My leopard gecko is acting ill

[the haunt]

hi I was just wondering if my leopard gecko sounds healthy. she is a female, aged just over 1 year now im guessing I've had her since September and not much has changed except its gotten a bit warmer. she has a warm hide which has a underneath a tank exo-terra heat matt ( I will soon replace this as the temperatures don't reach what they say on the dial, they only reach 25 degrees C at max) she has a spagmoss humid cave which is quite cool, and a cool cave, she has a bowl of meal worms and water in her tank which I top up and empty out often, her flooring is leopard gecko carpeting, she is cleaned out once a weak and the carpet is washed and switched, she also has some plastic plants and a small wooden arc to climb.

her behaviour seems strange...

she spends a lot of time in the humid cave which is hidden by the wooden arc for privacy so she isn't in the warm cave for more then 50% of the time, this means she is mostly cold, is this a matter of privacy? or is this normal? if I move the wooden arc over the warm hide would she prefer it? (yes im replacing the heat matt as its a few degrees C off for her)


her eating habits seem lacking, she always has a bowl of mealworms but inly eats one or 2 if set in front of her, she never goes to the bowl and takes them it seems, she also never drinks but im guessing the humid cave sorts that out. I feed her size 4 crickets occasionally dusted with calcium powder, when I fed her the other day she stalked it as geckos do then when she got in range she examined it, nudged it with her nose a few times and walked away, does this mean they weren't big enough? if so do I need to buy the next size up?

she has a little greyish/ whiteish shiny smooth scales on the tip of her nose, hard to see, it looks out of place on her and it looks like damaged scales.

I also sometimes buy wax worms once a month which she always eats, I only feed her 3 at max per week for 2 weeks

I don't know the measurements of the tank but its seems the right size for her and was recommended but may be a little bit stuffy, I would like to avoid taking pictures as it takes a long amount of time to get them onto my laptop but I will do if needed.

please tell me if she is ill or just the way geckos act sometimes

btw her name is treecko

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I will soon replace this as the temperatures don't reach what they say on the dial, they only reach 25 degrees C at max) she has a spagmoss humid cave which is quite cool, and a cool cave

Hi ~

I see your post above. Please complete GU's Health Questionnaire even if you've already shared some things. Then we can see it all in one post in an easy form.

Please post pictures of Treecko and her enclosure. That's the best way we can assist.

25 C max is way too cool. At those temperatures Treecko will be unable to digest her food.

• Both the warm dry and warm humid hides belong on the warm end of the enclosure.
• Get an UTH that is 1/2 the area of the tank's floor right away.
• Recommend an Ultratherm UTH. Smallest Ultratherm is 11x11 inches. Zoo Med sells a 8 x 12 inch UTH.
• Get a digital thermometer with a probe. Analog (circle) thermometers can be way off.

Recommended temperatures for all leopard geckos regardless of size
88-93 F (31-34 C) floor/ground temperature right underneath a leo's warm dry hide
no greater than 85 F (29.5 C) air temperature - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
no greater than 75 F (24.5 C) air temperature - 4 inches above ground on the cool end

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

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Please note my post above.

Copy & paste this HQ into a separate thread, then answer. All husbandry is related.

The Basic Information highlights areas that tend to contribute most to many gecko problems. The Additional Information is useful as well. Please do your best to fill in as much as you can. High quality pictures are very helpful.

Basic Information
Species of lizard:
Gecko's name:
Morph:
Gender:
Age:
Weight:

Enclosure dimensions (length x width x height):
Substrate provided:

What type and brand of thermometer (digital with probe, temperature gun, LCD strip, analog (circle), combo digital thermometer/hygrometer, stainless steel aquarium type, other):
What is the ground temperature right on the substrate under the warm dry hide:
What is the air temperature on the warm end about 4 inches up from the ground:
What is the air temperature on the cool end about 4 inches up from the ground:
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature (Under Tank Heater, heat light, Ceramic Heat Emitter, Flexwatt heat tape, hot rock, other):

Insects and worms, list type:
Regular diet fed to the insects:
Regular diet fed to the worms:

How often do you feed your gecko?
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often?

If your gecko is sick, please describe the signs and how long your gecko has been showing these signs:


Additional Information

General
Gecko's total length:
Length of your reptile when you first acquired it:
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner):
Captive bred or wild caught:

Vivarium
Number of hides:
Location of hides:
Is there a humidity hide? location?
Please describe any other furnishings:
List recent changes in the environment, if any:

Lighting
Artificial lighting
Incandescent or compact fluorescents: wattages:
Fluorescent (tubes):
Access to ambient daylight from a distant window:

Heating
Ventilation space for your UTH by elevating the tank above the shelf (some UTHs come with sticky feet for the tank corners):
Are you using a thermostat(s)?
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time?
Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much?

Humidity
Is the humidity measured?
Humidity range:

Diet
Are the insects and worms formally “gutloaded” 1-2 days prior to feeding off to your gecko? If so with?
What calcium brand are you using? with D3, without or both?
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without?
Multivitamins (include brand name)?
Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet:

General Health
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased?
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased?
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight (loss or gain):
Discharge from the eyes or nose:
Increased breathing rate or effort:
Change in the droppings:
Urates
---white or yellowish:
---size of urates as compared to size of feces:
Abnormal skin color or shedding:
Parasites on the skin or in the feces:
Weakness:
Regurgitation:

Previous problems and/or illnesses

Other Critters in Same Cage or in Household
List other animals that are kept in the same cage:
Recent acquisitions (new pets within the past 6 months):
Are any of your other pets ill?

 

[the haunt]

Species of lizard: leopard gecko
Gecko's name: treecko
Morph: regular im guessing
Gender: female
Age: just over 1 year
Weight: how do I weigh a gecko?

Enclosure dimensions (length x width x height):
Substrate provided: reptile carpet

What type and brand of thermometer (digital with probe, temperature gun, LCD strip, analog (circle), combo digital thermometer/hygrometer, stainless steel aquarium type, other): exo terra digital air thermometer reader probed against the carpet where the heat matt is.
What is the ground temperature right on the substrate under the warm dry hide: 20-25.5C
What is the air temperature on the warm end about 4 inches up from the ground: 20C
What is the air temperature on the cool end about 4 inches up from the ground: unsure but last time I checked 15C
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature (Under Tank Heater, heat light, Ceramic Heat Emitter, Flexwatt heat tape, hot rock, other): exoterra small heatwave desert matt undertank

Insects and worms, list type: mealworms, wax worms on occasion, hoppers/ brown crickets
Regular diet fed to the insects:4 brown crickets, 3rd hoppers
Regular diet fed to the worms: constant supply

How often do you feed your gecko? every 2-4 days depending on quantity in the tank
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often? calci dust sometime dusted onto meal/ wax worms and crickets

If your gecko is sick, please describe the signs and how long your gecko has been showing these signs:
cold
usually not in warmside
stalks food but doesn't strike it instead nudges it
never goes to mealworm bowl


Additional Information

General
Gecko's total length:
Length of your reptile when you first acquired it:unkown
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner)ets at home
Captive bred or wild caught: unkown- rescued

Vivarium
Number of hides: 3
Location of hides: humid cave half over heatmat, normal cave over heatmat, cool cave opposite corner of heatmat

Please describe any other furnishings: fake plastic plant, water and mealworm bowl, a row of bendy thick sticks and drift would that has been soaked in boiling water and sanded by me
List recent changes in the environment, if any: drift wood added

Lighting
Artificial lighting none
Incandescent or compact fluorescents: wattages: none
Fluorescent (tubes): none
Access to ambient daylight from a distant window: please view picture

Heating
Ventilation space for your UTH by elevating the tank above the shelf (some UTHs come with sticky feet for the tank corners):
Are you using a thermostat(s)?
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time? humid- which is cold
Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much? decreased by 2C at most

Humidity
Is the humidity measured? no
Humidity range:

Diet
Are the insects and worms formally “gutloaded” 1-2 days prior to feeding off to your gecko? If so with? sometimes with a random veg/ fruit eg apple, banana, carrot, lettuce
What calcium brand are you using? with D3, without or both?
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without? prorep (sample only)
Multivitamins (include brand name)?
Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet: trying with hoppers

General Health
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased? decreased
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased? decreased
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight (loss or gain): no
Discharge from the eyes or nose:no
Increased breathing rate or effort:no
Change in the droppings: no
Urates
---white or yellowish:
---size of urates as compared to size of feces: urates?
Abnormal skin color or shedding:
Parasites on the skin or in the feces: no
Weakness: no
Regurgitation: no

 

[the haunt]

ill provide a picture in a second

 

[the haunt]

 

[the haunt]

 

[the haunt]

 

[the haunt]

 

[the haunt]

If your gecko is sick, please describe the signs and how long your gecko has been showing these signs:

ive answered as many as I can

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

What type and brand of thermometer (digital with probe, temperature gun, LCD strip, analog (circle), combo digital thermometer/hygrometer, stainless steel aquarium type, other): exo terra digital air thermometer reader probed against the carpet where the heat matt is.
What is the ground temperature right on the substrate under the warm dry hide: 20-25.5C
What is the air temperature on the warm end about 4 inches up from the ground: 20C
What is the air temperature on the cool end about 4 inches up from the ground: unsure but last time I checked 15C
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature (Under Tank Heater, heat light, Ceramic Heat Emitter, Flexwatt heat tape, hot rock, other): exoterra small heatwave desert matt undertank

Please read my post #2 above. Your temperatures are alarmingly low.

• Please buy an UTH that takes up 1/2 the ground space of your enclosure or customize the heating with Flexwatt heat tape/cables.
• Please remove the crickets/hoppers after maybe an hour. Free range insects left in the tank 24/7 can nibble on your gecko.
• Urates are attached to the feces and about 1/3-1/2 the size. Healthy urates are pure white.
• Does your ProRep (Calci Dust ?) contain vitamin D3?

I'll try to touch bases later today.

 

[the haunt]

Please read my post #2 above. Your temperatures are alarmingly low.

• Please buy an UTH that takes up 1/2 the ground space of your enclosure or customize the heating with Flexwatt heat tape/cables.
• Please remove the crickets/locusts after maybe an hour. Free range insects left in the tank 24/7 can nibble on your gecko.
• Urates are attached to the feces and about 1/3-1/2 the size. Healthy urates are pure white.
• Does your ProRep (Calci Dust ?) contain vitamin D3?

I'll try to touch bases later today.

its only a test pouch so it has no other information on it about D3. the urates are orangey green

 

[the haunt]

HELP! orangey green urates only

my leo is passing orangey green urates, always has, and poop, the urates are half the size but ive heard urates are supposed to be white, do I need to feed her calci dust?

 

[the haunt]

hi what I have done now is do a full clean of the tank with reptile friendly cleaner and everything in it, washed the carpets in the washing machine no detergent , bought some calcium powder and vitamins with D3 and mixed them and placed them in a cleaned pringles lid in the tank, bought a small UV light and placed it over the warm hide and put the probe inside the hid making it 33C average I also gut loaded mealworms with lettuce with calcium rubbed on it, i'll see if she improves, she has also started shedding. thanks for assisting me

Please read my post #2 above. Your temperatures are alarmingly low.

• Please buy an UTH that takes up 1/2 the ground space of your enclosure or customize the heating with Flexwatt heat tape/cables.
• Please remove the crickets/locusts after maybe an hour. Free range insects left in the tank 24/7 can nibble on your gecko.
• Urates are attached to the feces and about 1/3-1/2 the size. Healthy urates are pure white.
• Does your ProRep (Calci Dust ?) contain vitamin D3?

I'll try to touch bases later today.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

my leo is passing orangey green urates, always has, and poop, the urates are half the size but ive heard urates are supposed to be white, do I need to feed her calci dust?

I would get a fecal done right away. I cannot tell you why the urates are like that.

#2---Fecal Sample Collection Procedure
My exotics vet recommends:

1. Place a piece of clean plastic where your leo usually poops. If your gecko poops somewhere else, take the poop to the vet anyway. Some poop is better than no poop! (Thanks to TheOneBlueGecko - 25 July 2011)

2. As soon as your gecko has passed some poop and urates, but without physically touching the sample, place the feces and urates directly onto a clean plastic bottle cap. (Vet has fecal sample containers if you can stop by first.)

3. Then place the bottle cap with fecal sample directly into a plastic ziploc bag. (Do NOT use paper towels or newspaper because those will absorb some of the feces necessary for a proper culture.)

4. Refrigerate this sample...unless you are taking the sample to your vet immediately. Do NOT freeze it.

5. Keep the sample cool enroute to the vet.

6. Take this fecal sample to your vet within 24 hours of collecting...the sooner the better!


[There are two types of fecals: direct smear and fecal float tests. For geckos, ask the vet whether both tests should be run.]

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

my leo is passing orangey green urates, always has, and poop, the urates are half the size but ive heard urates are supposed to be white, do I need to feed her calci dust?

#105---Yellow Urates: Potential Causes......January 2015
Contributed by a vet who also keeps leopard geckos:

"Urate color depends upon things like diet, health, et cetera. Generally urates are very white. More pigmented (especially green) urates can indicate an issue. It is possible that if the animal has not passed stool or urates for some time there can be a little staining of the urate portion of the waste products. I also think that this is sometimes the case if the stool is loose. Then there is a greater chance for pigments to bleed from feces to urates. If it is just little off-color I would keep an eye on it and if it is infrequent I wouldn’t worry. If we are talking dark yellow or green that's biliverdin and it implies that there is something more serious going on.

Reptiles lack an enzyme called biliverdin reductase that allows them to convert biliverdin to bilirubin (as mammals do). So their bile is green. If the liver cannot handle removing it from the bloodstream efficiently, levels can exceed the renal threshold and spill into the urates. That would result in the urates being a greenish yellow to green color. What confounds this is that there's some mixing of feces and urine/urates in the cloaca so that some fecal pigments can stain the urates a light yellow color."

 

[the haunt]

I should say that she is also pooing fine the sizes are correct compared to urates and is now eating fine, im hoping it could be a lack of calcium and other vitamins and heat. which now I have fixed will improve, she is also already more active.

#105---Yellow Urates: Potential Causes......January 2015
Contributed by a vet who also keeps leopard geckos:

"Urate color depends upon things like diet, health, et cetera. Generally urates are very white. More pigmented (especially green) urates can indicate an issue. It is possible that if the animal has not passed stool or urates for some time there can be a little staining of the urate portion of the waste products. I also think that this is sometimes the case if the stool is loose. Then there is a greater chance for pigments to bleed from feces to urates. If it is just little off-color I would keep an eye on it and if it is infrequent I wouldn’t worry. If we are talking dark yellow or green that's biliverdin and it implies that there is something more serious going on.

Reptiles lack an enzyme called biliverdin reductase that allows them to convert biliverdin to bilirubin (as mammals do). So their bile is green. If the liver cannot handle removing it from the bloodstream efficiently, levels can exceed the renal threshold and spill into the urates. That would result in the urates being a greenish yellow to green color. What confounds this is that there's some mixing of feces and urine/urates in the cloaca so that some fecal pigments can stain the urates a light yellow color."

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

its only a test pouch so it has no other information on it about D3. the urates are orangey green

Pro-Rep Calci Dust is 100% pure calcium carbonate.

my leo is passing orangey green urates, always has, and poop, the urates are half the size but ive heard urates are supposed to be white, do I need to feed her calci dust?

Calcium may have nothing to do with urate color. You are correct. Healthy urates ARE white.

Orangey green urates are abnormal. Most of us are not vets. I'd get a sample of her feces to a vet soon. Could be easily treated. If it is not treated it could get even worse.

hi what I have done now is do a full clean of the tank with reptile friendly cleaner and everything in it, washed the carpets in the washing machine no detergent , bought some calcium powder and vitamins with D3 and mixed them and placed them in a cleaned pringles lid in the tank, bought a small UV light and placed it over the warm hide and put the probe inside the hid making it 33C average I also gut loaded mealworms with lettuce with calcium rubbed on it, i'll see if she improves, she has also started shedding. thanks for assisting me

Your welcome about the assist part!

Sometimes a thorough cleaning with a 10% bleach solution kills parasites better.

• What brand and type of calcium, D3, and multivitamins did you buy?
• Please remove ALL powdered supplements from the tank. Too much chance of overdose. Powdered supplements are meant to be lightly dusted regularly, not all the time. Calcium needs to be taken with food for proper absorption.
• UV light? What brand, type, and strength? Leos eyes are super sensitive to bright lights!
• I recommend a CHE (ceramic heat emitter). That emits only heat, no light.
• Are you planning to upgrade your very small under tank heat mat? Your leo will be more comfortable and active if you do.
• Lettuce lacks any nutrition for your mealworms, hoppers, or crickets. On the other hand collard greens and pesticide-free dandelion flowers/greens are great sources of calcium. However, the bugs and worms need protein, fat, and other nutrients as well.

I should say that she is also pooing fine the sizes are correct compared to urates and is now eating fine, im hoping it could be a lack of calcium and other vitamins and heat. which now I have fixed will improve, she is also already more active.

To weigh Treecko get a digital kitchen-type scales that weighs in grams as well as ounces.

I strongly recommend having a vet check out your leo especially because of the orangey green urates.

Click here for nutritious ways to feed your crickets, hoppers, and mealworms: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...-feeding-issues/68574-cricket-guidelines.html

Since you live in the UK, I'd recommend Zoo Med's Natural Adult Bearded Dragon Food for your feeders, instead of any poultry feed.