muffin_song
New member
Hi all,
Well, it's January, meaning it's time for my annual "is there something wrong with my gecko?" freakout
Scooter has decreased activity lately and is hanging out almost exclusively in her cool hide. I know this can be normal in the winter. Whenever I offer her mealworms, she very eagerly gobbles them up. However, she's not pooping! If I lift up her cool hide while she's in there to check on her she'll head on over to the warm hide, but ultimately she'll end up back over in the cool hide.
It's been about a week now since she pooped. Last night I gave her a soak in warm water, and I'll do the same tonight. At what point should I call the vet?
The only other thing of note is about two weeks ago she ate a horn worm that was a little big for her.
(As a note, the local reptile vet is great but pricey, so I'd rather not take her in if I'm reading too much into this. I do fret about her a lot!)
-------------------------------------
General Information
Species of lizard: Leopard Gecko
Gecko's name: Scooter
Morph: Normal
Gender: Female
Age: Almost 4 years old!
Weight: About 65 grams
Total length: About 7 inches
Length of your reptile when you first acquired it: Don't remember
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner): Previous owner was my mother, who bought her from a non-big box pet store about 18 months ago
Captive bred or wild caught: Captive bred
[/u]Vivarium[/u]
Enclosure dimensions (length x width x heighth):12x12x30
Cage (type, size): 20 gallon long glass aquarium
Substrate provided: 90% tile, 10% paper towel
Types of hiding places provided: Warm hide, cool hide, humid warm hide
Is there a humidity hide? location?: Yes, warm side
Please describe any other furnishings: Fake plants
List recent changes in the environment, if any: None
Lighting
Artificial lighting
Incandescent (“screw-in” bulbs): wattage(s): None
Fluorescent (tube bulbs):
Access to ambient daylight from a distant window: Yes
Note: I live in a studio apartment, meaning if I have the lights on at night, Scooter will see it. I try to reduce the lighting at night and point it away from her cage.
Heating
Do you have a thermometer(s) in the cage? Yes
What type and brand of thermometer (digital with probe, temperature gun, LCD strip, analog (circle), combo digital thermometer/hygrometer, stainless steel aquarim type, other): I have two Jumpstart Hydrofarm digital probes. The one inside her warm moist side is set to 91, and is connected to the UTH. The other measures her cool side, is not currently connected to anything.
What is the ground temperature right on the substrate under the warm dry hide: 88 to 92ish.
What is the air temperature on the warm end about 4 inches up from the ground: Not sure, need to get an air thermometer.
What is the air temperature on the cool end about 4 inches up from the ground: Room temperature, so 75ish
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature (Under Tank Heater, heat light, ceramic heat emitter, Flexwatt heat tape, hot rock, other): Medium (made for 30-40 gallon tanks) UTH from reptitherm.
Ventilation space for your UTH by elevating the tank above the shelf (some UTHs come with sticky feet for the tank corners): Yes, also going to add some tiles, don't want my apartment to catch on fire!
Are you using a thermostat(s)? Yes, one for UTH.
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time? It used to be that she always slept in her humid hide. Recently, she's been sleeping in her cool hide.
Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much? Right now no.
Humidity
Is the humidity measured? No
Humidity range: Unknown
Diet
Insects and worms, list type: In the past, dubias have been her staple. She has gotten picky recently so I've switched to meal worms. When I can, I add in variety like silkworms or hornworms.
Regular diet fed to the insects and worms: Bearded dragon food, collard greens, carrots
Are the insects and worms formally “gutloaded” 1-2 days prior to feeding off to your gecko? If so with? For the refrigerated mealworms, I take them out about 12 hours before feeding and put them in a container with turnip greens and oatmeal. The dubias have the collard greens and bearded dragon food.
How often do you feed your gecko? Every other day - every three days
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often? ZooMed Reptivite w/o D3, some kind of calcium without D3 (can't remember the name)
What calcium brand are you using? Don't remember the name, but it's without D3
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without? Without
Multivitamins (include brand name)? ZooMed Reptivite w/o D3
Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet: Recently Scooter has been turning her nose up at dubias, so she's been getting mealworms.
General Health
If your gecko is sick, please describe the signs and how long your gecko has been showing these signs: Currently not sick, but I'm worried because she hasn't pooped
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased? Decreased
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased? Normal
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight (loss or gain): None
Discharge from the eyes or nose: Nope
Increased breathing rate or effort: no
Change in the droppings: Currently not pooping!
Urates
---white or yellowish: White
---size of urates as compared to size of feces: Roughly the same
Abnormal skin color or shedding: no
Parasites on the skin or in the feces: no
Weakness: no
Previous problems and/or illnesses: In the winter Scooter will sometimes go through periods of not eating
Other Critters in Same Cage or in Household: Just me
List other animals that are kept in the same cage: None
Recent acquisitions (new pets within the past 6 months): None
Are any of your other pets ill? Nope
Well, it's January, meaning it's time for my annual "is there something wrong with my gecko?" freakout
Scooter has decreased activity lately and is hanging out almost exclusively in her cool hide. I know this can be normal in the winter. Whenever I offer her mealworms, she very eagerly gobbles them up. However, she's not pooping!
If I lift up her cool hide while she's in there to check on her she'll head on over to the warm hide, but ultimately she'll end up back over in the cool hide.It's been about a week now since she pooped. Last night I gave her a soak in warm water, and I'll do the same tonight. At what point should I call the vet?
The only other thing of note is about two weeks ago she ate a horn worm that was a little big for her.
(As a note, the local reptile vet is great but pricey, so I'd rather not take her in if I'm reading too much into this. I do fret about her a lot!)
-------------------------------------
General Information
Species of lizard: Leopard Gecko
Gecko's name: Scooter
Morph: Normal
Gender: Female
Age: Almost 4 years old!
Weight: About 65 grams
Total length: About 7 inches
Length of your reptile when you first acquired it: Don't remember
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner): Previous owner was my mother, who bought her from a non-big box pet store about 18 months ago
Captive bred or wild caught: Captive bred
[/u]Vivarium[/u]
Enclosure dimensions (length x width x heighth):12x12x30
Cage (type, size): 20 gallon long glass aquarium
Substrate provided: 90% tile, 10% paper towel
Types of hiding places provided: Warm hide, cool hide, humid warm hide
Is there a humidity hide? location?: Yes, warm side
Please describe any other furnishings: Fake plants
List recent changes in the environment, if any: None
Lighting
Artificial lighting
Incandescent (“screw-in” bulbs): wattage(s): None
Fluorescent (tube bulbs):
Access to ambient daylight from a distant window: Yes
Note: I live in a studio apartment, meaning if I have the lights on at night, Scooter will see it. I try to reduce the lighting at night and point it away from her cage.
Heating
Do you have a thermometer(s) in the cage? Yes
What type and brand of thermometer (digital with probe, temperature gun, LCD strip, analog (circle), combo digital thermometer/hygrometer, stainless steel aquarim type, other): I have two Jumpstart Hydrofarm digital probes. The one inside her warm moist side is set to 91, and is connected to the UTH. The other measures her cool side, is not currently connected to anything.
What is the ground temperature right on the substrate under the warm dry hide: 88 to 92ish.
What is the air temperature on the warm end about 4 inches up from the ground: Not sure, need to get an air thermometer.
What is the air temperature on the cool end about 4 inches up from the ground: Room temperature, so 75ish
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature (Under Tank Heater, heat light, ceramic heat emitter, Flexwatt heat tape, hot rock, other): Medium (made for 30-40 gallon tanks) UTH from reptitherm.
Ventilation space for your UTH by elevating the tank above the shelf (some UTHs come with sticky feet for the tank corners): Yes, also going to add some tiles, don't want my apartment to catch on fire!
Are you using a thermostat(s)? Yes, one for UTH.
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time? It used to be that she always slept in her humid hide. Recently, she's been sleeping in her cool hide.
Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much? Right now no.
Humidity
Is the humidity measured? No
Humidity range: Unknown
Diet
Insects and worms, list type: In the past, dubias have been her staple. She has gotten picky recently so I've switched to meal worms. When I can, I add in variety like silkworms or hornworms.
Regular diet fed to the insects and worms: Bearded dragon food, collard greens, carrots
Are the insects and worms formally “gutloaded” 1-2 days prior to feeding off to your gecko? If so with? For the refrigerated mealworms, I take them out about 12 hours before feeding and put them in a container with turnip greens and oatmeal. The dubias have the collard greens and bearded dragon food.
How often do you feed your gecko? Every other day - every three days
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often? ZooMed Reptivite w/o D3, some kind of calcium without D3 (can't remember the name)
What calcium brand are you using? Don't remember the name, but it's without D3
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without? Without
Multivitamins (include brand name)? ZooMed Reptivite w/o D3
Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet: Recently Scooter has been turning her nose up at dubias, so she's been getting mealworms.
General Health
If your gecko is sick, please describe the signs and how long your gecko has been showing these signs: Currently not sick, but I'm worried because she hasn't pooped
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased? Decreased
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased? Normal
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight (loss or gain): None
Discharge from the eyes or nose: Nope
Increased breathing rate or effort: no
Change in the droppings: Currently not pooping!
Urates
---white or yellowish: White
---size of urates as compared to size of feces: Roughly the same
Abnormal skin color or shedding: no
Parasites on the skin or in the feces: no
Weakness: no
Previous problems and/or illnesses: In the winter Scooter will sometimes go through periods of not eating
Other Critters in Same Cage or in Household: Just me
List other animals that are kept in the same cage: None
Recent acquisitions (new pets within the past 6 months): None
Are any of your other pets ill? Nope
