Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how do you know if a leo is impacted and it is time for a trip to the vet??
thank you
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1. thoroughbred. rocket.
1. albino leopard. deimos.
1. jack russell terrier. nipper.

It's hard to know for sure if its impacted. The symptoms (not eating, not pooping, lethargy) are symptoms of a lot of other problems too. The vet should diagnose. Its' even hard for the vet to know for sure unless it shows up on an x-ray. ps. calci-sand shows up GREAT on an x-ray.

Follow the link at the end of this post to learn about how to ID impaction and what do to about it.

Impaction in Leopard Geckos
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Leo Land
The best and biggest leopard gecko site on the net!

I feel like I'm almost an expert on this, one of my leos died from a Vitasand impaction last month. For me, my gecko still kept eating, but his stomache became distended and bloated. The xray showed a swirl of sand in his belly, and since he was so young you could see everything almost perfectly in his stomache if you held a light up to it. The vet had told me that when they are impacted, sometimes they stop eating and drink a lot of water, but my gecko hadn't really done neither. If you don't see him going to the bathroom or if it looks funny, could be an impaction. With my gecko, his poop was white and very small until he stopped going all together. The vet put him on hairball remover for cats, and lactalose, which brings water into the intestines. I guess if you catch the root of the problem quickly and treat it quickly, it most likely will clear up. Unfortunately for me, he had been on a sand substrate long before I had even got him, so he never really had a chance. Oh, and apparently mealworms contain chitin, which when paired together with sand, it becomes like glue inside the digestive track.
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~*Chibi*~
Sir Iggy (El Salvador Blue Iguana), Ryo-ohki, Orion, Bud, & Finnegan (4 crazy kitties), Rosebud (cockerspaniel), and Kayko (leopard gecko)

i am so sorry about your loss, but thank you for your help.
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^-^
1. thoroughbred. rocket.
1. albino leopard. deimos.
1. jack russell terrier. nipper.