Leopard gecko twists and wobbles on 90 degree turn

[Tangerinetail]

Hi, I am hoping someone can help.

Our two year-old female leopard gecko has been doing a dramatic wobble/twist when turning more than 9O degrees. She also seems to tuck herself in tightly when turning, almost ‘squeezing’ her body against itself at 180 degrees.

She has been to the vets and her X-ray showed that her bones are in good condition. She has been a bit constipated, too. A blood test revealed she possibly has a low level infection of some sort (they think it could be her liver, but not fatty liver disease). However, they don’t actually know what the matter is (the vet was a reptile specialist).

She has been prescribed Lactulose and Baytril. We’ve totally failed to feed her any of the Baytril as she has wised up and just wiped it on any nearby surface. She now hates the sight of the pipette, so the Lactulose is also a no no now. ! We have given her some warm baths which have resulted in some impressive poops, however.

She is eating normally (dusted crickets and locust, all well gut loaded), and she hunts her food well. She was even eagerly coming out for her evening ‘explore’ until we attempted to give her Baytril!

So, I have two questions. The first is whether anyone has any ideas what might be causing the curious twist and wobble when she turns. The second is if you can recommend ingenious ways to get the Baytril in. We have tried nose touching and apple juice. No joy.
Many thanks!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Welcome to Geckos Unlimited, Tangerinetail!

1. Could your leo possibly have Enigma Syndrome?
2. Can baytril possibly be given via injection?

• Please share a full body image of this leo from the top down.
• Please list exact brands, names, & frequencies of each powdered supplement.
• Are you gutloading her locusts 24-48 hours prior to feeding them off or 24/7?
• What do you use for gutloading?

(click to ennlarge)

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

To get any gecko to open it's mouth brush your finger, a thin dowel, or a stainless steel gavage needle (with a rounded "ball" tip) horizontally past her lips. Stroke gecko's lips -- gecko opens mouth -- then insert water, food, or medicine. Be gentle and never force the mouth open.

Click: How to get a gecko to open it's mouth?​

 

[Tangerinetail]

Thanks for your response. I hope to post a picture after I have answered your questions.
Firstly, I don’t think she has enigma genes, although the picture might help with this. We got her directly from the breeder and there were no enigmas mentioned. She is not star gazing or circling, if this helps.
Secondly, we mainly gut load crickets and locusts with carrot. She was obsessed with roaches just before the wobbles started, but she has always had a varied diet (no waxworks, though).
We keep food in with the crickets and locusts, but always ensure there is moist carrot 24 hours before feeding.
We were dusting with Repashy Gecko supplement, but switched to Nutrobal after seeing the vet. Sparkie has a small pot of Calcidust in her vivarium, but never seems to touch it. She is fed every other day and almost all her food is dusted each time (there are some escapees).
All of the wobbles started after a few weeks of her eating tons (mainly roaches) and shedding once a week (normally she sheds once every two/three weeks).

We had a little luck with the Baytril tonight. She won’t open her mouth, but she locks tiny amounts on her chin.
Thanks so much for any help.

 

[Tangerinetail]

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[Elizabeth Freer]

Thanks for your response. I hope to post a picture after I have answered your questions.
Firstly, I don’t think she has enigma genes, although the picture might help with this. We got her directly from the breeder and there were no enigmas mentioned. She is not star gazing or circling, if this helps.
Secondly, we mainly gut load crickets and locusts with carrot. She was obsessed with roaches just before the wobbles started, but she has always had a varied diet (no waxworks, though).
We keep food in with the crickets and locusts, but always ensure there is moist carrot 24 hours before feeding.
We were dusting with Repashy Gecko supplement, but switched to Nutrobal after seeing the vet. Sparkie has a small pot of Calcidust in her vivarium, but never seems to touch it. She is fed every other day and almost all her food is dusted each time (there are some escapees).
All of the wobbles started after a few weeks of her eating tons (mainly roaches) and shedding once a week (normally she sheds once every two/three weeks).

We had a little luck with the Baytril tonight. She won’t open her mouth, but she locks tiny amounts on her chin.
Thanks so much for any help.

You're welcome!

IF you are dusting nearly ALL the feeders' food all the time, Sparkie could be suffering from a multivitamin overdose!

Carrots are particularly good for beta carotene (pro-vitamin A) & moisture. What else do Sparkie's crickets, locusts, & roaches eat?

Nutrobal is an all-in-one multivitamin that's been around for years. It contains vitamin D3. Nutrobal should ONLY be lightly dusted upon Sparkie's crickets, locusts, & roaches at 1 feeding per week. Depending upon Sparkie's age, her prey should also be lightly dusted with pure calcium between 1-2 times per week.

​

How old is Sparkie?
What food do you feed the crickets & roaches?


"A commercial gut loading food like Bug Burger or Superload (both by Repashy), Cricket Crack, Dinofuel, etc. is going to make your life easier AND provide a nutritious diet to your crickets at the same time. Avoid Fluker's gutloads, as they are super feeble in their formulas."

"If you opt for making your own gutload at home, here's a list of great ingredients to use:
Best: mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion flowers & leaves, collard greens, escarole lettuce, papaya, watercress, and alfalfa.
Good: sweet potato, carrots, oranges, mango, butternut squash, kale, apples, beet greens, blackberries, bok choy, and green beans.
Dry food: bee pollen, organic non-salted sunflower seeds, spirulina, dried seaweed, flax seed, and organic non-salted almonds.
Avoid as much as possible: potatoes, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, grains, beans, oats, bread, cereal, meat, eggs, dog food, cat food, fish food, canned or dead insects, vertebrates."

 

[Tangerinetail]

Thanks so much for getter by back to me.
We only normally lightly dust her food (any roaches are quite hard to dust anyway), but we also tend to give the first couple of insects as dusted ones and then any following ones as not dusted. Perhaps we should just follow your advice and have one feed as one thing, the other as another.

We stepped up the dusting after taking Sparkie to the vet and being told to get lots of calcium in her just in case she needed some (although her later x ray suggested she was fine in terms of her bones). We can reduce the Nutrobal as you suggest to once a week; we are just panicking that she wasn’t getting enough vitamin D and calcium.

We primarily feed the crickets and roaches carrot: they also have apples, courgette and pears from time to time.
Sparkie is two years old. She is normally very friendly and interested, so it is very sad to see her not quite herself. We also have a three year old male (separate vivarium) who is much bigger.

I’ll get some gut load stuff, and we’ll reduce the dusting a bit as you suggest.

The Baytril was a nightmare tonight, so I shall have to phone the vet again, I think! She is just too canny.
Thanks for your help, and any further bits of advice would be great. I don’t know if you were able to see the pictures of Sparkie.
Thanks again!




I’ll look into those commercial gut loaders. We’ve tried various jelly pots in the past, but that seemed to put Sparkie off her food! We can try some different types of gut loading products, however. Always willing to find something better than regularly peeling vegetables!

I’ll investigate the

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Thanks so much for getter by back to me.
We only normally lightly dust her food (any roaches are quite hard to dust anyway), but we also tend to give the first couple of insects as dusted ones and then any following ones as not dusted. Perhaps we should just follow your advice and have one feed as one thing, the other as another.

We stepped up the dusting after taking Sparkie to the vet and being told to get lots of calcium in her just in case she needed some (although her later x ray suggested she was fine in terms of her bones). We can reduce the Nutrobal as you suggest to once a week; we are just panicking that she wasn’t getting enough vitamin D and calcium.

We primarily feed the crickets and roaches carrot: they also have apples, courgette and pears from time to time.
Sparkie is two years old. She is normally very friendly and interested, so it is very sad to see her not quite herself. We also have a three year old male (separate vivarium) who is much bigger.

I’ll get some gut load stuff, and we’ll reduce the dusting a bit as you suggest.

The Baytril was a nightmare tonight, so I shall have to phone the vet again, I think! She is just too canny.
Thanks for your help, and any further bits of advice would be great. I don’t know if you were able to see the pictures of Sparkie.
Thanks again!




I’ll look into those commercial gut loaders. We’ve tried various jelly pots in the past, but that seemed to put Sparkie off her food! We can try some different types of gut loading products, however. Always willing to find something better than regularly peeling vegetables!

I’ll investigate the

Vegetable peels are good to feed too.

Just so you know: Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. That means the first "dose" sticks around in Sparkle's body for about a week and metabolizes all calcium that comes along that week.

At 2 years old Sparkie is officially an adult! This means that she only needs to be fed 2x per week.

• Mondays ~~ Lightly dust all prey with Nutrobal.
• Thursdays ~~ Lightly dust all prey with Pro-Rep's Calci Dust.

Please remove the pot of Calci Dust from her enclosure. It's unnecessary & could be harmful.

 

[Tangerinetail]

Thanks,
I have just ordered some Superload which looks like it will make things much easier.
We’ll also adopt that schedule.
So grateful for your advice!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Thanks,
I have just ordered some Superload which looks like it will make things much easier.
We’ll also adopt that schedule.
So grateful for your advice!

In the meantime, how about withholding ANY Nutrobal for 1-2 weeks including the current week? You might skip Calci dust those weeks too.

I'm not 100% sure that's Sparkie's problem.

 

[Tangerinetail]

Yes, I was thinking that might be a good strategy.
Thank you.