Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my son's gecko has been lethargic and not eating for about a week. he shed improperly and his gut looks bloated. i took him to a vet yesterday. the vet gave me antibiotics and saline injections to give him daily. my question is- he likes to sleep in the water dish- the tank temp is about 90. it is so hot in ny and i dont have ac, so i cant get a good temp gradient. my vet wanted me to keep the heat source on, but my gecko seems to prefer the cooler area of the tank and the water dish. Any ideas or thoughts about what i should do?? i'm not sure i trust this vets advice. oh, he also told me to force feed the gecko.

Yeah, I think you have better instincts than your vet about this. The heat can be too much for them if they can't thermoregulate to a cooler spot. The humidity can also be a problem. As far as force feeding, I wouldn't, unless it's already at death's door. You can use some meat baby food and vanilla ensure and drip a tiny bit on the snout for the leo to lick off. It's much safer and less stressful for the animal and you!

Thank you so much. i also didnt think it was necessary to force feed. he hasnt lost much weight-his tail is still very fat and i think force feeding will make matters worse. i'll give it a few days, if he doesnt improve with the meds i'll take him to another vet. Thanks

Is he pooping? Do you have a substrate in the cage? If so, what is it?

no he's not pooping. the substrate is calci-sand. i thought he might have an impaction but the vet didnt think so. i guess his gut isnt hard. he has an ulcer on his tongue. that is why the vet thought it was a gi infection.
this morning he's still sleeping in the water dish. when i take him out to give him the meds he perks up a little but is still essentially lethargic.

Be aware that calci-sand is terrible for lizards, leopard geckos in particular. Not just due to the impaction problems that any loose substrate an cause, but the calcium used in it is like a constant dose of tums, and the acid balance of the animals' system gets altered. Once the PH is changed, it's ability to digest food is severely diminished. I strongly suggest that you remove the sand and use tile, paper towels, or some other solid substrate.

I'm betting he is impacted. If he is he will likely need to go to the vet to solve the problem. Calcisand is well known for causing impactions.

Here's a site showing x-rays of impaction and the surgery/necropsy that followed...
http://homepage.mac.com/exoticdvm/reptile/PhotoAlbum181.html

I have soaked other lizards in warm water when they were constipated and it often works....don't know if it would work for an impaction or not. Here's a site that suggests trying it though...
http://www.drgecko.com/obsimpact.htm

Here's some more information about it...
http://www.seavs.com/case_studies/lizards/
" Sand/substrate Impaction"
"Problems associated with the ingestion of fine gravel, sand and walnut shell often results in gastrointestinal impactions and cloacal prolapse."

"Celomic palpation usually is diagnostic, but radiographs will confirm ingestion of this foreign material (Fig 3). Mineral oil and warmed saline enemas may help in mild cases but surgery may be necessary in more severe cases."

If you take the information from the site to the vet it might help. Hope you can get the problem solved!