Help Teach Me How to Care for a Sick Gecko

[AmandalHall]

Hello!

About a year ago my parents bought my eight year old little brother a Leopard Gecko from a local pet store (see the problem already?). I never really saw much of her (Blue) other than when my brother took her out for handling as she was kept in his room. I mostly forgot that she was even there until this morning when I was asked to feed her while the rest of my family was away. After feeding her, I decided to check on her to see how she was doing. I’m sad to say that she is not doing good. She is much smaller than the last time I saw her. Her color is very dull and grey, and it seems that she’s shedding, but the dead skin sticks to her. After seeing what terrible condition she was in I decided to take it upon myself to nurse her back to health the best I can. The only problem is that I have no knowledge about geckos at all.

From what I’ve read online so far, I know that the sand on the bottom of her cage needs to go ASAP, and many other changes need to be made to her habitat. I plan on asking for guidance when I go to the pet store, but I get the feeling that they won’t be much help as they don’t take very good care of their animals in the first place.

So, I need your help. Please teach at least the basics of what I need to do to care for not only a leopard gecko, but a sick one. Obviously I’ll be doing my own research about how to help her, but I would also love to get information about her specific condition from experienced people.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post and thank you so much for helping me save Blue.

Sincerely,
Amanda

 

[acpart]

Welcome to GU and good for you to try to save her. Your best bet is to google "leopard gecko care" (or read Elizabeth Freer's care sheet on this forum). However I'll give you the basics:
a. temperature: there should be an under tank heater (with a thermostat) that is keeping the floor of the cage in the low 90's on one side
b. Sand: good idea to get rid of it. Simplest replacement is paper towel. You can also use ceramic tile or repti-carpet
c. Food: the most common foods are crickets and mealworms. See what the gecko has been fed and what she's willing to eat
d. supplementation: the gecko needs calcium and vitamin d3 if she's not already getting it. Look at the pet store for Repashy Calcium plus and dust her feeders with it. If she has not gotten any supplementation, you can start by dipping your finger in water, then dipping it in the calcium, and rubbing the resulting paste onto her mouth so she can lick it off
e. shed: if she has shed on her feet, soak her in about 1/2" of warm water and then use your fingernails to pull of the shed.

Try these things. If she isn't getting better she may need a vet visit. Good luck.

Aliza

 

[PoppyDear]

Hello!

Thank you for coming to this gecko's aid, she is lucky to have you! Now we need to get down to business! Iwould suggest you take a look at this care sheet~ http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...-macularius-demo-video-4-jan-2013-update.html ,specifically posts 87~http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...emo-video-4-jan-2013-update-9.html#post425040 .

First, let's go through everything, please answer these questions;
•Can you please describe all cage furnishings?
•What sources of heat are there, is there a lamp or under tank heater?
•What is the size of the tank? Dimmensions and/or gallons work fine for measurement.
•Could you describe how the poops look?
•Does the gecko's stomach have any dark splotches or feel firm?
•Are there any pieces of stuck shed on the toes or anywhere else on the body?
•Pictures of the habitat and gecko would be very helpful!
•Are there any suppliments dusted on her insects?

1.) Now, the first thing I would do is dump the sand, take a look at any feces left in the tank, are they solid, is the white part of the poop (Known as the urate) white or yellow? Then give the tank a good scrub, assuming it is dirty, vinegar works well. As for furnishing, they need three hides;
•DRY warm hide
•MOIST warm hide
•DRY cool hide

You can make hides out of old margarine containers. Then you need to address your substrate, for now I would advise paper towels so you can watch the poop.

2.) As for heat, you will need an under tank heater (I can help you figure out the size if you inform me on the tank size ) and a thermostat with a thermometer to control the temperatures.

3.) Feed dubia roaches or crickets as a staple, suppliment with mealworms. Offer as many as she will eat in 15 minutes, they should be as big or smaller than the space between her eyes. Since she is likely underweight, feed every other day. You will also have to gutload insects.

4.) Pick up some suppliments, one of these regimes is suitable:
Zoo Med's Reptivite multivitamins without D3
•Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3
•Precipitated calcium carbonate without D3
OR
•Repashy's Calcium Plus
•Precipitated calcium carbonate without D3

I can provide a schedule for one or both depending on what you pick and if you want one.

4.) After you straighten out the husbandry keep an eye on the gecko, if there is stuck shed, the treatment Aliza reccomends is suitable. If the gecko won't poop and has symptoms of impaction we can provide help with that. If the gecko continues to eat but is losing weight or if the gecko won't eat and is losing weight (Especially accompanied by watery or green stool) then you my want to get a fecal sample to take to the vet to rule out parasites.

Good luck!

EDIT: Aliza covered most of it actually, she posted as I was typing and it didn't refresh. I have a few extras here though, hopefully we helped!

 

[AmandalHall]

Thank you both sooo much.

To answer Poppy's questions:

-She currently has three hides; one on the cool side, one on the warm, and a make-shift moist warm hide made out of a piece of tupperware (she seems to like spending most of her time here)
-She has a lamp, but it doesn't seem to give off much heat at all. I don't have an under tank heater, but plan to get one next paycheck (I would love help on what size to get) To try and make up for the lack of heat, I have placed her tank in front a window that gets a lot of sunlight until I can get the temperature properly controlled.
-The tank we have for her is approx. 40 gallons. As of right now though, I have part of the tank sectioned off so that she only has access to half of it (20-ish gallons).
-I wasn't able to examine her poop before we dumped the sand, and I haven't seen any yet in her new set-up, which makes me very worried about impaction.
-All of the pieces of skin have successfully come off after spending time in her new moist hide
-She has not had any supplementation on her food

If you have the time, would you help me understand gutloading and the supplements a bit more?
-how do you gutload?
-am I supposed to get multiple, or just one of the supplements you listed?

I won't be able to get everything she needs at once due to limited funds (i.e. I'm poor). So when I go to the store this next week, what are the priority things I should get? Under tank heater and supplements maybe?

Again, thank you both so much. I know that you can't tell a gecko's true health just by looking at them, but she seems to be doing a bit better already. She has some of her color back, and is generally more mobile and energetic. We still have a loooong way to go, but now I have hope. <3

 

[PoppyDear]

Hello, thank you for your response! Everything is sounding a lot better! I am extremely happy you have decided to help his gecko. ♡

I am going to address this as I read, my answer will be in the colored text below:

Thank you both sooo much.

To answer Poppy's questions:

-She currently has three hides; one on the cool side, one on the warm, and a make-shift moist warm hide made out of a piece of tupperware (she seems to like spending most of her time here)
-She has a lamp, but it doesn't seem to give off much heat at all. I don't have an under tank heater, but plan to get one next paycheck (I would love help on what size to get) To try and make up for the lack of heat, I have placed her tank in front a window that gets a lot of sunlight until I can get the temperature properly controlled.
Be careful that the sun doesn't heat up the enclosure like an oven. You want it to be a slightly indirect as well. As for an UTH size, 40 gallons are actually too big for most if not all UTHs, the sizing is not configured based on labels but by what covers 1/3 to half the length of the bottom of the tank. Instead you will want 39 feet of heat cables controlled by a thermostat and monitored by the thermometer with a probe.
Click: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...emo-video-4-jan-2013-update-8.html#post409929
-The tank we have for her is approx. 40 gallons. As of right now though, I have part of the tank sectioned off so that she only has access to half of it (20-ish gallons).
Can you provide your rough tank dimmensions? There are a variety of sizes for the gallons they are labeled as, for example a 20 gallon long tank or 20 gallon high tank. It is nice and big though!
-I wasn't able to examine her poop before we dumped the sand, and I haven't seen any yet in her new set-up, which makes me very worried about impaction.
Keep an eye on her for when she does poop. How skinny is she? I would love a picture if that can be provided!

•Does her stomach feel hard or have a dark spot on it?​

I will post my care instructions for an impacted Leo after this quote. They will not be harmful if she is impacted and they will rehydrate and help her along with aiding passing an obstruction.
-All of the pieces of skin have successfully come off after spending time in her new moist hide
-She has not had any supplementation on her food
Lack of suppliments means she probably did ingest substrate in an attempt to get what she needed, it is important she gets under tank heat via cables and suppliments asap.

If you have the time, would you help me understand gutloading and the supplements a bit more?
-how do you gutload?
Gutloading is the process of making your gecko's food nutritionally healthy by feeding them. What goes into your feeder goes into your gecko, does this make sense? What have you been feeding her? Crickets and Dubia make a great staple diet while Mealworms are good to suppliment it. Once you tell me what you feed I can tell you how to keep them well fed and nutritious!
-am I supposed to get multiple, or just one of the supplements you listed?
Those were two regimes, the first Zoo Med products with pure calcium are all the suppliments you will have to purchase and dust on the food. Or, if the zoo med products are not as easily accessable to you, purchase the other Repashy and pure calcium. I can provide schedules once you tell me which regime you prefer or have better access to.

Lack of suppliments can lead to Metabolic Bone Disease (A condition caused by lack of suppliments that makes the bones spongy and weak.) which is characteried by a rubbery jaw, an "army crawl" walk, spongy limbs, etc. Does your gecko look like it experiences any mild symptoms of MBD? A quick internet search "MBD in Leopard Geckos" will yield plenty of pictures, videos and articles for you to reference.
I won't be able to get everything she needs at once due to limited funds (i.e. I'm poor). So when I go to the store this next week, what are the priority things I should get? Under tank heater and supplements maybe?
Assuming your tank is a true 40 gallon (Dimmensions would be great to confirm!) you will need the 39 foot of heat cables. I would priorize like this; (Keep in mind some of this stuff listed may be only found online.)

1. Suppliments
2. Heat Cables
3. Thermostat
4. A vet trip if possible
5. Other/Feeder Insects and Gutloading Food​

Again, thank you both so much. I know that you can't tell a gecko's true health just by looking at them, but she seems to be doing a bit better already. She has some of her color back, and is generally more mobile and energetic. We still have a loooong way to go, but now I have hope. <3

Tips For Impaction​

•Take a tupperware container or a sink and fill with lukewarm water @ ~86*F/30*C (a leo's preferred body temperature) a little over the belly of the gecko.
•Gently massage down the length of your gecko from throat to vent in order to help get things moving.
•Allow a soak and massage session to last around 30 minutes before returning the gecko to the tank.
•Do NOT feed your gecko any more until they begin to pass the impacted substance. You don't want them anymore backed up than they already are.
•Drop a few drops of olive oil on their lips/snout every other day to act as a laxative.
•MONITOR THE GECKO AT ALL TIMES.
•Monitor the poops closely for coco fiber, sand, or other foreign substances.

Is she showing an interest in food? I would be hesitant to feed until we know that she passed everything so food doesn't do more harm then good. Pictures of her would be fantastic as I mentioned, if she is very skinny and not showing an interest in food I can reccomend a liquid assist diet.

I hope this helps you some, I have an issue in keeping everything concise and relevant so I am sorry about that, stay strong!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

PoppyDear ~

You are a-m-a-z-i-n-g!