I believe my gecko is dying..

LostTogether

New member
Do you want me to get the air temperature on both warm and cooler sides?

And I suppose its good that he ate; its not going to fill him up though.
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Do you want me to get the air temperature on both warm and cooler sides?

And I suppose its good that he ate; its not going to fill him up though.

It will be MUCH better for Porkchop to stick with crickets, not waxworms. :D

Yes, LostTogether, just like this:

Recommended temperatures for all leos regardless of size
88-93 F (31-34 C) ground temp at warm end inside the warm dry hide
no greater than 85 F (29.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
no greater than 75 F (24.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the cool end

Leave the UTH on 24/7. Turn off the overhead lighting/heating at night (~12 hours on and ~12 hours off) unless ambient room temperatures are particularly cool during the night.
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
LostTogether said:
General Health
If your gecko is sick, please describe the signs and how long your gecko has been showing these signs: Gout for over a month or two. Still has a slight mouth infection, has an eye infection also slightly still
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased? decreased
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased? depends. Decreased since last week
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight (loss gain): Loss
Discharge from the eyes or nose: No
Increased breathing rate or effort: Seems normal
Change in the droppings: No. They're more better now
Urates
---white or yellowish: White
---size of urates as compared to size of feces: Smaller
Abnormal skin color or shedding: No. But has a hard time shedding around the areas he has gout in
Parasites on the skin or in the feces: No
Weakness: ?

Are you still medicating Porkchop for his remaining mouth and eye infections?
 

LostTogether

New member
Ill make sure to check the temps when I get up.

Yes, the medicine I'm using in Enrofloxican (something like that). Its supposed to treat infections.

Porkchop has been sleeping all day. I stuck him in his moist hide (I made sure to spray first). He's been laying in there for 15 minutes now and hasn't really moved.

The thing is with his eye infection, if the antibiotic is supposed to treat it, he still keeps that eye closed no matter what. He sometimes opens his good eye too, but only when he's trying to get out of my hands.
 

Completeleopard

New member
LostTogether ,

When Leo's are severely stressed some will fight, others will just freeze and in this case it seems he is freezing and squeaking , I'd recommend not picking him up for a couple of days if not more.
 

LostTogether

New member
Well, he's been in his humid hide (I put him in there after soaking him) and he hasn't moved in an hour and a half. He's still breathing though.

And I can't check the air temps. The probe is just going to read the temperature of how warm the glass is.

I would definitely not have any heat on during the night. I'm always going to have a heat lamp on them.
 
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LostTogether

New member
He's starting to fill more limp when I pick him up and his eyes look a bit sunken in :( why could he just stay good and eat.. why did he have to stop eating again..? I'm scared again
 

LostTogether

New member
Okay, I managed to cram a tiny cricket into his mouth. He spit it out twice, and he tried to the third time, but I kept pushing it back into his mouth. I'm trying one more cricket so I can make sure I can go to bed without being scared to death about how I will find him in the morning.

One small cricket is better than nothing.

Its just sitting I'm the back of his throat. He hasn't swallowed it :<
I got another bigger cricket in his mouth. I also kept dabbing some water in the open crease of his mouth and he sucked it right in. That's enough feeding for him tonight; I don't want him to choke. Hopefully he'll swallow the food down and it'll get his system going again. He has 3 crickets in his system now. One from last Tuesday, and two from now.

As long as he eats, he'll be okay, right?
 
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Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
He's starting to fill more limp when I pick him up and his eyes look a bit sunken in :( why could he just stay good and eat.. why did he have to stop eating again..? I'm scared again

His tail hangs limp when I hold him too.. oh please no, I don't want him to die..

Okay, I managed to cram a tiny cricket into his mouth. He spit it out twice, and he tried to the third time, but I kept pushing it back into his mouth. I'm trying one more cricket so I can make sure I can go to bed without being scared to death about how I will find him in the morning.

One small cricket is better than nothing.

Its just sitting I'm the back of his throat. He hasn't swallowed it :<
I got another bigger cricket in his mouth. I also kept dabbing some water in the open crease of his mouth and he sucked it right in. That's enough feeding for him tonight; I don't want him to choke. Hopefully he'll swallow the food down and it'll get his system going again. He has 3 crickets in his system now. One from last Tuesday, and two from now.

As long as he eats, he'll be okay, right?

LostTogether ~

Of course you do not want Porkchop to choke. No good having crickets sitting in his mouth, if he won't swallow them.

Try gently massaging his throat to see whether that might help him swallow.

He's probably in pain. It might just be better to let him cross that Rainbow Bridge. I know this is very difficult.
 
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LostTogether

New member
He swallowed them after I massaged his throat a bit. He's back to sleeping now :\

If there is still a possibility that he can improve, I'm not going to put him down or let him die by himself. If there is nothing more that I could do for him, then ill decide. Just like when I brought him to the vet's two weeks ago. If I put him down that day, he wouldn't have gotten a chance to improve. He still lived and is living two weeks after. These two weeks would just have been a waste.my happiness when i saw him eat the first time in two weeks would have been for nothing.
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
He swallowed them after I massaged his throat a bit. He's back to sleeping now :\

If there is still a possibility that he can improve, I'm not going to put him down or let him die by himself. If there is nothing more that I could do for him, then ill decide. Just like when I brought him to the vet's two weeks ago. If I put him down that day, he wouldn't have gotten a chance to improve. He still lived and is living two weeks after. These two weeks would just have been a waste.my happiness when i saw him eat the first time in two weeks would have been for nothing.

Nice to hear he swallowed those 2 crickets after you gently massaged his throat.

Thing is, LostTogether, from what I understand the vet said there is little that can be done to improve his gout. You say his mouth and eye infections are not totally gone.

I believe that it is very important to look at life from Porkchop's viewpoint. Can he be comfortable living in pain with his limbs so bent and all? :-(
 

LostTogether

New member
If he doesn't improve even after I fed him, ill see how he's feeling.

And I'm not sure about what his mouth should look like. I never noticed the mouths rot. His eyes have been closed so I haven't gotten a good chance to see if the swelling had gone away. I was just assuming.
 

Completeleopard

New member
As Elizabeth said, look at it from Porkchop's viewpoint :

Struggles to walk as the gout is most likely causing pain.

Very tired and lethargic, keeps eyes closed

Mouth rot - hurts to chew/ hurts all the time

Eye infection is irritating / hurting to open eyes

I know it is hard to put Porkchop down, but sometimes, it is the kindest thing to do
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
If he doesn't improve even after I fed him, ill see how he's feeling.

And I'm not sure about what his mouth should look like. I never noticed the mouths rot. His eyes have been closed so I haven't gotten a good chance to see if the swelling had gone away. I was just assuming.

I see.

Porkchop's mouth should look pink and "healthy" with no lesions of any kind. Did he finish his mouth and eye medications?
 
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