Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Could anyone help me with my gecko? She has diarrhoea and also I think she's throwing up. She hasn't eaten anything in awhile, so I think what she's doing is retching (she hold her head up and makes a weird hissing noise) and she was definitely throwing up when she was eating.

I took her to the vet last week, and she has been given baytril all week since (according to his instructions) but I am not sure it has done any good.

Temps and everything are ok, I've taken all the furniture out and replaced the cage carpet with tissue and she has avipro in her water. What else can i do?

Thanks.

Well first of all, is the vet you brought your gecko to a reptile specialist vet? Or is it just a multi-pet practice vet who will treat reptiles? If this vet is not well versed in all things reptile then often they do more harm then good by giving poor information or misdiagnosing. Why is your gecko on baytril? Is there an infection? Did your vet do a fecal sample?

You need to provide a thorough history of your gecko and its husbandry in order to help us to give you advice. However i must stress that this sounds as if the situation is getting worse and your best bet might be to find a really good reptile vet asap.

How long have you had your gecko? Where did you get him from?
How old is it?
Is it housed alone or with others?
Was it eating well prior to the vomiting and diarrhea?
What are the temps? How are you measuring them?
How is the cage set up - what substrate was used initially? How many hides? How is it heated?

If a fecal sample wasn't run, you should do that immediately as parasites may be a problem.

If the temps are low (lower than 88-92deggresF in the warm side measured by digital thermomter) then you need to increase them as this can lead to poor digestion - vomiting and diarrhea.

Have you been soaking your gecko at all? Often times antibiotics will dehydrate reptiles which makes them feel even worse - a nice swallow (not over the sholders) warm water (95-100degreesF) bath once a day will help to maintain hydration.

Without knowing more information its hard to guess what might be going on. Again, i must stress that if the vet who saw your lizard was not a reptile specific vet or is not very well versed in reptiles then i would try to find a reptile specific vet to look at your leo as well.

please give us the above information and good luck with everything!
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0.1 Bearded dragon (Hannabil)
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake (Morticia)
2.1 Leopard Gecko's (Pogo,Jeffrey Nothing, Louise)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn (Autumn)
1.0 Blood Red Corn (Virus)
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx (Scuttle)
0.1 Bullmastiff (Asha)
4.1 Cats (Poe, Tucker, Abhid, Felicity, Emmy)

How long have you had your gecko?
8 years
How old is it?
8 years
Is it housed alone or with others?
lone
Was it eating well prior to the vomiting and diarrhea?
yes
What are the temps? How are you measuring them?
temps are 88F warm side. Room temp on the cool.
How is the cage set up - what substrate was used initially? How many hides? How is it heated?
Cage carpet, three hides (one cool, one hot, one moist) heated by heat mat thermostatically controlled.

If a fecal sample wasn't run, you should do that immediately as parasites may be a problem.
I am trying to get a fecal sample, but it is runny and there is not alot of poo, which is making it tricky.

Have you been soaking your gecko at all? Often times antibiotics will dehydrate reptiles which makes them feel even worse - a nice swallow (not over the sholders) warm water (95-100degreesF) bath once a day will help to maintain hydration.

yep I have been soaking her, she doesnt might it but I think it makes her retch abit. She sits in her wet hide alot too.

Vet seems well versed in reptiles. I'm assuming the baytril was prescribed because a bacterial infection seemed the most likely cause?

Thanks!

I would suggest anther vet visit or a second vet opinion!

I would say that your best bet is going to be to attempt to get a fecal sample. I know its tough with your leo not eating much but try maybe scraping up all the samples from one day and bringing them in - even if its not the optimum amount that the vets would like to perform a fecal exam - they can still do one and hopefully will get lucky and will have a sample with eggs in it.

You can also try syringe feeding for a couple of days just to get enough feces to perform a microscopic exam or culture.

I would also try dripping some Acidophiliz into your leo. This is beneficial gut bacteria that is particularly useful when your animal is on antibiotics which are stripping their gut flora. This helps them to feel better because the antibiotics in and of themselves can cause GI upset. You can get Acidophiliz at reptile supply.com (http://www.reptilesupply.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Acidophiliz&rssid=dfa7bde585186acd6111eb1682acced6&=find)
And its already dosed out for your animals. Acidophiliz is also available as a powder and can probably be mixed with water and given with a syringe, although you would have to ask your vet for a dose.

I hope this helps a little!
-----
0.1 Bearded dragon (Hannabil)
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake (Morticia)
2.1 Leopard Gecko's (Pogo,Jeffrey Nothing, Louise)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn (Autumn)
1.0 Blood Red Corn (Virus)
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx (Scuttle)
0.1 Bullmastiff (Asha)
4.1 Cats (Poe, Tucker, Abhid, Felicity, Emmy)

Thankyou, I took a sample of her poo and that of my other gecko (who is not ill, but might have some of the parasites, if there are any) to the vet.

I am giving her avipro in her water, it think it is similar thing, with electrolytes and enzmes. I also fed her a squished up waxworm. Unfortunatly this made her retch, so i am hesitant to force feed her, although she is also retching without feeding.

I think she is retching- she opens her mouth, makes a strange, almost whistling sound, and then shakes her head about. It's quite upsetting.

At the moment she seems to find it comfortable to sleep with her head resting up the wall- so it is at 90 degrees- which looks quite odd. Poor little girl