Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have in my care a very sick gecko, and I don't know how to help him. He is severely underweight/emaciated. I have been trying to feed him by mixing beef baby food, warm water, and vitamins/calcium. I put this in a cyrince and slowly squirt it on his head. He then licks it off. I can manage to get him to eat about 3/4cc of this mixture.

He stands upright all day, lifting his head and torso into the air. Occaisionally he'll sleep. This behavior disturbs me greatly.

I tried to feed him again at midnight, and he was ok, but clearly stressed. He started to hack a bit and regurgitated some of the food (only a small bit). I cannot tell if this is because he can't keep it in his stomach, or because I squirted some into his mouth, possibly gagging/choking him. Given his slight cough I suspect a respiratory infection as well.

I am at a loss as to how to deal with so sick an animal, especially if he cannot keep down food. Any suggestions are GREATLY appreciated, especially with regards to food combinations, feeding practices, etc. But any information at all about how to treat such a sick gecko (ideal temperature, soak or not, medicine, experience with this bizarre standing behavior...) would also be a major help for me.

Thanks for your help. I hope we can figure this out and help the little guy back into health.

-Ramy

Just as if a human being were very ill, you would take them to a doctor, the proper thing to do to help a sick gecko is take them to a vet. All the food in the world will not cure whatever underlying problem is causing the weight loss, your gecko almost certainly has some kind of infecion, most likely either parasitic or bacterial, and needs a stool sample, diagnosis, and the correct medication.

schedule an appointment for the leo with a reptile vet as soon as you can. take a FRESH stool sample (it can't be old or dried out) with you and the vet can put it under the microscope to see if there are any parasites or bacteria that will need medicine to kill.
all you can do is keep the leo in a proper setup and keep offering food. try to feed it a bug slurry (feeder insects, a small amount of vanilla or strawberry ensure, and a dash of vitamin/mineral powder mashed in a blender and fed through a syringe), it may respond well to that. good luck!!!

Cleo

Thanks guys. I will take him to a vet pronto. I do not have or know of a good reptile vet. I'll start looking right now, but any suggestions would be helpful. I'm in Los Angeles. If there is anyone you reccommend, that would be great.

-Ramy=

http://www.arav.org/Members/CA.htm

Hmmm that link did not work go to www.arav.org and click on members, then click on United states, then click on CAlifornia to find reptile vets near you