Reptile & Amphibian Forums

(annaisagecko's mom here again!)

Our leo is still not feeling well so we are headed to the herp vet in the am... thanks for all the help and advice here ..we will keep you posted as to what the vet says.

At any rate we are going to remove the sand from the cage because I whether the vet discovers this is the leo's problem or not the risk that it could be is enough for me (the one that pays said vet!)

Now my question is what should I get and where do folks normally acquire tiles? I am figuring some sort of home supply place like Home Depot? Glazed? Unglazed? (I can't figure out using my great powers of deduction which would be safer?.... unglazed pottery can be unsafe to eat from because of lead etc... would this be the same for tiles and wee critters that are going to be sitting on them? Or would there be dangerous chemicals in glazes that might be released by heat etc?)

Thanks in advance for the help!

Annaisagecko's mom

PS... Anna got a tiny drop of mineral oil into the critter tonight and some drops of water... he is still not eating or pooping... spent most of today in the corner of his cage with his head against the glass tilted upwards...looking very unhappy!!!
-----
1. Leopard Gecko: Larry
3. Cats: Midnight, Tiger & Fluffy
rip. Crestie: Tuki

Well, to be honest, papertowels are going to be the best for the gecko right now. If the vet finds anything (probably the impaction we were guessing) you'll need to change out/ clean out the enclosure more often to prevent any additional complications and to monitor the "deposits" left after the treatment.

In fact, we keep all our geckos on papertowels for many reasons, not the least of which is sanitation.

If you want to go with tiles, two considerations: one is this will change the temperatures in the enclosure because the UTH will not be able to distribute the same amount of heat as it was able to give to the sand. I believe, if I remember correctly, your temps were already on the low side and this would cause additional problems with digestion, especially if you are feeding a high cit food like mealworms. The other concern would be to stay away from glazed tiles. They contain lead. Unglazed or "baking" tiles is what I would use... I wish you better luck than I have in finding them, around here all I can find is terra cotta as unglazed and it isn't very attractive in my opinion.

Hopefully the vet trip went well and all will soon be "moving along" again. Good luck, our thoughts are with the three of you.
-----
0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

this is anna,

ok so this is just a quick low down on what the vet said, my mom might give it in more detail but here it go's, so first off, i was right! its a girl!

second its not an impaction its mouth rot infection and a respiratory infection , and the sand is gone to close of a call there!

but i was wondering if theirs any rules about news paper? i read some were "dunno if it was even about geckos haha" that it should but at lest a week old, is this right? or is it just not good either way? or dose it not even mater in the first place?!

but anyway when we got back from the vet i scrubbed everything down and put in old news paper, the vet gave us some antibiotic's and i have to hand feed her with a syringe,

all the vets were saying how fat and big she is lol, and i think she lost a little weight! but they said that they usually see little baby ones or ones in really bad shape, one vet came in and was like omg shes Fat! but really pretty Look at that tail! lol,

well ill shut up now, thanks everyone!
-----
1. Leopard Gecko: Larry
3. Cats: Midnight, Tiger & Fluffy
rip. Crestie: Tuki

Good to hear that she is on the mend and that you caught it soon enough that she didn't lose a lot of weight. (We were all kind of assuming a young/ underweight geckos, since, like your vet, that's usually the troubled geckos we see.)

As for newspaper, I have only heard of very few people that use it. Most people are concerned about the inks used in the paper and where the paper has been (sitting on the doorstep isn't the only place it has been). It is also easier to tear and ingest on accident if a cricket is holding onto it. (I have seen this happen and it was a few tense days until the small piece passed.) Another thing to consider is the flammability of newspaper... what do people use to start campfires? I doubt anything would happen under normal use, but then there is a nice burn/smolder point on my friend's oak desk where he set the heat lamp. Those are just the thoughts that run through my mind.

That's why many of us use papertowels. I spoil my geckos a bit and buy the undyed "cloth like" kind because that's what I'd like to sleep on and they are a bit stronger.

Another option I forgot to mention is called reptile carpet. It's at every pet store and you can get a pack of two in the size of your enclosure. Take one out and wash it in the sink and let it dry and you are good to go. Too much work for me, but we have used it under papertowels to regulate heat and for stressed geckos on top of another substrate. It comes in several colors, all kinda weird, but green, stone, and brown last time I checked.

Good luck and many wished of help for your girl. Good job for knowing something was really wrong so early. She's in good hands.
-----
0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

thanks for the update...it sounds like you really do know your leo best. It sounds like she will be great. I do not like the repti carpet. I use either paper towels or rock. Your best bet for that may be a landscaping place, thats where I get some of mine. Also some mom and pop pet stores carry 1/2 thick peices for fish tanks. Of course you sterilize them first, and really as long as shes sick I would stick to paper towels. Keep us updated!
-----

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 (Lucy?)
0.1 Tremper stripe from JMG (Delta)
0.1 SHCT hatched by me! (Blinky)
0.0.1 SHCTB hatched by me! (Sunny II)
0.1 Ball Pythons
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
Hatched: ~50 leos