Here's the deal. I have tried EVERYTHING and I'm at a complete loss. Anyone who has any clue...even the smallest thing I haven't thought of yet. At this point I'm ready to find an old priest and a young priest.
My boyfriend and I have been keeping/breeding leos for 6 years now. We've never had issues like this, but we cannot keep our leos well anymore it seems.
Environment:
>Temperature/lighting - Dual Helix thermostat and heat tape to maintain temperatures. 88-90 degrees (sick temp, higher than typical mainataince temp). recently introduced the UVA/UVB light for daytime hours...Can't hurt, even if it can't help.
>Boaphile rack system, each leo is housed seperately. They were previously in 20L's in small colonies, but they had done well in the Boaphile racks for months, completely asymptomatic.
>Substrate - Paper Towels. Gravid females are on moist cypress mulch for laying. No history of impactions, no current evidence of impactions.
>Water source - shallow ceramic bowls,light misting daily. Reptisafe to remove chlorine from tap water. Should I try some pedialyte in the H2O???
>Hide spots - Black plastic reptile dens, easy to clean.
>Cleaning/Disenfection - Chlorihexidine and hot water daily. Replacement of paper towels. Spot cleaning of cypress mulch, complete disenfection with chlorihexidine when female is removed and prior to introduction of new leo to enclosure.
>Food - Dusted crickets every other night & mealworms made available in a small ceramic dish at all times. No crickets are reclclyed between geckos. If they aren't eaten, they are destroyed to prevent any cross-contamination. (I have considered it may be the food source, but not all are ill, and they all eat the same food. My crickets and mealworms come from Fluker's.)
>Hands are cleaned between each handling to prevent cross-contamination.
The geckos are not all genetically linked. There is no noticable pattern in the location of the geckos and their symptoms. Warm soaks may not hinder, but they are not helping either.
I have been to 3 different herp vets and had several geckos presenting with various syptoms examined...no answers to what it is. After many exams and fecals and tests I know it is NOT:
1) Impaction
2) Cryptosporidosis
3) Parasites
4) Renal Failure
5) Temperature Issues/Humidity Issues
6) Injury
7) MBD
8) After pathological analysis of organs I was told maybe a virus or toxin, but still no answers!!! Necropsy of one gecko came out negative for all viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic testing. All organs were said to appear healthy. HELP!!!!!!! Not all geckos are sick. No specific age affliction, No ideas!!!
The geckos have exhibited different problems:
1) Head tilt (2 juveniles [6-8mths]have had head tilt, so that they perform a crocodillian-type death roll when you pick them up) Heads are always tilted left. 2 things can cause head tilt a)injury (aka fall) not the case and b)infection. No bacterial/viral infection could be detected, even through necropsy and further pathological cultures/examinations of organs. The 2 that had head tilt had diminished appetites. Now one of my healthiest fattest male adults has developed full body limpness and only responds slightly. He opens his mouth readily when his lips (?) are touched at all. Seems mentally with it, but neurologically unable to move himself. Was fine until we found him on his back, now exhibiting what seems to be difficulty moving, completely limp, but able to move if you are patient and watch. Blinking is fine, limbs move when you move them (no stiffness) but has GREAT difficulty getting his body to react, even though it looks like his brain wants it to. I lost the first head tilt after vet examination gave no answers....what could be causing this neurological dysfunction??????
2)Eye infections/ailments - I was prescribed an antibiotic ointment "NEO-POLY-BAC" made by Butler AHS (ointment supposedly stays on longer than the drops because of it's consistency, seems to be working for some) and the others are at least not worsening, but new cases are popping up. Eye issues are not directly linked with any loss in weight and leos still hunt by senses, even though visibility is poor or nonexhistant. Made a new observation tonight while treating. ONLY MALES have eye problems...no females have been affected. Presents as cloudy film over eyes, some discharge varing between water-like and puss-like. Some have swollen eyelids, others have not, but the eyes tend to remain closed and geckos squint before the filminess presents. Seems to spread to several of the males without any contact. Tried increasing humidity, no change in condition.
3)Anorexia/General decrease in appetite. Tried offering different foods to stimulate appetite, no such luck. Jumpstart makes it worse. When geckos refused to eat, we handfed meal worms (couldn't get crickets down easily. They opened their mouths fairly easily for the mealies. Would not recover enough to eat on their own, regurgitated mealies. Switched to A/D (Rx food kinda like wet cat food, smashed it in a mortar and pestle and put it into syringes) Could not maintain on the drops on the nose & lick response method of feeding. squeezing small amounts into the mouth resulted in head shaking and the room covered in spit-out food. Stress to the gecko and no nutritional benefit. Resorted to syringe and catheter tube feedings directly to stomach. ***Mind you I've done this before and have been instructed how to do so with the least detriment to the gecko as possible by a vet. This is last resort because I have to balance nutritional benefit to animal and stress caused by this "force feeding" to the animal. I'm experienced enough so that I don't really have to restrain much to get them fed and they sit on my leg while I feed and back away from the catheter until it slides out of their throat & mouth once they've finished. Feeding amounts vary from leo to leo based on size, but usually about 1cc per feeding. They pass the A/D just fine (no impactions) but continue to regurgitate any insect feedings. Backbones are very prominent in the anorexics even if they haven't dropped much weigh (i.e. their backbones may be prominient even if they arent even thin enough for shoulders/hips to show).
I have lost quite a few geckos and still have no answers. It has to stop some time, but I don't know what else to do. I have even traveled to vets that are known for treating herps and paid to have organs sent out for further testing. I'm desperate. ANY HELP WILL BE WELCOMED...
Thank you sincerely!
