Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was recently given a L. Gecko to take care of from someone that no longer could. She has been raised in a 10 gallon with a light for heating. She has only been fed gut loaded mealworms, but these were supposedly routinely dusted in ReptoCal w/D3, from Tetra.

My question is this. When she walks it's like she's dragging her feet at the wrist joint. Is this normal? She does not appear to have any foot or toe dexterity.

I am currently continuing the gut fed mealworms and dusting them in both ReptoCal and Miner-all. She is housed in a large enclosure, 90 on hot side 75 on the cool. Hot half is heated with heat tape on a thermostat. Does her condition sound like it could be reversible? Sounds almost like a calcium deficiency.

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0.0.1 Hypo Corn
0.1 Ball Python
1.0 Colombian Red Tail Boa
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake
0.1 Green Iguana

Are her legs bowed at all, or are they straight from elbow to wrist? Does she 'tremble' at all while walking?

If she's been feed mealies dusted with JUST cal D3 then my guess would be she's got a calcium deficiency, or the beginnings of MBD. Switch her to PURE calcium, and leave a little bowl or capful of it in her tank at all times.

I would suggest taking her to a veterinarian, she may end up needing liquid calcium... and while she's there, have them collect a stool sample and run some fecal tests, to see if she's got parasites. You'll want to start treatment ASAP if she does. And if you have any other leos, make sure to keep her as far away from them as possible, and if you have them, use disposable gloves to clean her cage, and wash/disinfect your hands between handling/cleaning her, and any other herps you may have.

Sorry if any of this is 'overkill' but as a fellow rescuer, I know how tragic it can be to lose a new rescue to something preventable, and you must ALWAYS protect your healthy herps from any communicable diseases or parasites that the new gecko may be harboring...

good luck with her!

"Switch her to PURE calcium, and leave a little bowl or capful of it in her tank at all times."

So she doesn't need a D3 supplement? I will get pics up shortly. Maybe a short movie of her walking.
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0.0.1 Hypo Corn
0.1 Ball Python
1.0 Colombian Red Tail Boa
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake
0.1 Green Iguana

D3 in too-large amounts will actually inhibit calcium absorption, which means that she will be almost as bad off as a gecko that isn't being supplemented at all.

Rep-Cal PURE calcium is what I use for the in-tank calcium dish. It's the green label, FYI.

Here's a good dusting schedule for a gecko that eats every day:

5 days pure calcium.
1 day cal D3
1 day multivitamin, such as T-rex leopard gecko dust.

Even with that dusting schedule, leave a little dish of calcium in her tank. $She'll be eating mouthfuls of it by the end of the week, if she's deficient.