Got a leo need help

[NewLineReptile]

For the people that no me know that i am into large snakes not geckos. But things change....lol i saw this little leapord gecko and felt so bad i had to get him/her Well this is what i need help with he/she is missing it's tail the girl at the pet store picked it up by it's tail and she said it just came off. Will it grow back? how should i treat it? any help would be good Also what kind of substrate should i keep it on until its tail heals. Would paper towle be best.

Thanks
Brandon

[ChristinaM]

Hi Brandon, I will post pics for you of tail regrowth in a moment. Yes it will grow back if your leo is just a baby. Adults, sometimes yes sometimes no.

Substrate: paper towel, or indoor/outdoor carpet would be best till it's a full grown adult :)

Congrats on your new baby :)

[ChristinaM]

oh, for how to treat it. Give it lots of good food, and calcium. It will use ALOT of energy in rebuilding its tail.

[Edwin]

Leave it alone, it will be stressed if it has recently lost its tail. Make sure it has lots of food dusted with vitamins and calcium, as like Christina said, it will need lots of energy to rebuild its tail.

[ChristinaM]

Here's my leo shortly after I got him, date is on the pic.

http://www.linkd.net/~cmarvin/public/lizards/leo2.jpg

http://www.linkd.net/~cmarvin/public/lizards/stubbs.jpg Oct.22



http://www.linkd.net/~cmarvin/public/lizards/stubbygrow.jpg Nov.11.

Hope that helps :)

[NewLineReptile]

Thanks for the help i will do everything said

Thanks again
Brandon

[Neo]

the tail is a major fat storage area.. major. but dont powerfeed it wax or butter worms for unneccessary fat

[NewLineReptile]

If i leave a few crickets in with him will they try to eat his tail?
They are very small crickets like pin heads and some a bit bigger

Right now i have him in a 17L Rubbermaid with a screen top and a low watt heat light. I put in paper towle for bedding and a hide and water dish. If there is anything else i should do please let me know. I have (reptivite reptile vitamins) i will dust his crickets with should i offer him something else to eat?. I am new to the leo thing and just want the best for this little guy

Thanks for all the help and sorry for all the questions....lol

Brandon

[bob_thesnowman]

hey,is your little guy eating on his own?bah,damn pet stores picking them up by there tails STUPID STUPID STUPID...lol....anyway the tail will more then likely grow back on it's own,to my knowledge if this is the first time he lost his tail it will grow back,but i've heard that if they lose their tail more then once it will not grown back,as the others said keep up on the vitamins and calcium,just applying polysporin to it should help prevent any infections,and as for substrate as someone else said paper towel or indoor outdoor carpet is best!!i wouldn't leave crickets in there with him,as they tend to be annoying and may chew on his tail,if you'd like to keep some food in there with him mealworms would definately be better(assuming he'll eat them,as some leo's will only eat crix)hope that helped

[ChristinaM]

Hi Brandon.....Questions are great, it's better than pretending you know and doing things wrong.

The temps in his enclosure should be 85-88F on the warm side.
A humid hide would be great, these are very easily homemade and will help them shed(sometimes they have probs).

I wouldn't leave the crix in with him. But a small dish of mealworms would be good. They can't climb out on smooth surfaces.

Also, a little bowl of calcium powder in the tank works too. They lick at it when they need it.

ummmmm, think that's bout it offhand.

I have to respectfully disagree with Neo on one thing. Butters are a good source of calcium and protein. They aren't providing unnessecary fat. Butters and silkworms are excellent for these scenerio's. Waxworms however, are very fattening.

Is the tail nub raw? If not I wouldn't worry too much about antibiotic cream...but if it's a recent drop, then the cream won't hurt.

How big is your lil guy? Do you know how much it weighs? Any pics yet?

Good luck :)

[bob_thesnowman]

well just my opinion,i am by no means the worlds leading expert on leos(lol,or anything else for that matter)but i find feeding butterworms or waxies in a situation where the reptile is small or malnourished seems to do more harm then good,it's happened to me twice before,i had a beardie who ate two butterworms and i went up the next day and glanced at her tank and she was on her back having a seisure!!after some vet care she recovered,and is growing like a weed!!!another time i fed a waxie to a malnourished fat-tailed gecko,he ended up passing out and several times i could've sworn on my life he was dead,but after several fluid injections(a total of six)over a two hour span he was consious and actually walking around,after this though he would not eat on his own,after getting him more fluids a few days later,i tryed to get him to eat again without success,i waited two days,decided to try and force feed him a cricket,i stuck the crickets head in his mouth,he did the rest of the work,and that cricket was down in a few seconds flat,i went to bed,when i woke up i checked on him and he was dead,what you're doing is a good thing,but don't get to disappointed if it doesn't work out,things don't always work out the way you'd like them too

Chris

[ChristinaM]

Hey Chris......I'm no expert either. Am curious on your experience though. Is it possible that the seizure and other health probs could have been from how malnourished the lizard was? as opposed to from the food?

I totally agree, waxxies are fattening and should NOT be used as a staple.

I can't see the "how" as to butterworms causing ill effects. Like I said tho, I'm no expert, I just happen to know a fair bit bout my bugs ;) (yah isn't that something to be proud of eh LMAO).

TC, the female Chris

[eyespy]

I don't see how a butterworm caused a seizure either, unless it was kept on a substrate that developed molds. Some aflatoxins can produce neurological symptoms and many grain-loving molds produce aflatoxins. Butters themselves are too soft-bodied to cause spinal compression seizures and an excellent source of nutrients.

[eyespy]

Hydration is important for regenerating body tissues so make sure your humid hide stays nice and damp and if it doesn't stress your gecko out a weekly soak might be beneficial.

[Emily-Fisher]

The tail will grow back, don't worry :) Keep him/her in a clean environment though so that it does not get infected. Use papertowels as a substrate and make sure that the water bowl is always filled with fresh water. The temps should be 75 on the cold side and 85 on the warm side. Make sure to have at least two hides (one on each side of the enclosure). As far as feeding goes, I would feed him/her gutloaded mealworms, crickets, silkworms, waxworms, and butterworms. Dust them with calcium every 2nd feeding and always have a dish of calcium available in the enclosure. For the humid hide, I wouldn't use vermiculite, soil, or spaghnum moss like most people would normally do since he is regenrating his tail. I would use moist papertowels instead. Hope this helps!

[Neo]

i agree with you Bichiraddict, i meant no power feeding. you can have the occasional butter or wax every month or so. butters have the highest calcium level but their fat is still really high..

[NewLineReptile]

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to this topic. As of now he is always in his water dish and his tail is still a bit freash. I have not seen him eat but i have seen that the crickets are gone and there is no way out for them. So he must be eating them He is about 3'' not to big But very active i hope to have pics soon i have been tied up this week and have had no time to take any pic's.

Thanks for all the help everyone
Brandon