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baby blizzard rescue update & pics

Geckogardener

Geckogardener

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Here are a couple of early progress photos.... and does anyone know if the body organs look normal in the shot taken from below?

This was taken the day of the rescue, (AFTER eating a couple of squashed crickets)
59560365.babyblizzard1.jpg

Today, after less than three days. She already has a fuller looking belly thanks to Marcia's slurry!
59560366.babyblizzardprogress1.jpg

and another view - still a long way to go
59560367.babyblizzardprogress2.jpg

And in this shot, the internal organs are clearly visible. Is that dark triangle the liver? At first, I thought it was a sign of something seriously wrong like a huge chunk of bark, but now I think it's just a normal organ that is simply large looking in comparison with the critters tiny size and translucency. You can actually see the darker cricket mush lower in the intestine and the fresh lighter colored slurry in the belly.
59560368.babyblizzardunderbelly.jpg
 
Hummm...I've seen dark spots on baby bellies before...but nothing quite like that. I hope it's ok! Poor little thing!
 
Aawwwwwww

That poor little guy. I wish you the best of luck with him! :)
 
I am no expert, I think Marcia will definately be the one to answer, but I think that is the liver. The reason why it probably looks really big, is beacuse the gecko is so small.

I hope you can turn the gecko around, just please remember not to let it get anywhere near your other geckos, don't even where the same clothes after you touch that gecko if you are to be any where near your others
 
What you are seeing is indeed the liver. It actually looks fairly healthy compared to the condition of that poor little gecko. When leos are 'off food' for a long period of time, their fat reserves become mobilized into the bloodstream to provide calories and nutrition. But it can cause the liver to get clogged up with fat cells, which contributes to hepatic lipidosis... fatty liver disease. This is the purpose of the Milk Thistle (herb) in the slurry recipe, as it is a liver purifier.

If you are feeding the slurry to this little one, it should produce a stool which can be taken to a vet for analysis. By the looks of the poor wee one, I would say there is a strong possibility of parasitic infection, so early diagnosis and treatment will be the key to it's survival, and the slurry is designed to provide life-support during it's recovery.

Good luck, you are running against the odds, I'm afraid... but I've seen miraculous turn-arounds with proper treatment. Sometimes I think these little creatures have as much will to survive as I have had the will to keep them alive!
 
The little guy is still alive - but there's not a lot to report. I did take it in to the vet for a fecal float and an acid fast test, and nothing showed up. (I know Crypto can still be a possibility since it only shows when the microbes are shedding, so I am still taking the same precautions as if he could have it)
I did add the milk thistle to the slurry also.
He managed to eat a few crickets on his own a couple of days ago, but then stopped again, and those crickets weren't through the system pretty much undigested.

The vet thinks it may just not have been formed right internally, but to keep trying since she's seen worse cases pull through. With her help, I got set up at home to do regular fecal screenings to keep an eye on the rescues that come in - even when they look fine I can run a check, which is handy.
Here is a nice site that describes the way to set this up (It's for beardies, but similar enough) http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Fecaltest.html

and here's a recent shot of the little guy:
59872037.alienbaby2.jpg


Thanks for all of the help. I know that even if this one doesn't pull through, it has been such an education for me, and at some point, the knowledge I gained from working with this one help to will save another.
Sue
 
I am glad to hear that you have learned something from this ordeal :)

I am also glad to see that the little one doesn't seem to be doing bad at all...in fact, if I'm not mistaken, the arms and legs are looking like they put on some weight...this little one might just make it yet. Great job at sticking it out with him...I hope the next pic I see is of the little one are of a chubbier tail.
 
Little Spooky died :(
Well, the little blizzard I was trying to rescue didn't make it.

I knew for the past week or so that it just wasn't absorbing the nutrients in the food. You could see the belly swell with each feeding and collapse the next day, but the little arms and tail never improved.

I had a necropsy done by the vet to see what the problem may have been. No signs of Crypto or any parasites, just failure to thrive. The vet and I both think things just weren't hooked up right from the beginning. I doubt that he absorbed any nutrition since his own yolk sac. All I was able to do was to keep him hydrated.

It's a shame, but he never should have been shipped to the petshop in the first place. They are a good shop, and they care for the animals very much there. so I always knew it had nothing to do with them.

It was still worth it to try to save him though, I learned so much from it, and the remote possibility of it having Crytpo sure made me more aware of cleanliness and not switching items between tanks!

Oh well... you can't win 'em all
 
:( that's sad to hear. I am glad you gave him the best in his last few weeks of life, and that you have learned from this experience. Its terrible that he just wasn't able to absorb the food...you usually don't think about that however with any leo its possible...genetics and breeding and everything can play a role with how healthy your leo is. I'm sorry you lost him :(
 
Thanks, it probably happens to a certain percentage regardless of the husbandry. It's little liver looked a bit enlarged from the start. There was another baby blizzard that came in with this one, supposedly from the same clutch, and it looked just fine.

It was sad that it passed, but I know I gave it my best shot.
 
I'm so sorry to hear this Susan. I can understand your loss... it's so very hard to watch them suffer and not be able to do anything to help, especially when you gave it your best.
 
Thanks, Marcia
I'm not as upset as I would have been if one of my others had died unexpectedly. I knew from the start that the chances were 50-50 at best, so I didn't allow myself to get attached.
Still, some good came of trying, I learned how to make your wonderful slurry and where to find the ingredients when I need them again. I learned how to syringe feed and force feed gently if needed. I learned how to test for parasites at home in order to check out any new rescues even before I can get them to a vet, and to perform preventative checks on my healthy guys. All in all, I'm glad I gave it a shot.
 
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