Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey i bought a very skinny juvi leo from my friend today it is very skinny there is no fat stored in its tail at all. i ws watching it try and cath its food today it would go after it but when it got close to it it would loose intrest and just kinda lick at it. i tried to feed it mealies and crix but havent seen him eat any. can anyone give me some tips on getting it to eat. also it doesnt hand feed. hope you can help beacuse it is a beautiful leucistic.thanx
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Matt G
1.1 jax chameleon
1.0 veild chameleon
1.2leopard gex
1.2 fire belly toads
2.1 golden gex
1.0 beardy

try wax worms they will almost never say no to them,after a few days of this try mixing in meal worms..good luck

That's EXACTLY what my girl did when she was sick with parasites. You could tell she was hungry, because she'd go after it, but then she'd just nudge it/lick it & turn away. I'd suggest a vet check/fecal for parasites.

That's EXACTLY what my girl did when she had parasites. She'd go after food like she was hungry, but then she'd just lick it/nudge it & turn away. I'd suggest a vet check/fecal exam for parasites ASAP.

Yea, I would take her to the vet, she more than likely has problems with protozone or something to that effect. My male did that for a while and he had pinworms. They gave him panacur and everythig has been doing ok.
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2 male leos: Winky HY & Lenny TangCT & 4 Female Leos: Sunshine Super tang,Starburst Super tang carrot tail, Serenity Tremper HY Jungle Albino, Skittle Hypo-Golden, and Banana Patternless.

I have a baby that is just about the same, but well, she looks almost like a hatchling, but absolutely no fat on her tail. I waited because I was stupid. Now she is really ill and I don't think she is going to make it (found out from a vet visit and all). I'm force feeding her right now. She's a pastel phase, beautiful. Her eyes are so amazing, but she's super ill. She has literally the whole nine yards of problems right now, no parasites, but she is just not doing well.

So do not hesitate, in fact, if you can afford it, if you ever ever ever think something is wrong with a lizard of yours, take it to the vet. Waiting rarely ends good...I got lucky with my beardie...coccidia=bad

Not that I have experience with Leos, but my MHD was doing GREAT, good color, and all, and I was taking her into a well kid checkup, and she got sluggish while we were waiting for the APPT.
Turns out she is loaded with worms, and has been on a hunger strike for over a week now
we start treatment on Saturday, even the VET said she looked to be in GREAT health, maybe gravid to explain the filling out belly) so no rush on the fecal
now its a rush for the Tx
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Elizabeth (ecb)

Make this world a better and more beautiful place that You have been in it
*Edward W Bok*

I made that mistake with her, but she lived for a long time. I had a lepidogaster, and she was eating well and all and I got sick and she stopped eating and my family couldn't do anything about it and she passed away. She was most likely wild caught and infested from head to toe with parasites.

Another recommendation for buying animals, especially reptiles, is get it from a breeder. Never buy from a store. Even a local pet store, I learned this the hard way. Pet stores DO NOT take proper care of their animals. Especially stores like Petco and Petsmart. Don't ever get from them unless you want a long list of vet bills. Its a no-no. bad bad bad. nononononono.

Kingsnake.com has an enormous list of breeders and suppliers. Go to reptile shows and buy from there. Just not from a store, its a nononono. They are likely to be wildcaught, sold too young, or just in poor health to begin with.
I should have caught this with my youngest, not doing well, leo, pastel phase. Now I know thanks to Golden Gate Geckos. Her two month old she sold me was ten times bigger than my baby was at two months. So I know now what size a leo should be at about 2 months. And as an adult as well, since I have my cute little high yellow female. She's getting fat, trying to figure out how to get her off mealies and back to some crickets :S.

As for MHD's, there is a lady that talks a lot in the MHD forum that breeds them. I think she only has one subspecies right now, but she takes good care of her babies. She had an article in Reptiles recently on MHD's. She can give you a lot of advice on MHD's, the do's and don'ts etc.

Anyway. I know now that whenever I think something is wrong with my animals, they go to the vet. Period. A simple little 11 dollar checkup is better than having $200 of bills from medicine and stuff they have to do in the office.