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Not Eating

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k2newman

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This site was recommended to me by someone on Reptile Rescue.

It all started on Nov 1st when I fed my leo mealworms for the first time since both pet stores I frequent were out of crickets. She immediatly ate 5 mealworms, where as an hour would go by and she wouldn't eat any crickets (not eating crickets happened quite frequently--I'm fairly certain at this point that she wasn't eating the crickets becuase she didn't like the taste of the vitamins I was dusting the crickets with).

Then the next day I got my hands on some crickets and she wouldn't eat them. She didn't eat for two days. Then on 11/4-11/6 she ate 5 or 6 mealworms. On 11/7 she didn't eat once again, but then threw up about 4 of 5 mealworms that were all clumped together. At the time of the throw up she had not eaten for more than 24 hrs.

Today is now the 4th day in a row she has not eaten. I offered her crickets and mealworms today and she did not eat them. She was, however, rather busy eating her shedded skin. What is wierd is that she pooped today. Not a normal sized poop, but a poop nonetheless.

She also has been spending a lot of time in her cool/humidity hide and possibly drinking a lot, though I'm not entirely sure since I only get to watch her in the evening since I'm at work all day.

I've heard everything from she's just not hungry to she needs to be wormed (I had her de-wormed when I first got her on general principles). Anybody have any ideas or suggestions?
 
Hmm... well, if she was getting ready to shed that could explain her decreased appetite. Doesn't explain the regurgitation though. I've had leopards regurgitate simply because they acted like little kids and ate too fast. She's probably not eating today because her tummy is full of shed skin.

I say give her a couple of days with no food and then try offering her crickets again. As long as she's got good weight on her and looks healthy, fasting for a few days won't hurt her.

How long have you had this gecko, and where did you purchase her? Do you have any pictures? It would be great if you could post some here.
 
I've had her for about a month and a half, she's approx. 5 3/8'' long and weighs about 8.5 grams. I got her at Jack's Aquarium and Pets, which has been in business here in SW Ohio for 55 years.





 
I would consult a vet immediately, your leo is drastically underweight. The tail is far too skinny, and I would not hesitate to take action.

God Luck
Tony

For reference, this is a leo I recently acquired which is the approximate length of your animal. Her approximate weight is 30 grams.
 

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Well, if she's been de-wormed already, besides needing to be de-wormed again, what else could be going on?
 
You have probably been asked this already but how are your temps? Tony is right, your leo really is skinny. There are a lot of possiblities for your leo not eating like parasites, poor temps and even stress. How many hides does she have? Do you keep her with or without light?

Greg
 
I agree. Now that I see the pictures your little gecko could be in a world of trouble. If you've got a qualified reptile vet in your area I would take her to him. In the meantime I would start feeding her a nutritious slurry. She's probably dehydrated.

When I have sick geckos, I feed them apricot or peach baby food mixed with calcium supplement (NO vitamin D3) and T-Rex crested gecko diet. Mix the slurry in a spoon and then smear it on the geckos lips. Leopard geckos don't like having dirty faces and will ingest the slurry when they lick their faces clean. I would do this once or twice a day. You should probably also think about getting pedialyte to rehydrate that gecko. I've never used the stuff myself but I hear it works wonders with dehydrated animals.

The gecko could have a parasite infestation and/or may be suffering from long-term neglect. Although the petshop you purchased her from may have been in business for 55 years does not mean they know how to deal with reptiles. In my experience the reptiles always get neglected first, not only directly, but by ignorant care givers. It's amazing that these petshops sell books and give away care sheets for the animals they're selling but rarely refer to these documents themselves! The animal should not have been sold to you in that condition.
 
Well, if I've already had her de-wormed, besides de-worming her again, what else can be done or is going on besides having worms?
 
Oops, didn't think that posted so I reposted it, I think I'm gonna see if I can take her back and get one that seems to be a bit healtheir. I've been thinking about doing it for the past few days, but now I'm just tired of dealing with a sick lizard.
 
The stress of being moved to a new enclosure and home when she was already underweight was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. I would use the slurry I suggested above, or some derivative of it. I kept a very sick baby alive for 2 months until it fully recovered using that slurry, and with healthier geckos that'll improve appetite in a week or two.

EDIT: Just read your newest post. If you feel the need to return her, just keep in mind that it's likely a death sentence for her. If the petshop sold her to you in that condition there is a very high chance they will not do ANYTHING to improve her health. In fact, they'll probably put her back up on the shelf until someone else comes along to buy her. I realize it's a lot of work dealing with a sick gecko, but at least she's sick and not dead. There's still hope for her if you work at her. I say she's probably got a 90% chance of surviving if you work at getting her healthy.
 
If you arent willing to put the time and effort into saving the Leo, then you probably shouldn't have on at all....going back to the same store and bringing yet another one home only makes that pet store think they are a good item to be selling, encouraging them to sell sick animals and that one is about two weeks away from death. Any animal can become sick for any reason at any time, regardless if it is a mammal or reptile and if you become tired of dealing with a sick animal that quickly and want to return it to be rid of it then why are you even an animal owner?
Instead why not get it to a vet and talk to the pet store and let them know what is going on. Maybe they have no clue as to what a healthy Leo should look like and maybe you can educate them on the proper care...then again, if they have been around for 55 years and that is the type of condition they sell their animals in, they probably don't care....
 
Maybe you should mind your own business and keep your opinios yourself shannand25.

Went to the vet and had to return Lois to the pet store today. The vet said they are pretty sure she has crypto, though they didn't test for it. The pet store gave me back the price I paid for her and the cost of today's vet bill. They said that I shouldn't buy a lizard from them for a few months so they can check their stock.

As far as disinfections of the tank and it's decorations.....What is bleach to water ration I should use and how long should I let it soak? After everything has dried, how long should I wait to put another gecko in the tank with the furnishings?
 
Crypto is some serious stuff I would throw away almost everything that came into contact with that gecko. The tank may be able to be saved but any plastics or porous materials I would pitch. As far as buying from that store again I wouldn't. It is just not worth the risk. Crypto has been known to wipe out intire collections in a matter of weeks. There are far to many good breeders with in creditable stock to take the chance. May cost more to start with but much less heart ache in the long run and vet bills. I would think the store would want to stop selling all of their reptiles until they had them tested, but it probally won't happen because it cost to much. It would take more than one testing and would take several weeks. I would even be willing to bet if you go back in a few days they will have the gecko in question back up for sell. I may be wrong but unfortunately it has become the norm in pet shops. Overhead and all and having to make a profit. I would look for a breeder or a show coming up in your area. If you need recommendations for breeders just ask and you get sereval replys.

Also everyone should try not to be so negative and help this new member out. Personal attacks on someone who is asking for help is not helping. Shannon I understand your reasoning but it is frustrating for someone new to reptiles to have to deal with a sick animal right off the bat. That should be taken into consideration when making recommendations.
 
I have to agree with Glenn. I too say to toss everything but the tank and go through and get new things for the new addition. I would also get the new addition from a more reputable source, a proven breeder is your best bet.

I must also agree that it isn't fair to be so harsh on him...after all, he did find his way to forums looking for help for his leo, so he deserves credit. Someone else would let the gecko die, or immediately return it and not bother to even research or ask what the problem might be.

He is also interested in acquiring another leo, and might need help in the future, and we don't want to turn him away from us and have him be misinformed in the future.
 
if it wasnt for lack of weight id say shes porlly fine. but becasue of how skinny she is she has to be sick. im a stranger to breeding and what not but im absolutley no stranger to dealing wit hdisease and injury among herps. friend of mines dad runs a veterinary office. anyways about a year and a half ago i bought my albino male. it was june. he didnt eat at all for 2 weeks after i got him. i was starting to wrry so i started by assiting him with eating. id place the food i his mout hand let him do the rest. after doing this a couple times he threw up. it wasnt till the 4th day of it doing this. i did it everyother day. so eight days. anywyas i stopped and then he began losing drastic weight. soon this caught on and my female was infected. they both were in trouble. so i took them to a vet got a dewormer and 10 days supply of oral baytril. everyhitng was good from the non. recently however my male has taken up not not eating but i believe this is becasue of winter. i tried assisted feeding again. this time he regurgitated once and i left him alone. i simply leave about 6 crickets in his cage til ltheyre gone. this lasts me about a week per 6. they slow right down. hes not losing weight though which is good. your problem seems so familiar its unreal. take her to the vet with a fecal sample. i bet you get the same thing i did. if it is the same id say your leos about fine if you caught it in time. mix high protein moist dog/cat food with water and some vitamins/minerals. feed orally by syringe. thats how i got mine started after. see what the vet says before you do waht i did. mine were also adult. hope your leo gets better
 
It is good that you came to the forums, but at the same time... you shouldn't get a pet if you're not ready to deal with whatever they are going to dish out. I agree that is it horrible that the pet store sold you a sick animal, and that they wouldn't realize that this animal was sick and needed care is even worse. I can't beleive they took it back and gave you a refund, it sounds like people with good intentions... and thats nice. But why not have them reimburse you the vet bill and try your hand at saving a very sick baby? You're never going to find a pet that is going to be 100% healthy all the time... giving them the care they need is part of what being a pet owner is all about.

I'm sorry, maybe I have no place to have said any of that, I'm fairly new here myself... so I'll get off my soap box now. I just can't but think of that poor baby that really stands no chance at all now. It breaks my heart.
Sorry
 
k2newman said:
The vet said they are pretty sure she has crypto, though they didn't test for it.
Click to expand...

This statement alone puts trying to take care of it out of the question. Crypto is serious stuff I don't think it is something someone new to leopard geckos should try to treat. I think he was lucky to get his money back and should cut his loses and start over with an animal from a better source and new furnishings.
 
Can someone please explain to me what exactly crypto is? I think I have an idea but I'm not too sure. Having somebody without a PhD in veterinary medicine explain it to me would be much appreciated! :)
 
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