Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i think my gecko is sick.
she is doing weird things.. like climbing in her water bowl, all over her tank and underneith her mouth it's like she is breathing really really quick. it might be from what i fed her i don't know i'm scared. the crickets i've gotten from the pet store near me some kept dying on the way home.. {i'm not going elsewhere for them *45 minutes away* but i think she may have ate a couple bad crickets and mealies.

what would be the reason those bugs would die in like 15 minute drive home? heat maybe.. i don't know.

anyways astrid never comes out during the day and she is all over the place. i figure she is probably hungry right now thats why she is out.. because i have to go out of town to get her crickets tomorrow being as the ones i bought today were dead.. but why does it look like she is breathing really hard? should i worry..

that and she is dulling in color.. and looks like in a few areas she is loosing her pattern. is that mean she will shed soon? she is my first gecko and i want her to be happy and healthy..

could another reason she is out and about be becasue i took out the usual bottom {sand} and replaced it with paper towl so she wont injest it?

and WHY is she swimming in her water bowl!

*sorry so long..i'm just worried about her* thanks!
-----
..she sees in black and white, while she dreams in color..

First of all, what type of gecko is this. Second, rotten food does cause delirium in humans and possibly geckos so I dont know what to say about that. Crickets do die very quickly in heat. If she is losing pattern and color she probably is shedding which would explain her in the water bowl. She may be trying to get the skin off and high humidity is the best way to do so. Please specify the type of gecko and what humidity you have it at. Rapid breathing may be resperitory and is usually caused by low temperatures (in relation to the perfect temperature for her). In most cases respiratory can be clearly identified by the gecko breathing with its mouth open. If you recently switched the substrate she might be stressed out and confused about her environment.

she is a leopard norm. her mouth isn't open when she is breathing.. it is closed and its just under her chin that moves a lot and really quick. i don't know.

tomorrow i'm going out of town to get GOOD food because i know they don't die on me. this makes me happy. she will probably eat a lot right away {hopefully} because i don't want her to be sick. i'll be sad.

i think she may be do to shed as well i'm not sure of their normal shedding patterns though becasue she is my first. how long normally before they shed.
-----
..she sees in black and white, while she dreams in color..

They shed every time they grow so depending on how old she is she will do it more/less. Usually tends to be about every 3 weeks - month. In any case, she is just breathing quickly. My tokay does this when he is scared like when strange people are near and so on. This basically indicates an increased hartbeat. She may be scared of her new surroundings or it may be too hot. Keep it around 90 and give her a moist hideaway. A glad container works great with some moss or shredded newspaper that is moist. She will hide in there and it will help greatly to get the shed off if she is infact shedding. Thats the only reason I can think of that shes sitting in the dish unless shes really dehydrated in which case she wouldnt be swimming but drinking. Keep us posted hope, she calms down.