Leo Troubles

I have a 13 month male leo, around 44 grams in weight and 7" in length.

6 weeks ago I dropped him off with a group of breeders (New England Reptile) while I went on vacation for three weeks. When I got back, I noticed that he was noticeably thinner. But I didn't even think to weigh him then because he looked alert and otherwise healthy, thought that maybe they don't feed as much as I do.

About three days after getting him back very large masses of undigested cricket s began appearing in his cage. I also noticed he wasn't eating as much, maybe 2-3 crickets every other day. So off to the vet he went.

After a complete weeklong medication regimen for what the vet said to be coccidia, they wanted me to see how he did back home since he wasn't eating much at all there. (Syringe feeding was necessary). Well the meds don't to have seem to have had much effect. Still finding a mixture of undigested an d watery feces... I'm wondering if it isn't even coccidia at all? It's important to mention the vet is a generalist, so I don't know exactly how much experience he has with reptiles. Said that the leo was possibly reinfected and wants me to pick up more meds to continue medication at home. However, I made sure to thoroughly clean the cage before reintroducing the leo.

Should I continue to work with the vet I have right now? Or go to another? If I'm not mistaken the symptoms sound just as likely to be gastroenteritis as coccidia. Any opinions would be appreciated...

Here are a few pics of the gecko (with 6" ruler to provide reference) and a fecal sample from the cage...

.............

sorry can't see the pics...

Sounds like he picked something up while at the breeders.... you dropped him off just while you were gone huh? Did they try to breed him or something? How was he housed out there? Did you get a look at thier tanks before you dropped him off? How were they for removing feces and such from the tanks? Was he housed with other geckos? The undigested crickets, what end were they coming from?

What do you keep him on? It could very will be coccidia or someother infestation, but if he is throwing up rather than passing through he could have a blockage or something. Did the vet run a fecal test to come up with his diagnosis or did he just assume it was coccidia because it is one of the more common ailments?

oppps.... should waited I guess... can see the pics now. Well that fecal looks like it is almost pure urates....

When I picked him up it took them an awful long time for the breeder to retrieve him. Finally when he came out the breeder said that they had temporarily put him with a few other geckos and had to figure out which one was mine. (doh! ) Anyways they said that they could tell because he was the only male. (thankfully..) He might've had contact with the other geckos, I don't know, but I wasn't too happy.

I don't know anything else about the way he was housed except he was on paper towels and in his own enclosure. (for the most part.) I also use paper towels for substrate.

Before I found that in the cage, I noticed that he was about to shed... so I'm thinking it's skin. (I also thought urates at first).

I don't know which end the crickets were coming from, but they look much too big to have passed through his system and out as feces.

There are also a few normally sized feces without cricket, but they aren't very solid at all... very pasty.

I believe the vets did do a fecal test.

I'm just looking for advice here, I don't know how much trust I should place in the vet. But by the symptoms, as far as I know it could easily be worms or a b ad case of diarrhea.

I should also mention that the leo isn't particulary lethargic or anything, still as alert as always... just not very interested in food. (a little bit lazy, but I think all leo's are opportunists...)

Sounds to me like he was probably bred to some females, and right now he's more interested in finding more women the food. It happens, and they usually get over it pretty quickly. Try housing him in a different room away from your females for a few weeks (so he can't see or smell them), and he should get over it. The fecal is a good idea because if he was in contact with other leos, who knows what they might have been carrying.

I don't have any other geckos, but yea, he might have bred with the females at the facility. The only other gecko at home is his reflection :P

If the vet did a fecal test and determined that your leo was carrying coccidia, then your leo is probably carrying coccidia. It doesn't take a reptile vet to identify this parasite since it commonly occurs in humans, cats, dogs, birds, and other animals. This is a very contageous protozoan parasite that requires not only medication but a very strict cleaning regimen.

I think general vets are accustomed to just giving medication and then dismissing their patients. For cats and dogs, that's usually all it takes to get them healthy again. However, reptiles are confined in smaller spaces where crickets are allowed to run around and reinfect their hosts with the same parasites that were deposited in the poop. In my opinion, cage cleaning is probably the most important part of the treatment process because it's the only way to really put a stop to the parasite's life cycle.

Giving your leo medicine probably got rid of the first round of coccidia, but if you weren't cleaning his cage every day while he was being treated, then he probably still has more parasites. The medicine is only effective against the adults, which is why follow-up treatments are advised since it's possible there were younger stages completely unaffected by the medication.

His lack of appetite might be from the medicine. Albon is prescribed for coccidia, and it works like a poison. I've used it before and really hated seeing what it did to my animals. It basically made them stop eating and stop moving.

Anyway, what I recommend is for you to clean his cages DAILY. Switch out the paper towels, and clean out his humid hide and water bowls. If you're willing to take an extra step, wash the cage itself with dishwasher detergent and a thorough rinse. Bump up the temperature on the warm side so it's up in the 90s. This will give his immune system a boost and maybe help stimulate his appetite. And lastly, make sure he's well-hydrated. Give him a well-constructed humid hide and keep fresh water available at all times. He'll need the moisture because the diarrhea and the Albon will dehydrate him.

He was at the vet for the whole period when recieving his medications, (1 week) so I assume they monitored him closely and kept the cage clean. I also made sure to do a complete cleaning of his cage (washed all the furniture, replaced paper towels, washed down the sides, etc.) before bringing him home.

I will try to follow those tips, zelda. thanks for the advice.