health problem - prolapses

Does anyone have any information on prolapses? My leo had a prolapse Tuesday (big red buldge protuding from his vent). The prolapse retracted the next day. Since it has retracted, does that mean he is okay now? What precautionary measures should I take before trying to breed him again? (He got the prolapse shortly after breeding).
Thanks.

You should give him a couple of weeks before breeding him again. Also, watch him very carefully when you do breed him, to make sure if it happens again it is caught right away.

BTW, didn't you post about this on the kingsnake Leo Forum? I could have sworm I read one of your posts (it is deleted now) that blamed the person you bought the leo from for the prolapse. Did I read that wrong? If so, I apologize.

I just did a quick search on the forum and looks like you recently posted this:

I just purchased a leopard gecko from **NAME DELETED BY KELLIH** and it was sick and eventually died. When I told him, he said it was not his responsibility and he only guarantees live arrival, even if the animal is sick or dying. I strongly recommend not doing with business with him and getting the word out that is is not someone you want to work with! He is unprofessional and does not care about his animals!

But I thought yesterday you posted about the same person, saying he sent you a leo that prolapsed? So which is it, dead or prolapsed?? I am confused!

test

Okay. Here's the deal. I got the gecko on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon he had a prolapse (within hours of receiving him).The vet said the gecko would die if the prolapse did not retract. We tried a couple methods and failed in getting it to retract. So, my vet basically said do not be surprised if it dies. So in my previous ad, (furious with this guy's lack of interest or care of animal health) I basically said the gecko was dead because even my vet said it was most likely going to die because we couldn't get the prolapse to retract. However, just recently the prolapse did retract! (woohoo!) And am just trying to find out what other leo keeper's opinions are of what to do next. Sorry about the confusion, I am just so mad at the quality of health of the leo I received I jumped to conclusions (thankfully, wrong conclusions)

Ohh, ok I get it now. But did the prolapse happen when you bred him with one of your females? Because normally with leos this does not happen spontaneously.

Anyway, a prolapse in a leopard gecko is not usually life threatening. The worst that would happen is that one of the hemipens will dry up and fall off.

Sometimes they do retract on their own, like sounds like you gecko's did. If it happens again, and does not go back in within a couple of hours you can try soaking him in a sugar water solution for a few hours, many times this will cause the prolapse to retract. If that does not work, you can put him in a deli cup with wet paper towel, and put neosporin on the hemipenal area. I wouldn't try pushing it back in yourself because this can cause more damage if not done properly.

Good luck.

Prolapseing itself is realy not that big of a deal, however it can often be the sign of worser internal problems.
Or hes probles just not ready to breed (how old is he?)

If your vet said he would die than you reaily need to find a new vet, one who experinced in herps and knows what their talking about.

If it happens again for an extended period of time, just make sure he dosent "dry out" And take him to a experinced vet They should give you some medican to fix the problem. (i was given Chlor Palm and this fixed my leo up nicely, his now one of my top breeders and i havent had any problems since

-Denise-

OK. Let me get this straight, because I can't keep track of your varying stories you have posted on more than one forum, (which I have read). What I am getting is that you:

- got a new gecko on Tuesday
- bred him to one of your females
- he prolapsed within a few hours
- your vet said the gecko would die
- you told the breeder he died because you were mad
- you posted a "bad guy" accusation on at least 2 forums
- the prolapse retracted

If this is not what happend, please give us more details on how/when your new gecko prolapsed, and exactly what you did If this is how it happened, then you'd better sit down because I am going to tell you what I think about it.

I got the gecko on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon he had a prolapse (within hours of receiving him).

(He got the prolapse shortly after breeding).

First of all, you did not practice quarantine. If you put a brand new gecko immediately in with one of your existing females, you have put her in serious jeopardy of possibly contracting disease. The male did not even have any chance of settling in to a new environment before he was subject to the stress of being with another gecko, much less a breeding encounter.

Then, when the male experienced a prolapse, you spoke to a vet whom you claim told you the gecko would die if the prolapse did not invert. So, when it did not invert, without further research you called the breeder and told him your gecko died and blamed him for sending you a defective animal. The breeder was not very happy about this, and did not give you a 'warm and fuzzy' answer or solution.

Now you are really mad, so you posted a "BEWARE OF THIS BREEDER" thread on KS, which is a very public forum! You were out to trash his reputation because you got angry that your new gecko prolapsed.

in my previous ad, (furious with this guy's lack of interest or care of animal health) I basically said the gecko was dead because even my vet said it was most likely going to die because we couldn't get the prolapse to retract.

It sounds to me like YOU are the one suffering from "lack of interest or care of animal health" by subjecting your geckos to a dangerous situation simply because you were too anxious to get a breeding. I am appalled that you would lie blatantly to the breeder and make public accusations that could potentially harm his business and reptutation.

Now, as far as your poor gecko goes, I doubt you will have any more problems with him prolapsing now that you are going to keep him separated from the rest of your geckos and not be in such a hurry to breed that you risk their health, right? But, after 90 days when you breed them again, if he prolapses you can follow what Kelli advised.

First off, I'd like to say that you do make some valid points about quarantine. I was wrong and should have known better. However, you are a little confused on what was said. Your bullet list was accurate, however, I NEVER told the breeder the gecko died. I only said that in the forums. I told the breeder only of the prolapse and he reacted as I have described. I was primarily upset not by the animal, but by the reaction and attitude of the breeder. He was very cold and stand-offish, offering no advice or even an attempt to answer my questions about the gecko. After a few heated e-mails he basically said the conversation was over and would ignore any future contact. This is what angered me the most.

I NEVER told the breeder the gecko died. I only said that in the forums.

Ohhhh, I see now! Instead of lying to the breeder, you lied to every single person that reads your posts on the forums! So that must make it OK, then...

Remind me to never sell you a Leopard Gecko. SHAME ON YOU!!!

I’ve followed this mess, and I think I’ll toss my 2 cents in, if it doesn’t help you it may help someone else who reads this. I’ve never heard of either you or the person who you did business with. It only took a few minutes on google to get a bigger picture of the situation.

I’ve seen that most outlets for geckos (chain stores, pet stores, and some individuals) could care less about the health or quality of the animals they are selling. They are only trying to move a ‘product’, and hopefully make a profit. But there are reputable breeders, sponsors of this forum for example, who are concerned with the well being of their animals.

It is your job as a consumer to determine which group the person you are dealing with belongs to. If you had taken 5 minutes to use the BOI, ask for refences, or looked around on google, you would have found that the person you dealt with doesn’t have much of a history.

It won’t do you any good to blame others for problems that are now yours to deal with. If anything, the way you handled the situation made you look bad. You might try to mend things with all parties involved if you want people to take you seriously in the future.

DaveCable