Posted by:
IguanaMama
at Sun Jan 9 10:07:03 2005 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by IguanaMama ]
REVIEW: I "adopted" an immaciated hatchling from pet superstore on Friday. Pet superstore offered it LARGE mealworms as its only food source. As soon as I got it home, it ate 4 small gut-loaded crickets (I offered it six). Saturday morning I noticed small dried poop that looked like a 2-3mm SOLID WHITE ball sitting in the middle of a circle-splashed shape stain on paper towel, so there was some small amout of liquid with it.
I was surprised that it didn't eat at all on Saturday (offered it six crickets). I bathed it in warm water with some moss on Saturday night and gently massaged its underbelly with a cue tip. The gecko's coloring looked funny, it's translucent and I could see a lot of dark in its belly. Also, its legs and tail are stained orange, the color of the calci-sand the pet store kept it on. Sunday morning noticed two almost identical poops. Both were cylindrical in shape-about 2-3 mm in diameter and maybe 6-9 mm in lenght, no liquid. I broke one apart and it was orangy and sandy, like the calci-sand. I took the gecko out of its hide so it would notice its food. I watched him for an hour and noticed one attempt to get a cricket, he missed and then just went back into his humid hide. I left 6 in there with him, but he hasn't left his humid hide.
Now that these two poops are out, the gecko's coloring looks much better, but he looks EVEN MORE EMACIATED. I guess its stomach was pumped up with it and now that it's out, he looks like a stick. VERY SCARY LOOKING. He spends most of his time in his humid hide which is a butter tub with moist paper towels. BTW, last night I moved the humid hide right on top of the UTH, so it's a nice cosy temperature, but not too hot as the water keeps it cooler than if it was just a regular hide.
The gecko is active, alert and seems to have good tone as it stands on all fours, not dragging.
I called the animal hospital here that I know has exotics specialists and is open on Sundays, but they want $144 plus any test costs, etc. I don't have that much money. Tomorrow I will try to find another vet that does exotics. I think it is inhumane to charge so much for a visit.
Any advice would really be appreciated.
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 Need FURTHER help with skinny hatchling- long, sorry - IguanaMama, Sun Jan 9 10:07:03 2005
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