Leopard gecko suddenly VERY sick

[voxdraco]

Hi all

In a little bit of a panic at the moment.

I went over to change my leopard geckos carpeting in her vivarium and she was like this:-

https://imgur.com/fOKHvnu

She can barely move her hind legs and is very lethargic.

I am taking her to the vets first thing in the morning. Leading up to this:- about two weeks ago she stopped eating, it was right after her last shed, she ate normally the day before. She has pooped only once since then. I provide calcium dishes which she licks, and have a UV bulb, a low powered one.

Her front legs seem to be working okay, but shes very sleepy and doesn't move much even when I pick her up.

Does anyone have any idea what this might be? I tried to get her to an emergency vet just now (its 11:37pm my time) but the only reptile vet near me wont be able to see her until 3pm.

how the hell has this happened

 

[acpart]

It's hard to tell from the video exactly what's wrong, because from the video it doesn't look so bad (I wouldn't be surprised if it looks worse in "real life"). I'm not a vet, but here are some things to think about:
--It's not likely, but she could be impacted and is uncomfortable around her vent
--Does she have eggs in her (it can happen even if she's never been with a male) and is she egg bound (also unlikely, but we can cover all the bases)
--I guess she could possibly have a tumor that wasn't giving her any symptoms until now. Sometimes a gecko has an internal problem that we don't know about until they're very sick.

In any case, I'm glad you have an appointment for tomorrow. I would imagine she'll be OK until the afternoon. Please keep us posted.

Aliza

 

[DaGeckoMan0260]

Those look like a lot of symptoms of an egg-bound leopard gecko. When they're egg-bound their back legs don't work right, they don't eat, and they act lethargic. You could tell by feeling their belly and if there is a hard, white lump by their vent,i t's an egg.

Also, leos don't have to be in contact with a male to lay eggs. I had an egg-bound female this spring and she unfortunately didn't make it.

 

[voxdraco]

Okay update :-

I went to the vet and she asked about husbandry and looked at a picture of my vivarium and asked what I have been feeding her etc etc. She examined her and looked at her belly.

She doesnt think its MBD because she is quite strong when she is moving with her front legs plus from what I told her. She doesn't think its compaction either. But she did notice her joins were red and swollen.

She concluded that it might be a bacteria that causes what is basically arthritis because its attacking her joints. She gave me some antibiotics and painkillers/anti-inflamitory that I have to give her daily by putting them on her nose (seems to work so far, she licks it off).

She also told me to bath here once a day for 10 mins in lukewarm water with some reptiboost and I need to check back with her in a weeks time.

Heres to hoping she gets better.

 

[Marillion]

Best wishes for your leo to have a quick recovery!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I am taking her to the vets first thing in the morning. Leading up to this:- about two weeks ago she stopped eating, it was right after her last shed, she ate normally the day before. She has pooped only once since then. I provide calcium dishes which she licks, and have a UV bulb, a low powered one.

Her front legs seem to be working okay, but shes very sleepy and doesn't move much even when I pick her up.

Does anyone have any idea what this might be? I tried to get her to an emergency vet just now (its 11:37pm my time) but the only reptile vet near me wont be able to see her until 3pm.

Please share which supplements are contained in those bottle caps. The brand and exact supplement will be helpful.

1. Which brand, type, and strength of UVB bulb?
2. Dimensions of her enclosure?
3. Do you ever lightly dust her feeders with supplements, especially a multivitamin withOUT D3?
4. What do you feed the her bugs and worms?
5. Did your vet do x-rays to show joint issues?

 

[voxdraco]

Please share which supplements are contained in those bottle caps. The brand and exact supplement will be helpful.

1. Which brand, type, and strength of UVB bulb?
2. Dimensions of her enclosure?
3. Do you ever lightly dust her feeders with supplements, especially a multivitamin withOUT D3?
4. What do you feed the her bugs and worms?
5. Did your vet do x-rays to show joint issues?

This is the bulb I am using

Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 Mini Compact UVB Lamp, 13 W

Her enclosure is a Exo Terra Glass Terrarium 90x45x30cm

Yes I dust her food and leave out calcium dishes

I give her dubia roaches, crickets and occasional waxworms

No the vet did not use an x-ray

 

[Marillion]

After my discussion with Professor Fran Baines (reptile expert with Arcadia.) I switched to a 10.0 Mini. The 5.0 mini did not provide close to enough UVB exposure to matter in my 20 Gallon long. As long as it is the Mini bulbs we are talking about here.

 

[voxdraco]

I actually have a 10.0 one too because I bought it by accident and didn't throw it away.

 

[voxdraco]

This morning when I went to give her antibiotics, she seems to have lost the use of her front left leg now too and its swollen. I was almost in tears when I drove to work.

I came back at lunch to give her pain meds and she seemed a bit better.

When I got home from work she seemed a lot more awake and seems to be moving a bit better. Shes moving her hind legs better too. I gave her some more anti-biotics and gave her a bath with reptoboost and some mixed in calcium powder. She started sqeaking and struggling in the bath, its the first time ive heard her make a vocal sound.

I dont know if she can absorb calcium that way, does anyone here know? I was told by the vet she can absorb liquids via her vent hence why I need to bathe her. She advised on the reptoboost too.

I also dropped a slurry of calcium powder with d3 on her nose and will do that once a day too.

Very little improvement so far but steady as she goes.

 

[voxdraco]

I have a video for you guys to see whats going on.

PLEASE IGNORE THE MESS ON HER CARPET, IT WAS CHANGED 3 DAYS AGO BUT SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET HER TO EAT AND THE INSECTS LEFT IT EVERYWHERE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11FtBOD4SNg&feature=youtu.be

To me this looks like MBD, but the vet thinks otherwise. She rarely moves like this at the moment, she is a bit spooked here and is moving to another place in the tank as fast as she can.

My hearts breaking.

 

[DaGeckoMan0260]

Well... It doesn't look like egg binding. Usually egg binding happens in only the back legs.

It looks like MDB to me, too. An X-Ray will tell.

 

[Hilde]

Since you said you dust her food, and have calcium in the enclosure, which she licks, it might be related to excess calcium and/or Vit D3.
I would get the vet to check for pseudogout (possibly gout, but pseudogout sounds more like it, at least to me).

Here's a snip from the Cornell University College Of Veterinary Medicine:

Pseudogout occurs due to the deposition of calcium pyrophosphate crystals in periarticular cartilage, eventually extending into the joint, where inflammation is then triggered.

In reptiles, the condition has been linked to excess dietary calcium and vitamin D. Aspiration of joint contents and microscopic examination is adequate for the diagnosis of gout and differentiation from pseudogout.

Link to the page: December 2016 Case of the Month | Page 2 of 2 | eClinpath

If she eats enough calcium powder, it coats the lining in the stomach with "crust", making it hard to absorb almost anything.
To see how calcium repels water, add a drop of water on top of some calcium powder. The water will sit on top, can't get past the calcium. If your gecko has had too much calcium, she could have problems absorbing enough moisture, which could lead to pseudogout.


Here's another link. It also mentions dehydration and improper calcium/Vit D3 supplementation: https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&catId=102919&id=8049747
Note this sentence in the intro: "These signs of gout and pseudogout can appear slowly and can be missed by the owner until the reptile “all of a sudden” appears ill".

 

[voxdraco]

I have an update:-

I went to the vet and insisted on an xray

https://imgur.com/a/qzKWMTS

She does not appear to have MBD. I discussed psudogout to the vet but she thinks its extremely unlikely because I would have to be giving her a huge amount of calcium and D3 and from what I told her with a low powered bulb and the fact she only recently started eating again (before she got sick) because she was ovulating.

I have been given some Vetark critical care formula and been show how to assist feed her.

At the moment she is very stressed and she even tried to bite the vet several times so I am only going to be bothering her to give her medication.

I am going back on friday to see how shes doing again and if there is no improvement they will do a biopsy of one of her joints to see whats going on.

 

[voxdraco]

I never thought I would be so happy yo say this but, she pooped!

Only a little but its something, the day after she was assist fed twice.

 

[voxdraco]

So another update, she seems to be using her legs much better now, using all 4 of them rather then dragging her self along with one of her front legs which is a good sign, however she is extremely lethargic and wants to sleep all the time.

I'll ring the vet and see they think I should bring her in.

 

[voxdraco]

Sad news guys.

I went to go take her to the vet and she could barely stand or open her eyes. They said we can try another antibiotic but it probably wont help at this point.

I made the decision to have her put to sleep.

Thank you to everyone who helped and gave suggestions.

 

[GeckoLeen]

I am so sorry you lost her. Thank you for giving her your best effort. I hope it won't keep you from loving another.