Sick leo -- realistic expectations?

I have a young leo (~2 mo old) that completely stopped eating two days ago. She was passing watery stools off and on for two weeks after I fed her a butterworm. The white urate portion was always solid, though. In the last four days she regurgitated everything she ate, including her skin shed and a whole cricket.

Other leos ate from the same worm batch, nobody got sick. Her substrate is a paper towel. Her water dish and tank are disinfected every other day.

I am dropping her off at the vet tomorrow morning, a reptile specialist will check her. She drank about two drops of unflavored Pedialyte tonight, from a syringe. She is absolutely unresponsive to food, but I tried to re-hydrate her without forcing too much liquid in. She drank what she licked off her snout.

The thing is, I have read everything. All stories about recovery from near death, cadaveric-looking lizards to death the night before the visit to the vet. She is not skinny, but has lost weight. Her tail is still plumpy, you can't see bones through her skin, but the armsies are getting a little wrinkled around the elbow. Her eyes were halfway shut last time I saw her.

So, my question is, what is a rational expectation, all things considered?

I'm sorry your gecko is not feeling well, and I am glad you are taking her to the vet. I have a great recipe for dropper-feeding anorexic geckos:

In a blender, combine:
1 small can Hill's A/D pet food (available at most vets)
1/4-1/3 cup Ensure (not chocolate)
1 jar baby food squash
1/4-1/3 cup Pedialite
2 tablets or contents of 2 capsules milk thistle (herbal supplement, liver purifier, found at most drug stores.)
1/2 tsp. each calcium powder and herp vitamin powder
1 large handful of mealworms, added slowly while mixture is blending

Puree all ingredients until completely smooth, and pour into ice cube tray(s) and freeze. Store cubes in zip-lock bag in the freezer until ready to use, then thaw out 1 cube at a time and store in fridge for 2-3 days. I use the empty baby food jar for this purpose, washing it thoroughly after each batch.

*Lately, I have been adding about 1 tsp. T-Rex Gargoyle MRP to each new thawed out cube.

Using this mixture, draw a full dropper (eye dropper type) and place a drop on the gecko's nose. It will lick it off, and as it does, slowly squeeze out a little at a time. Most geckos love this food, and will lap it up.


Good luck!

Thank you Marcia, that is very thoughtful and I'll surely try it.

So do you give this instead of bugs or still leave bugs in the tank? I wonder if she'll get any shots or medications. She does not even have a fresh poop for culture...

It's my experience with many of the rescues I have taken in that the bugs just stress the geckos further. This food will get something into her tummy to produce a stool sample. If you cannot put the slurry together in time, just give her some baby food squash... which is a great carbohydrate and tends to 'bind' in the intestines.

I'm going to the grocery store now... Thanks!

If she has been regurgitating for four days, you should probably not try to feed her for another day or two. Don't force feed her because it can agitate her system even further and make her regurgitate more. That's probably why she has no appetite right now. When you do feed her though, you might want to try a non-worm food item. It's possible she associates the worms with puking and would be more interested in crickets or something.

Giving her fluids in the meantime is a good idea though.

In the last four days she regurgitated two days, has not eaten since yesterday.

She did not throw up the drop of Pedialyte she had earlier and had about a drop of that mush. I felt like a Fear Factor host.

Her tummy looks plump, we'll see if she has a little poop for tomorrow. I am dropping her off at the office, going to work and then they'll call me before I pick her up...

I did add worms, and crickets and roaches. But she had, overall, about a drop of it. We'll see if she at least picks up.

I mean she is no thousand dollar gecko, she is just a little normal that will cost me over four times her price to treat tomorrow but she is mamma's little girl...

Olivia is right... do not try to force-feed her. This will only stress her out more, and I do not recommend force-feeding unless it it a life-and-death situation and even then should be performed using a feeding tube. Chronic regurgitation can cause bile to come up and burn her throat, therefore not making eating a very pleasurable experience for her.

I would get all the bugs out of her enclosure and just try the baby food a little at a time on the end of her nose, allowing her to lap at it and swallow it under her own control. The purpose is to allow her to stimulate the feeding response and get something into her GI system in order to produce a stool for the vet to test.

Marcia,
I am trying that formula of yours.I have been looking for something that might help.I have 3 geckos.2 albinos and a patternless at the moment.1 albino and the aptternless are doing great no problems.This other one I just don't know.I have them housed seperatly and this one just stopped eating.I have been doing syringe feeding for about a week now and he isn't looking as bad but not where he should be.He is 1 month older than the other albino but looks about the same age.makes me crazy.I am going to try this little concoction of yours and hope for the best.
I really hope this works.I have been fighting with this gecko for weeks.
Robin

I have also been having problems with 2 leo babies..no regurgitation but there seems to be a decrease in their feeding.
One day i will see them eat -the next day -nothing.
They are much smaller than they should be at the age that they are and a stool check showed no parasites.
I have 3 other babies that have taken off like weeds and these two are just puzzling me to no end.
Marcia- thanks for the recipe
Sandy