Leo dying

[Rebecca]

I have a leopard gecko that is dying, and the vets don't know why. She is not eating, and is loosing weight very quickly. I took her to a couple different vet's and they have no idea what's wrong. We did a fecal and it's clean. It's not impaction, she's on papertowel. I was just wondering if anyone could give me an idea, that can maybe help.

[damzookeeper]

what size are the prey she is eating? Papertowel is the best substrate but if it is a young gecko it could still get an impaction if it is eating insects too big for it or large insects with lots of chitin. Just an idea. I really have no idea other than that. Have you tried warm baths? Also, if I remember right it can be very dangerous but I had a beardie baby inpacted over a year ago and the vet did, I guess what you would call, an enima 2x to her. SHe was really sick for a couple days and had to be syringed fed pedialite but on the third day she started coming around and she is a wonderful 13 month old, big girl today. :)
Not that I'm saying to do this at all, just sharing my experience. I hope you find out what is wrong with her soon, they can go down hill really fast. :( Good luck and keep us posted.

[Rebecca]

She was eating mealworms. Once in a while crickets because we don't get them here very often.

[Tim and Julie B]

How long has she been fasting for? Is she still pooping?

[damzookeeper]

is this one of the babies? How old is she and what size where the meal worms she was given?

[Alicewave]

Did you run a crypto test? They don't test for it in the regular fecal.

[fanmaninacan]

No point to let it suffer,

A twist of the neck will let the little guy rest in peace...
unless u can get it better------somehow

T.P

[Rebecca]

fanmaninacan you may have ment well but you could have said it differently. This a a leo I am actually attached to. Anyway it's not one of my babies, they're fine. I feed her medium sized mealworms. She's about 1 1/2. She did a crypto and it's clean. She stopped eatting about 2 weeks ago. But she stopped eating on her own about a month ago. This is the gecko that I figured had worms but she's clean. I'll try to post a pic of how skinny she has gotten. Her tail is a pencil and you can see her spine kinda sticking up, when she arches her back. The vet's and I have no idea what's wrong.

[damzookeeper]

man, that is tough! I hadn't realized she was a big girl, in my last posts I thought maybe it was one of the babies. I doubt if she is in cooling this time of year and a pencil think tail is something to worry about. You said you tried a couple vets, where they very experienced with leos? If so I really don't know what to tell you, I"m baffled along with you. I'm so sorry for your situation, I know how you feel about being attached to one and trying to make the best decision.
We'll say a little prayer for her and think of you today. Good luck with her again, and hope you find her problem soon.

[Samba]

I'm sorry to hear about your gecko. I cannot offer any advice other than to cherish the time you have with it. I do hope you find the cause of death eventually, though because not knowing can be more painfull than losing the animal. I wish the best of luck.

[Rebecca]

She actually ate 2 crickets today!!!! :) I'm so excited!!! Maybe there is hope for her yet. The closest reptile vet is in Sask to far away. Although I did have one vet spend 2 days on the phone with one college exotic vet teacher, and they could not figure it out. I guess the teacher is the best around. Anyway I'm going to buy some more crickets and see if I can get her to eat them. Also the vet said to get gatorade to make sure she does not loose too much water, what do you guys think?? Should I?? I have seen her drinking so I don't know if I should or not.

[Samba]

Rebecca - I wouldn't recommend Gatorade (sugars), but I would put a few drops of Pedialyte into your gecko's water bowl. If you notice your gecko has stopped drinking completely, offer Pedialyte via syringe plain or mixed with some yummy chicken baby food. Make sure s/he it keeps eating and try to get it to a vet as soon as possible.... remember... the vet being too far away is not an excuse. If it were your child, (and many of us here think our leos are our children) it would not be a problem. Good Luck and keep us updated on it's progress!

[Rebecca]

I love my geckos I really do, but I live in B.C, I don't have the time or the resources to go to Sask to see a actual herp vet. Even if I did I can't get the time from work. I have taken her to other ones here in town, I'd even drive the 2 or 3 hours to another town if they had a herp vet but they don't. I'm going to try the pedilite. Will it hurt any of my other geckos?? Right now she is in with 2 other ones. (I tried putting her in a tank by herself but she just got depressed I guess, she didn't move wouldn't drink nothing, I put her back in the other one and she was happier. Moving around still not eating but drinking and that. I guess she just want's to be with her friends right now.) Anyway I will keep you guys all posted on how she is. Thank you by the way for caring and trying to help me and my geckos out. I sometimes find it just amazing that there is actually other's out there that love their pets as much as I do. Thanks agian.

[damzookeeper]

I agree with Samba on the gatorade, I was going to write the same thing but she beat me to it. lol. Definately use pedialite or pediasure or ensure.
But about the vet I don't totally agree, I found that was a bit harsh. I know that can be hard, especially if the only herp vet is in the next provence! I know you are trying your best and wish you all the luck with her, I hope she continues to eat for you. It would be great if you could get her to a herp vet, but I realize that is not always easy. And you did take her to a couple non herp vets, so I would definately consider that trying your hardest!

If she is drinking the pedialite or ensure and chicken baby food would be great, you can also make a leo slurpy to help fatten her up.

Here is what you need.
In a blender...
1 can of ensure (I was told strawberry is one of the best)
24 mealies
12-24 crickets
12 super worms
24 waxworms
12 butterworms
12 silkies
teaspoon of chicken baby food
4 pinched of calcium powder
2 pinches multivit
2 pinched calcium with vit.D
Blend very well.
Pour into ice cube trays and freeze.
Once frozen you can put them into a freezor bag and mark them leo slurpy. :) Pull them out one cube at a time when you need them. Defrost and use in a syringe.

Good luck.

[damzookeeper]

I posted before seeing your last post and I noticed you have your sick girl in with others, I highly recomend you taking her out of there a.s.a.p. I realize she may be a little stressed from the move but you are endagering all the geckos in that tank if she stays there, especially not knowing what is wrong with her. If it is a parasite prbolem she could very well spred it to all the geckos in there with her. The best thing would be to give her a tank beside them where she can still see them but not be in contact with them. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before handling your geckos, try to handle her last and wash your hands again afterwards. I know you want her to be happy but if she remains with the others you could end up losing all three instead of just one. :(
Please keep us updated and continue to ask anyquestions or post any comments you might think that will help figure out what is wrong with her.

[Rebecca]

Thanks for the smoothie idea. I don't know if I can get any waxworms, butterworms or silkworms, is there something else I can use??In regards to moving her I can't put a tank beside the others because it's custom built and does not have windows on the side. The other geckos would have gotten sick by now it's been about a month or so now. And that only since I noticed something wrong. She could have been sick for a month or 2 before that and just not showing anything is wrong. When I seprated her I gave a week or so to adjust and it did not get any better, the second I put her in with the others she was active agian. I know I should seperate her. But you never saw her she just layed there. Another problem when I went to look for my 5g with the UTH (I know small but I was just going to put it right in the bigger tank) I found it broken, so right now I have nothing to keep her in. I'm going to try and find a critter keeper or something and just put it right in the big tank half over the UTH in there. But it'll have to wait for a day or so, because not only am I short on funds (payday's soon) but the only pet store I have left here sucks for that type of stuff.

[reptile boi]

Hey everyone
I was just wondering what pedialite is.



Thanks,
Ben

[damzookeeper]

You find pedialite at the drug store, it is used mostly for young children who are sick and are losing a lot of fluids from the runns or vomiting. It helps hydrate them and keep vitamins and nutrision down. Better than just water and definately better than gaterade which has lots of sugars. We can use it for sick and dehydrated herps and mammals as well. ;)

[Alicewave]

If you don't want to go through the effort and slaughter of the smoothie, you can try Enteral Insectivore from www.herpnutrition.com

[Samba]

Again, I am not trying to be harsh, I know how difficult these things can be. I've missed work and classes to take care of and rehabilitate animals that aren't even mine, paying for it out of my own pocket, even. What I said was entirely true, because I know Rebecca has a heart. If that leo were a child instead the distance would not be a problem. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, no matter what. Damzookeeper I beat you to the gatorade but you beat me to the removing of the gecko from the others! I love the 'slurpy' idea!!! Your points are entirely valid and there is a real chance the other geckos could become sick as well. Rebecca, keep us updated, and I do understand what you're going through... trust me. Keep us updated!

[GeckoCorral]

Not to be a stickler but there is a herp vet in Edmonton which is MUCH closer to you than Saskatchewan, which to correct another person, is two provinces over from BC. Edmonton is NOT all that much of a drive from Dawson Creek if Rebecca is willing to make it. I drive for three hours, more if I have to, just to sell my leos. If I had one of my kids (leos) get sick I would be willing to drive more than five hours to get help if that was the only choice left.

Just my two cents.

Diana.

[Rebecca]

It's a 6 hour drive. I don't have the time or the resources. Also she's eating agian and doing good.

[Dragon_Slave]

Rebecca: Tell your gecko that you are going to have it put to sleep if she doesn't eat. This worked for me, lol. I am 100% serious when I say this... I had an african fat tail gecko that stopped eating for 9 MONTHS! She got EXTREMELY skinny and I had planned on putting her to sleep the next day. I told her this and then tried feeding her and she ate! I was crying so hard, I couldn't believe it! It's like she understood exactly what I was saying! Now she is nearly 2 years old and as fat as can be! Her tail was pencil thin and you could see her backbone as well. Good luck and I hope she gets better!

[Samba]

Whoa, what an interesting case, Dragon_Slave! I have never heard a story quite like that one. I love fat-tailed geckos, but I don't know if I will ever own them again... Geez... 9 months.... LOL =)

[Dragon_Slave]

Samba,
I was so upset that I was going to have to have her put to sleep. I can't believe that happened, it's so hard to believe... but it happened and I am overjoyed that she ate again!

[Mike177]

if you cant drive her to the vet far away and if you have to be at work you should leave the gecko with a local vet. just tell the vet (or an assastant) that you HAVE to be at work and you need someone to watch the gecko

[Samba]

Dragon_Slave - again I am astonished by your fat-tail... 9 months is pretty extreme for a gecko... I've heard of extended fasting in snakes, but not geckos. Do you still have this gecko? Any idea on what triggered the fast, or the regaining of appetite? My little baby leo won't eat. She stopped eating voluntarily while she was being dewormed. I have been assist-feeding her for almost 7 weeks now.

Rebecca, all I have to say is DO SOMETHING! Find time to take them to the vet and good luck!

[Dragon_Slave]

Samba,
Yes, I still have her. Her name is Sarabi. She has always been my sweetest gecko, loves to be held and loves to lick my hand. I took her to 4 different vets in my area, and even a vet 4 hours away! They did blood tests, parasite checks, you name it, they did it! Poor little gecko... she just wouldn't eat! The vets had no idea what was wrong with her, there WAS nothing wrong with her, medically. It's like ever since I got my bearded dragon, she was jealous because I was paying him more attention. Ever since I started handling her less, she stopped eating! She lost a lot of weight, she was so hard to even look at because she looked like she was basically dead. It was heart wrenching even taking her out of her cage and trying to force feed her. She took force feeding for about a week and then refused to open her mouth, even after an hour of prying her mouth open, she'd close it in the blink of an eye, it was a VERY frusterating experience for both she and I. Well... she's now about 2 years old and going strong! I wish I had taken pictures of her when she was so skinny, so I could show everyone how sad she looked and how GREAT she is looking now. She eats crickets like a champ(about 30 1/2 inch crix per day) and is just so happy now. Of course, now that she is better, I handle her a lot more and I think that is part of her happiness.
And who said that cold-blooded creatures don't have feelings? Bah Humbug to that!

[Rebecca]

Why would I leave her at the vet?? I've taken her to a couple of vets, and they don't know what's wrong.

[Samba]

Rebecca - I think Mike177 wants you to leave your geckos with the vet so they can monitor them. It may help them diagnose an illness...

Dragon_Slave... that is an awesome story. I wish that happened to my Darwin... I miss him so... I like to think my geckos like me... they act cute until I take them out then they're like, "Okay! Put me down!" LOL =) Post some pics of Sarabi, I'd love to see her... I am a fat-tail freak, but I don't own any at the moment.... =)