Merianna
New member
Hello everyone 
I thought I would share with you how I stimulate the bowels of my leopard geckos and most animals in the shelter I work. Now I am not saying I know everything, and if you feel as if what I'm saying is incorrect please feel free to tell me because I would highly appreciate whatever tips and tricks and corrections you may offer, to help us all save our beloved leos. So my main point of this is to give to you the information I have regarding stimulating bowel movement in leopard geckos and successfully (hopefully) getting your leo to poo and pee!
Warm Soak Method:
The warm soak is highly regarded as important if your gecko is displaying symptoms of constipation or digestion issues. This is relatively an easy treatment to do, all you'll need is some warm water and a shallow bucket type tupperware thingy. You're only going to want a few oz of the warm water, definitely just enough just to submerge the belly, no more, no less. I know that getting your leo into the water is a hassle, and my god, it takes a while sometimes. Please just be patient, as this may really help your gecko.
So what you'll need to do:
1. Pour some warm water into your shallow container (just warm, we are warm blooded so warm to us is significantly warmer to a cold blooded animal. That being said, try to have the temperature a bit above room temperature, or a bit warmer than lukewarm, warm on the brink of being hot, but not hot water. You don't want to burn your leo!) Also, it can not be cold, do not use cold water. Cold water will most likely harm your gecko, and slow digestion down instead of speeding the process up.
2. Patiently put your leo into the water whilst holding onto them to make sure they do not struggle and aspirate water. It is important to make sure the leo does not inhale any of the water, and believe me, they put up a struggle sometimes, but they calm down fast after being in for a few seconds. Just be compassionate and patient, your baby needs you to do this for them if they are having tummy issues.
3. Keep your leo's tummy submerged in the water for about ten to twenty minutes.
This is an important step, you do not want to keep them in too long, because they will risk getting sick from all the moist humidity, plus the water will cool pretty fast so anything after twenty minutes is pushing it. Taking them out after only 4-5 minutes will not be fully effective in getting the digestion moving, so ten to twenty (I'd say fifteen or ten!) will suffice greatly.
4. Do this once or twice a day for a few days or a week, if it helps continue a bit after. If it doesn't then refer to other methods or contact a veterinarian immediately. Impaction and tummy issues suck, and the faster you can diagnose it the faster it can be fixed.
Mineral Oil Method:
The mineral oil/olive oil method is pretty straightforward. Dab a couple drops of mineral oil onto your leo's nose (don't let it get on the nostrils!) or olive oil, once or twice a day preferably right before or after feeding to try and coat the food down. The logic behind this is that the oils will help move any blockages and impactions in the belly and work as a mini laxative to clear the intestines. Obviously don't feed your leo too much of these things, as leo's are insectivores and are not meant to be feasting like an ancient on oils and extra virgin olives. This may or may not help though, I have read people's satisfaction but have not had luck myself, mainly because a lot of the geckos we take in are brought due to someone not knowing how to deal with parasites, which can not be cleared with some olive oil.
Belly Rub Method:
The belly rub is what it sounds like. This actually goes more well as a supplement to the warm soaking method, but the logic behind this one is rather straightforward: you rub the belly to get the intestines moving any debris or blockage and get your leo pooping! Be gentle though, don't hurt your leo, but also keep in mind that you want to be pressing on the area from a bit above the vent to a few cm below the arms. Do not rub the chest or neck or anything, you don't want to harm your leo in some other way.
Warm Soaked Q-Tip method:
Unfortunately, we see a ton of baby animals come in here to our shelter and rescue just to not be able to be saved. Over the years of owning outdoor indoor cats which tear every animal they see to bits, I have learned that while trying to stimulate an animal's poop and peeing you need to sort of rub the area of the anus/vent/cloaca/ whatever orifice you're dealing with. Basically the initial logic I was taught was that a mother would lick that area to stimulate poo/peeing, but as I have had luck with this in animals which do not have parental care, i.e, reptiles, I have learned this works with them as well if you're really stuck on what to do.
Basically, you need to get a q-tip and run it under some warm water. A bit warmer than what you'd use to soak your leo, but not scalding hot because a vent burn sounds excruciating. You take this warm wet q-tip and sort of massage around the vent and press gently above the vent opening in hopes of releasing any hardened or stuck poo.
I have just performed this, which inspired me to write this, here at work at 2:00 AM! Woohoo! Basically I was holding an adult female who has had a history of being sick, and noticed that above her vent was some darkening, which looked like there was some poo stuck that she was having trouble passing. This female has not eaten insects in about a month and a half, and I am her caretaker, which means I hand feed her reptile food supplement every day and lately she has been regurgitating and flinching whenever I have tried giving it to her. We are trying very hard to get her back into the rhythm of normal buggies, but it is taking some time. Regardless, I tried this method and she pooped all over my arm, amazing! But at the end of the day what matters is that she finally poo'd out any nonsense that was making her feel ill, and hopefully she will continue recovering.
Also, if you are worried your gecko may have any issues with digestion or pooing, some symptoms to please look out for:
Vomiting
Anorexia (Not eating)
Dehydration
Not drinking
Dark spots on the underbelly, not markings but in the body
Lack of poo/peeing
Sunken eyes
Opening mouth lots
Keeping neck tilted up for long periods of time
Changes in sleeping
Thank you so much for reading! If you have any remedies to add on to this list please feel free, and please give me positive and negative feedback on this post, I want us all here to be as best vigilantes as we can to ensure safety for all geckos!
I thought I would share with you how I stimulate the bowels of my leopard geckos and most animals in the shelter I work. Now I am not saying I know everything, and if you feel as if what I'm saying is incorrect please feel free to tell me because I would highly appreciate whatever tips and tricks and corrections you may offer, to help us all save our beloved leos. So my main point of this is to give to you the information I have regarding stimulating bowel movement in leopard geckos and successfully (hopefully
) getting your leo to poo and pee!Warm Soak Method:
The warm soak is highly regarded as important if your gecko is displaying symptoms of constipation or digestion issues. This is relatively an easy treatment to do, all you'll need is some warm water and a shallow bucket type tupperware thingy. You're only going to want a few oz of the warm water, definitely just enough just to submerge the belly, no more, no less. I know that getting your leo into the water is a hassle, and my god, it takes a while sometimes. Please just be patient, as this may really help your gecko.
So what you'll need to do:
1. Pour some warm water into your shallow container (just warm, we are warm blooded so warm to us is significantly warmer to a cold blooded animal. That being said, try to have the temperature a bit above room temperature, or a bit warmer than lukewarm, warm on the brink of being hot, but not hot water. You don't want to burn your leo!) Also, it can not be cold, do not use cold water. Cold water will most likely harm your gecko, and slow digestion down instead of speeding the process up.
2. Patiently put your leo into the water whilst holding onto them to make sure they do not struggle and aspirate water. It is important to make sure the leo does not inhale any of the water, and believe me, they put up a struggle sometimes, but they calm down fast after being in for a few seconds. Just be compassionate and patient, your baby needs you to do this for them if they are having tummy issues.
3. Keep your leo's tummy submerged in the water for about ten to twenty minutes.
This is an important step, you do not want to keep them in too long, because they will risk getting sick from all the moist humidity, plus the water will cool pretty fast so anything after twenty minutes is pushing it. Taking them out after only 4-5 minutes will not be fully effective in getting the digestion moving, so ten to twenty (I'd say fifteen or ten!) will suffice greatly.
4. Do this once or twice a day for a few days or a week, if it helps continue a bit after. If it doesn't then refer to other methods or contact a veterinarian immediately. Impaction and tummy issues suck, and the faster you can diagnose it the faster it can be fixed.
Mineral Oil Method:
The mineral oil/olive oil method is pretty straightforward. Dab a couple drops of mineral oil onto your leo's nose (don't let it get on the nostrils!) or olive oil, once or twice a day preferably right before or after feeding to try and coat the food down. The logic behind this is that the oils will help move any blockages and impactions in the belly and work as a mini laxative to clear the intestines. Obviously don't feed your leo too much of these things, as leo's are insectivores and are not meant to be feasting like an ancient on oils and extra virgin olives. This may or may not help though, I have read people's satisfaction but have not had luck myself, mainly because a lot of the geckos we take in are brought due to someone not knowing how to deal with parasites, which can not be cleared with some olive oil.
Belly Rub Method:
The belly rub is what it sounds like. This actually goes more well as a supplement to the warm soaking method, but the logic behind this one is rather straightforward: you rub the belly to get the intestines moving any debris or blockage and get your leo pooping! Be gentle though, don't hurt your leo, but also keep in mind that you want to be pressing on the area from a bit above the vent to a few cm below the arms. Do not rub the chest or neck or anything, you don't want to harm your leo in some other way.
Warm Soaked Q-Tip method:
Unfortunately, we see a ton of baby animals come in here to our shelter and rescue just to not be able to be saved. Over the years of owning outdoor indoor cats which tear every animal they see to bits, I have learned that while trying to stimulate an animal's poop and peeing you need to sort of rub the area of the anus/vent/cloaca/ whatever orifice you're dealing with. Basically the initial logic I was taught was that a mother would lick that area to stimulate poo/peeing, but as I have had luck with this in animals which do not have parental care, i.e, reptiles, I have learned this works with them as well if you're really stuck on what to do.
Basically, you need to get a q-tip and run it under some warm water. A bit warmer than what you'd use to soak your leo, but not scalding hot because a vent burn sounds excruciating. You take this warm wet q-tip and sort of massage around the vent and press gently above the vent opening in hopes of releasing any hardened or stuck poo.
I have just performed this, which inspired me to write this, here at work at 2:00 AM! Woohoo! Basically I was holding an adult female who has had a history of being sick, and noticed that above her vent was some darkening, which looked like there was some poo stuck that she was having trouble passing. This female has not eaten insects in about a month and a half, and I am her caretaker, which means I hand feed her reptile food supplement every day and lately she has been regurgitating and flinching whenever I have tried giving it to her. We are trying very hard to get her back into the rhythm of normal buggies, but it is taking some time. Regardless, I tried this method and she pooped all over my arm, amazing! But at the end of the day what matters is that she finally poo'd out any nonsense that was making her feel ill, and hopefully she will continue recovering.
Also, if you are worried your gecko may have any issues with digestion or pooing, some symptoms to please look out for:
Vomiting
Anorexia (Not eating)
Dehydration
Not drinking
Dark spots on the underbelly, not markings but in the body
Lack of poo/peeing
Sunken eyes
Opening mouth lots
Keeping neck tilted up for long periods of time
Changes in sleeping
Thank you so much for reading! If you have any remedies to add on to this list please feel free, and please give me positive and negative feedback on this post, I want us all here to be as best vigilantes as we can to ensure safety for all geckos!
