mealworm placed in front of her. Neither showed an interest in crickets and I spent more time chasing the crickets to get them back out of the tank so that they wouldn't bother the girls that the crickets were dying well before they were eaten. We have recently re-introduced crickets to their diet and Speedie is showing interest in hunting.
Goldie spends most of her time in the moist hide (moss in a rubbermaid box) and unfortunately this led to us missing a problem. We started to notice her squinting one eye in the late fall. Her appetite and energy were high, so we didn't pay too much attention to it, figuring it would go away (mistake).
In January, she was having noticeable problems shedding, and I noticed a weight loss as well, thinner tail but not horribly so just a little less bulgy. I started reading up on what might be behind the squinting and realized we probably had an eye infection on our hands. Happily, my vet practice (Corgis) recently hired a reptile specialist so we didn't have to find a completely new vet practice.
Dr. L agreed that there is an eye infection and suspects something systemic as well. She helped to remove several layers of shed from the eye taught me how to help Goldie as well. For the past month we have been administering eye drops multiple times a day, syringe feeding with Carnivore Care, saunas/soaks - were daily but have reduced in frequency as she was getting stressed and after the most recent visit injecting with an antibiotic every third day. She is still shedding every 10 days, but we are helping her with the shed so that she is not getting it stuck on her face and toes anymore.
Goldie is gaining weight again, starting to show interest in crickets (prefers them from my fingers but will watch them and follow their movement - so I know she has some vision restored). Her tail is plumping out nicely. She is definitely my special needs girl. Knowing what I know now, she probably should not have been offered for sale to a rank amateur.
For our first vet visit, Speedie went along for the ride. Dr. L commented that Goldie was on the thin side, but not dangerously so and that Speedie is obese (now on a diet). We discussed what ideal body condition should be and have a target to shoot for - in the middle of the two of them.
We have our fourth eye appointment on Friday - though the incoming storm may necessitate that being rescheduled. We have also had an unofficial "take your lizard to work day" as I did not have time to take her home after our second visit - this will be repeated on Friday if we are not iced in. She has quite a following at my office now.
I'll post pictures soon. Have to figure out the best way to do so.
Cheers, K
