Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, i work at petsmart, and there is a leo there that the body is about 1/3 the thickness of the head, the tail is about half the thickness of a shoelace. i don't believe that petsmart will be able to properly care for him, i really wanna dopt him, to help him out, anyone know who i should goto, and got any hints on how to go about doing it..? thank you very much
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0.1.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 rudis chameleon
0.0.1 house gecko
1.0.0 rabbit
0.1.0 dog
1.2.0 cats
2.0.0 goulian finch

If the tail is also thin, that gecko is likely ill and in need of veterinary care. Ask to talk to the manager about whether the animals has gotten a fecal and suggest it be quarantined/put in infirmary/off the sales floor. They should have a contract with a vet that they send their animals too. If they tell you they won't provide vet care, tell them that the animal will die if it doesn't recieve it, and if they won't pay for it you will pay for it if they let you adopt it.

Be aware though that if the tail is extremely thin (tail is a better indicator of relative health than body thickness) the gecko is likely sick, vet care may be expensive, and there is a chance gecko may not survive, despite treatment (depending on what it has).

If you do adopt it, be sure to get it well hydrated with pedialyte or gatorade (apply drops to nose for it to lick off) before attempting to feed.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

well, i hate to say this but yea, i can't really afford to take it to a vet, i'd just do my best to help it out, most of the geckos there have thin tails so yea, i'll let you know what happens, and o yea, how would i go about hydrating it with pedialyte or gatorade? sorry for all the questions
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0.1.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 rudis chameleon
0.0.1 house gecko
0.0.1 japanese firebelly newt
1.0.0 rabbit
0.1.0 dog
1.2.0 cats
2.0.0 goulian finch

you should not even consider adopting it. It would be irresponsible to the gecko. At least the store may be able to get it vet care. All the pedialyte in the world won't save that gecko if it has parasites or an infection that is making it sick and thin. I suggest talking to the manager about it and see if you can't get him/her to send the gecko to the vet they have contracted with.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

np
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chickabowwow

3.2 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)
and 3 eggs a' cookin'

no, they won't take it to the vet, and you know what i'd be able to take much better care of it than petsmart could, but yea, either way he said i could take it home and nurse it back to health, but when i took a closer look at it, it was horrid, his skin was almost transparent from the bottom, he had like a triangle of something inside of him, and he had feces stuck to him, so yea, i put him in the sick room, decided it wasn't worth it if all my reptiles could get it you know... i feel really bad for him though, he wouldn't drink anything...
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0.1.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 rudis chameleon
0.0.1 house gecko
0.0.1 japanese firebelly newt
1.0.0 rabbit
0.1.0 dog
1.2.0 cats
2.0.0 goulian finch

In addition to what Sarah said, here's another way of looking at things. She's 100% right, but consider this. Each gecko that gets 'adopted' from these horrible stores(I like the stores, but they need to stop selling herps) just makes it okay for them to keep selling and killing them. You're keeping them in business. Tell the manager that THEY need to get it to a vet, not you; it'll only become a liability to you. It it were a case of shed skin or lost tail, that's one thing, but you don't know what's wrong with this animal. It could have parasites or even Crypto, which can't be cured and could infect your collection.

I understand you feel bad for it, but instead of pressuring them to let you adopt it, pressure them to get it to their vet. Explain what is wrong with it and ask them when they're getting the vet to do a fecal and examine the gecko. Tell them that its living in very inhumane conditions, either health wise or environmentally, or both. Of course if you make enough of a stink about it, your job could be in jeapardy, so decide how far you can afford to take it.

If you adopt it, you'll need to get it to a vet to check it out and that's $ out of your pocket that was put in there by Petsmart; why not make them take it out of thier pocket and you spend your $ on a nice, healthy gecko? Less worries in the long run.
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Rob Jenkins
Have you seen the GeckoCam?
Charity Gecko
Email Me

CHARITY GECKO!!

i don't know where to start, well, first off i would have him in a completely diff tank, and i'll try to convince another family member to let me put it in there room, and as i said, i would not be able to take it to a vet, and yea, i really don't think that petsmart would be willing to take it to a vet, we had a bearded dragon that obviously had some kinda para site it nvr moved and had feces stuck to it, and nvr opened its eyes, it moved its arm every once ina whiel though, and yea they left him in the tank for about a week, finally they took him out and put him in the sick room, and just kinda forogt about him, he died the next day, so yea, i don't trust them...
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0.1.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 rudis chameleon
0.0.1 house gecko
0.0.1 japanese firebelly newt
1.0.0 rabbit
0.1.0 dog
1.2.0 cats
2.0.0 goulian finch

I'm pretty sure most PetCos and PetSmarts have affiliations with local vets. Perhaps a call to the SPCA is in order.
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Rob Jenkins
Have you seen the GeckoCam?
Charity Gecko
Email Me

CHARITY GECKO!!

I suggest that you take the gecko and try to nurse it into good health. the gecko seems to be severly dehydrated or suffereing from a lack of calcium. I would feed it a babyfood,calcium, and mooshed cricket mix if it is not eating well. Make sure the heat of the aquarium does not go over the recommended temperature of 84 with this little guy. Another thing, only keep him on wet paper towls and spray the inside of the hidebox that you provide so he gets some humidity when shedding. The babyfood idea is great if he will not chase prey or needs the vitamins which it sounds like he does. If he does not find it to be food just put a bit on his nose and let him lick it off until he realizes. Good luck!

The warm side of a gecko enclosure should be 88°-90°, not 84°. It is particularly important with sick geckos that they be kept warm, cold reduces their ability to digest food and I believe it also suppresses their immune system.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

With a weak and dehydrated gecko it is important to cut back on temperature to let their body get the moisture it needs without the heat taking it away. A normal gecko would need 88 degrees but not a weakened or sick gecko

From the Dr. Gecko site:

"Stressed, sick or injured reptiles often require their environmental temperatures to be near the higher end of their POTZ to optimize their immune system function."

It is ESPECIALLY important for sick geckos to be kept warm. Of course water should be readily available and geckos should also be encoraged to keep hydrated by dropping pedialytle, gatorade or water on their nose 3x daily. When I've had geckos kept overnight at the vet, they put them in an incubator to keep them extra warm.

www.drgecko.com/heating.htm
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

you said you were just kidding with all those herps in a tank you had goin on eating your leo... which was pretty lame since you took the time to respond to some replies to try and get your story going. and when you said you were kidding... you said you're a responsible owner and know what you're doing... but the info you are providing to help a sick little leo is incorrect, how are people supposed to trust you and not label you a troll?

your posts certainly expose your lack of credibility.
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1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Melvin)
1.0 Black Lab / Pitbull mix (Mikey)
1.0 Blue Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)

You would know that it's imperative to provide adequate heat. They spend a lot of time sleeping on the warm side. If you bump the temperature up to even the lower 90s degrees, they will gravitate to where the heat is.
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chickabowwow

3.2 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)
and 3 eggs a' cookin'

This would just enhance his sickness. He could very well develop a respiratory infection, and with a cage that is not suited to their natural habitats, there would probably be no chance of getting him to eat, and if he is eating, then that kind of environment would probably stop him.
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"The magical mystery tour is dying to take you away"Email & Messenger

With young or sick geckos you need paper towls as a substrate and with geckos that are shedding they need a moist area. so with one of the hides you would need to moisted the inside so they could shed.

Yes, you should use paper towels as a substrate for young or sick geckos, and yes you need a humid hide to help shed, but you should NOT have wet paper towels as a substrate. the whole tank should not be humid, just the one hide area should be. The substrate should remain dry. too much humidity can cause even more problems for the sick gecko.
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~Melissa~
1.2 Leopard geckos
1.0 Bearded dragon
1.0 Hog Island Boa
0.0.1 crested gecko
1.0 Ferret
0.1 Chinchilla
1.0 Chinese Praying Mantis

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"The magical mystery tour is dying to take you away"Email & Messenger

Ok, here is some advice, you really don't want.

Petmart and Petco actually do have policies on taking sick animals to the vet. The problem usually comes from the manager not wanting to take the time to do it. They usually have to be forced. MAKE them take the critter to the vet. We had to bug the heck out of our manager to get a guinea pig taken up there but she got taken up there.

Dont let them off the hook by you taking it! By making them foot the bill and face the responsibility, it makes them think about ordering next time.