sick leo

[Mike177]

my male leo alex has come down with some sort of parisite. i noticed that we was vomiting his food a wile ago and noticed him getting pagrasivly skinnyer. i am going to start giving him oral injections of small amounts of food 2 times a day and hope that if i just give him a little he wont vomit it. i really love this gecko alot and i am afraid i cant offer him the best care in his current state. he is REALLY skinny. im going to also give him some para-zap and probly get some panacure. but i need advice on what to do as geckos are not my area of expertes. also if anyone in the DFW area who is experences with geckos and could offer him better care i would be willing to give him up for the sake of the gecko. advice advice advice..

thanx,
mike

[klein]

why don't you take him to a local vet and get the proper meds for him, then he will get better quicker and then it is easy to get him fatter ...

[drewlowe]

The best thing to do would to contact a vet and try and drop off a fresh fecal sample to have it tested for parasites. The test usually run 15-20 plus price of meds, for one leo it shouldn't be much. I wouldn't try the "shotgun" approch. If you give him panacur and "if" he has a parasite and it's not one that panacur will take care of then it won't help and could possible make things worse. Because panacur can be hard on the kidneys. There are several different parasites and medications that will work on each one.

[Samba]

All good advice.... Your vet will probably recommend that you offer a canned pet food (called A/D, I think) this will help fatten up your animal. If your animal is vomiting, be sure to keep it's environment the correct temperature. Most reptiles cannot digest food unless they are warm enough... this sometimes causes vomiting. Ask your vet to check for impactation... also a common reason reptiles vomit. Don't rush to administer Panacur. Panacur can cause an animal's health to decline, and decrease appetite. Assist-Feeding the animal will cause it stress, so ask your vet to demonstrate how to do it. Keep us updated on your pets condition and don't give up. I have a gecko that stopped eating for almost 5 months! She weighs less than a 5 month old I recently aquired, but she eats now. (She broke her fast on Feb. 19). I have no idea why she stopped or started again, but I had her tested (all negative), and I sustained her on Chicken baby food and vitamins during that time. She's doing better now, so make sure you put as much time and effort as possible for your gecko... Good Luck!

P.S. Mike, I'm in Alb., NM if you get desparate let me know, I will pick him up. Good luck...

[Mike177]

i have been feeding him 50% of his daly colories (because he is so amaceated) in 2 doases (25 morning 25 night) thew a sergenge. i cheaked the tems and that are all good, i moved him into a smaller sweater box with just water a nice hide log, basicly just what he needs. he vomited a little but he kept most of it down, today i have not seen him vomit at all. i put him on my digi scale and he has gained around 5 grams, its an improvement so if all goes well he should start gaining more weight, ill keep you posted.

Thanx,
Mike

[Samba]

Sounds like you're doing a good job, Mike. Keep it up, and trust me, it might get more difficult. but be consistant. Post some pix if you can.... BTW, did you ever find out what parasite Alex has? The kind of parasite could provide useful information to us.... keep in close contact with you're vet and weigh Alex regularly... Good Luck!