Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I think that my gecko may have internal parasites. She is skinny, has a thin tail and can't seem to hold food down for too long (she throws it up, but only if she eats too many at once, mealworms or crickets)I'm very worried about her and was wondering if anyone could recomend some medicine or some sort of treatment for her. She is also somewhat lethargic(sp?) She seems to always be at the water dish, if that means anything.

Thanks for any help!

Trip to the vet ASAP. Call around for an exotics specialist or call your local exotic pet store and ask who they use. The gecko has all the signs of it, but it also sounds like it has been happening for a while (how long since s/he last ate properly?) Caught soon enough, there are people here who home treat with certain medications. I always suggest a trip to the vet because, especially if s/he has significant weight loss because it will take some support to get them back up and running again.

If you could have caught it before she lost a lot of tail fat, some vets will just do a fecal with a poo sample and it is much cheaper. I would strongly suggest a full vet trip in this case just to make sure it isn't multiple causes, like she has been stressed by the parasites and also then caught an infection.

I wish you the best of luck. We had our first little guy put to sleep due to parasites after a month of medicine and hand feeding a liquid diet when he just didn't bounce back (too young, bad pet store). There are lots of things that can be done, but sometimes all you have is hope and love. Good luck, I hope everything works out.

Oh, in the meantime you can get some vanilla (no other flavor, just vanilla) Ensure. It is a milk based canned drink for older people usually in the diet department. You can drop some on the geckos nose and get them to lick it off. It is high in calcium and protein, not to mention will help with dehydration. While in no way a cure, it will ease some suffering and offer some nutrition before the vet appointment.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

Ensure is also a great way to get SOMETHING to do a fecal on for a gecko who is not eating regular prey items.
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1.0 Hypo stripe, Het RW from JL (BJ)
1.0 HypoTang from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino from Petsmart (Cloud)
0.1 Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko from Petco (Beatrice)
0.1 Stripe female (rehabilitated rescue)(Pepper)
0.1 Jungle het RW hatched by me! (Jungle Bunny)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko from Petco (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko from Petco (Rainbow)
0.1 RW Stripe hatched by me! (unnamed yet)
0.1 Leucistic rescue (unnamed yet)
2.1 Ball Pythons
RIP Peaches, Ghost, Bill
Adopted out: Goldie, Leucy, "Q"
Hatched: ~50

Thanks for the Ensure idea, I'll keep an eye out for some. Also, she is in with another gecko, the other gecko is not showing any signs of being sick. Are internal parasites contagious?

Thanks for your help!

s
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1.0 Hypo stripe, Het RW from JL (BJ)
1.0 HypoTang from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino from Petsmart (Cloud)
0.1 Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko from Petco (Beatrice)
0.1 Stripe female (rehabilitated rescue)(Pepper)
0.1 Jungle het RW hatched by me! (Jungle Bunny)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko from Petco (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko from Petco (Rainbow)
0.1 RW Stripe hatched by me! (unnamed yet)
0.1 Leucistic rescue (unnamed yet)
2.1 Ball Pythons
RIP Peaches, Ghost, Bill
Adopted out: Goldie, Leucy, "Q"
Hatched: ~50