8yr old gecko not eating

[jebediah]

Need some guidance.

Background: My 8 year old leopard gecko female has been off food for about 2-3 weeks. She normally eats mealworms. I tried giving her wax worms, which has worked in the past if she ever wasn’t super interested in food, but even wax worms have no effect on her. I did force feed her one mealworm on thanksgiving in hopes to try and get her to eat something or to stimulate her metabolism, but to no avail. She doesn’t seem to do much: she mostly stays in her warm hide 24/7. I’ve seen her drink once in the last week.

I took her to the vet today. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of exotic vets in my area. She said the physical was fine, though her tail was thin. She weighed 64 grams. She was feisty when being handled. The vet decided to give a dewormer, fluids, and is having me give critical care via syringe 3-4x a day. She’s also having me soak her once a day for a week.

Question: How much should I be giving her per day or per feeding? I’ve tried to research online but can’t seem to find anything. The vet tech gave her some at the clinic (maybe 1ml) and I did the same this afternoon but I feel that was too much. She was shaking her head after feeding.

If anyone has been in a similar situation, I would appreciate any feedback or anything you find that is helpful. This is my first gecko. I’ve had her since she was a baby but this is the first time she was ever sick.

Setup:
Enclosure: Exo-terra large low wide (36”Lx18”Wx12”H)
Substrate: ceramic tile with eco earth in her bathroom corner.
Hides: warm hide, cool hide, moist hide with paper towel and a water tray to boost humidity
Warm end is kept at 90F. Cool end is kept between 75-80F

 

[acpart]

I have had geckos stop eating for weeks or more and been fine. It sounds as if the vet is doing the standard "just in case" treatments that are minimally invasive. The deworming medication may do a number on her appetite as well. When I had my first gecko, nearly 20 years ago, she also stopped eating and I got really worried. I took her to the vet where she vomited up a bunch of sand (I know better now. . . ). He dewormed her and told me to keep trying to feed her. I would put her in a small Kritter Keeper with a few crickets for about 20 minutes with dim lighting. She ultimately did eat. Nowadays I offer food regularly and don't get that worried if they don't eat. There's always the option (which I have to do with some of my really poor hunters, as well as my 18 1/2 year old gecko) of holding the gecko and poking a feeder at the mouth. Often they will take this.

Aliza

 

[jebediah]

Thanks for your input. She ended up vomiting last night and has been in her cool hide all day today. She has been doing some weird head bobbing that I’ve been able to capture in a video (below). Not sure if it’s gas, a symptom, or I’m being hyper sensitive.

https://youtu.be/UehSAG5RrFI

 

[acpart]

That didn't look terribly out of the ordinary to me. Worst case, she is having a little trouble breathing. You can see this in humans when they raise their shoulders as they take a breath.

Aliza

 

[Blush50]

Thanks for your input. She ended up vomiting last night and has been in her cool hide all day today. She has been doing some weird head bobbing that I’ve been able to capture in a video (below). Not sure if it’s gas, a symptom, or I’m being hyper sensitive.

https://youtu.be/UehSAG5RrFI

Was it forced in her mouth? Hopefully it did not go in her lungs. Send the video to an experienced vet.

The cool side should be 70-75f. Something as simple as this can cause a decrease in appetite or failure to eat. Is the 90f ground temp? What is the air temp on the warm side?