Clueless and need help

My 8 yr old son bought a leopard gecko with his own saved up money about 9 mths ago. We have not had any problems until the last two weeks. His gecko, whom he named Mecko the Gecko, stopped eating two weeks ago. I was not worried because he was turning grayish so I assumed he was ready to shed again. But now he is very lethargic all the time. I also found out that since my husband took over feeding of Mecko he has failed to put on the shake and bake on his food!! Could he be in a calcium deficiency? I was not worried until I found this out. Also he did shed this morning but never ate the skin, just left it in his humidity shelter and went back to sleep. I am also finding that since the really cold air hit here the tank has a very hard time getting to 80 degrees so I did not know if maybe this is normal for winter. I am so mad that they bought this poor guy from petco too! I really need to know what to do here, or is it too late and I need to go to a reptile vet? Thanks in advance for the answers!

There could be any number of problems. Do you possibly have pictures? A temperature of 88-92 or so is really needed in a portion of the bottom of the tank (your not measuring the temperature of the air). It could be as simple as the gecko "cooling" itself for winter. Signs of MBD (calcium defiency) include "rubbery limbs", mishapen limbs, or "crooked spines". It could also be a problem with infection/parasites, what does the geckos stool (poop) look like? Is she pooping regularly? Without pictures it is very hard to determine whats going on, good luck, Chris.

Originally Posted by CathyB

My 8 yr old son bought a leopard gecko with his own saved up money about 9 mths ago. We have not had any problems until the last two weeks. His gecko, whom he named Mecko the Gecko, stopped eating two weeks ago. I was not worried because he was turning grayish so I assumed he was ready to shed again. But now he is very lethargic all the time. I also found out that since my husband took over feeding of Mecko he has failed to put on the shake and bake on his food!! Could he be in a calcium deficiency? I was not worried until I found this out. Also he did shed this morning but never ate the skin, just left it in his humidity shelter and went back to sleep. I am also finding that since the really cold air hit here the tank has a very hard time getting to 80 degrees so I did not know if maybe this is normal for winter. I am so mad that they bought this poor guy from petco too! I really need to know what to do here, or is it too late and I need to go to a reptile vet? Thanks in advance for the answers!

I would try to get his Viv up to 88-93 on the hot side as soon as you can. This may be the only problem and you will see him bounce right back. If this doesn't work, take a fecal in to the vet as soon as you can. Also make sure his food gets shake n baked, it's very important. Try giving him a variety of feeders, crickets, mealies, supers, roaches and silk worm, some times they will decide they want a change. If you have had him this long with no problems I don't think it really has any thing to do with were your son bought him from.

Back to the temp issue. If it's too cold he will stop eating thinking it's winter. However if he was eating and it dropped like that and he did not poop everything out, and he is in burmation, that is not good. The poop inside can be toxic, if he is not warmed up, so he can go. I really think the temps are his issue.

I agree that the temperatures would be the first thing you check. The surface (at belly level) of the bottom of the warm side should be no less than 88* and no more than 94*. To achieve this, an undertank heater (UTH) is preferred rather than an overhead lamp. The proper temperatures are essential for the gecko's metabolism, immune and digestive systems.

If correcting this doesn't improve the situation, I would also recommend getting a stool sample to a vet to check for parasites. If there is no stool, you may need to dropper-feed him some baby food squash. If you need help with this, fell free to contact me.

Thanks so much! he was pooping regularly until about 6 days after he stopped eating. now he has not gone. I assumed it was because nothing in, nothing out. I do not have any pictures of him to post. Did you want pics of him or the habitat setup? I do not see any of the signs of the calcium deficiency you posted. I just got scared when they told me they have not used the vitamins and jumped to that conclusion in a panic! Maybe it is the temp because I have had a problem with the temp for about 2-3 weeks now and that is when the eating stopped and the sleeping all the time happened. I will go out this weekend and get some more adequate lighting I guess. Any suggestions? I already have the day lamp and night lamp, and an under the tank heater but that is on the side of the tank, not underneath. My husband was worried about putting it under since it is on my sons dresser.
How could he have gotten parasites?
Should I not be worried about him not eating his shedding?

thanks in advance and for all advice so far. My poor son has been in a panic for his poor little guy.

Originally Posted by Golden Gate Geckos

I agree that the temperatures would be the first thing you check. The surface (at belly level) of the bottom of the warm side should be no less than 88* and no more than 94*. To achieve this, an undertank heater (UTH) is preferred rather than an overhead lamp. The proper temperatures are essential for the gecko's metabolism, immune and digestive systems.

If correcting this doesn't improve the situation, I would also recommend getting a stool sample to a vet to check for parasites. If there is no stool, you may need to dropper-feed him some baby food squash. If you need help with this, fell free to contact me.

thanks!! My friend who has a bearded suggested feeding him baby food, the chicken, with some of his vitamins mixed in. Squash would be better? I thought they did not eat veggies? Man, i wish we got him from an expert who would have sat us down and told us EVERTHING! Thanks for letting me contact you if needed!

Take Marcia up on her offer and contact her. She's great with these issues. If I'm correct I believe the squash stays in the intestins longer, so they get more out of the food. Marcia has a great slurry recipe for non eating geckos.

I have two tanks in my 8 year old son's room with UTH's and they are both sitting on his dresser. They need it to be under their belly, so putting it on the side of the tank is not doing any good. They need the belly heat to regulate their temps and to digest food properly. Put the UTH under the tank, just make suer you raise the tank about 1/4 inch to let heat escape the bottom, this will also keep the glass from cracking.

I added photos in my gallery of what he lookes like today and his habitat. please let me know if these help anyone with what is wrong with him!

yea put the heater on the bottom with a thermostat and also get him off the sand it causes impaction for reptiles( even the calcium carbonate junk). dont be worried about fire because the temperature for ignition from heat is around 400 F and they really dont pull enough power to cause an electrical fire.

The calci sand may be part of the problem too. Leo's shouldn't be housed on sand, and calci sand is the worst. They ingest it and it clumps up and they become impacted and can die from it. There is very little loose sand in the wild where leopard geckos are from, just mostly rocks. So the sand (impaction) and the temps are most likely whats wrong with him. No one can tell you what is wrong with him from a picture.

You have been given some good advise in getting the temps correct and the placement of the UTH. Try that and remove the sand, and see what happens.