Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am completely new to this board so please bear with me. I have several Bearded Dragons and a Pictus Gecko so my oldest son's friend decided to drop off a Leopard Gecko at my house 2 days ago. Apparently the Gecko belonged to his brother whom had stopped feeding or caring for it several weeks ago. The parents wanted it gone.....it ended up with me. I took it to the vet yesterday morning. She said it was in horrible condition. It is just skin and bones and very listless. It was so dehydrated that it could barely open it's eyes and when it did the eyes were covered in a sticky film. The vet gave me Terramycin eye ointment and started him on Baytril. My concern is getting it to eat. It hasn't eaten ANYTHING at all. It has no energy to make an attempt at eating a cricket or mealworm (believe me I have tried) I put "Leopard Gecko" food in it's dish (it's just freeze dried flies) but it won't go near them. I have been giving it water by needleless TB syringe and even tried giving it some babyfood. It took a couple licks but then had to rest for several minutes before it took a few more licks. Obviously it is not getting any nutrition from the small amount it consumed. Is there anything else that I can do for this little guy?? The vet told me it would probably die but I honestly want to do everything I can to prevent that. Is babyfood the route to go or is there something else that I can stick in it's mouth that won't have to be chewed up?? Help Please!!

I've heard that you could give the Gecko some gatorade or something along those lines for the "Electrolytes" and whatnot. So I'd try that as an alternative to water.

The Leopard Gecko food is, well, a rip off. I haven't tried it myself but all of my Leo's only go after living, moving insects.

I hope that helped just a little.
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3.4.0 Leopard Geckos
2.1.0 Chihuahuas
2.1.0 Rottweiler Mix
1.0.0 Siamese Cat
1.0.0 Dwarf Hamsters

Josh
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You could try force-feeding him a mealworm.

I would use one of the freshly-shed, white mealworms ... it will be easier to digest.

Given his weakness, he probably won't put up too much of a fight. Just hold him still and use the tail of the mealworm to pry open his mouth.

I would say that if you get 2-3 mealies in him today, then its a good day. 2-3 per day for the next 2 weeks, he will live.

Good luck,
Joel
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2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Ball Pythons
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.0 Blair's Phase Gray Banded Kingsnake

Try Pedialite *sp* for children..
Baby food is the way to go for now until he has a little more energy. I will check into others for you, my friend nurses sick Chameleons and Leo's to health and she has stuff from the vet she feed her Cham when it was sick.. so keep checking back.. I'll find out what it was.
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1.0 Leo Gecko's
0.1 Pictus Gecko

Thanks so much for the information. I was afraid to try to shove a mealworm into his mouth. I am assuming I must smash it's head before sticking it in his mouth? I did get a small (and I mean SMALL) amount of applesauce into him this afternoon. I figured I would keep trying every couple of hours to get him to eat a litle at a time. thanks again for your help and keep the suggestions coming!!

My experiecen with force feeding mealies is based on a blind leo I hatched earlier this year.

I didn't squish the heads, but mine was also strong enough to chew no problem. I honestly don't think you need to squish the head, especially if you make sure to take one of the white, just-shed worms, but if you think it will work better, go ahead. I don't think that it will make much of a difference.

Good luck!

Joel

PS: I'm sure you've been thinking about this already, but has someone taught the kid that abandoned his pet a lesson about this? Giving up on a leo is pretty irresponsible, given that 1 leo takes less then 10 minutes a day of basic maintenance. I hope this kid doesn't get a puppy for X-mas!
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2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Ball Pythons
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.0 Blair's Phase Gray Banded Kingsnake

Hi, i've also read about making a cricket, mealworm slurry... putting the insects and calcium/vitamins into a blender and syringe feeding that. Not the greatest thing i know. I did that for one of my guys who didn't end up making it even with vet intervention, medication and multiple daily feedings. I tried my best and it was heartbreaking when he didn't make it. All you can do is try.....i applaude your efforts!!!

Keep us updated... and goodluck

Red
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Crested Gecko Zeek:1.0
LEOS: Boo: 1.0 normal , Bronx & Nala: 1.1 blizzard,
Lily: 0.1 patternless, Abby: 0.1 albino, Zoe: 0.1 reduced pattern, Dot: 0.1 hypo
Chip: 1.0 papillion (small dog)

I think you've done all the right things so far. Force feeding geckos can be dangerous. Meaworms need to be chewed a bit at least to break up the chitin so they can be digested.

It is most important that the gecko be kept hydrated. Pedialyte or gatorade are good. There is also something called Jumpstart which I havent used but I have heard good things about.

For sick gex in need of nutrition, I make sure they are hydrated first by dropping pedialyte or gatorade on their nose 3x a day. Then I feed by dropping the following mix on their nose using a needle-less syringe:

1 tsp. turkey babyfood
6-8 drops flax seed oil ( rich in omega-3's, and seems to stimulate licking response and appetite- they like the taste-nutty like waxies)
small pinch phosphorus free calcium
small pinch herp vitamins
2-3 drops liquid vitamin c (optional, I get at health food store)
strawberry-banana, peach, or other non-citrus nectar- use enough to make mix liquid enough to be sucked into syringe, but not too runny.

You can dropper feed 3x a day.

If dropper feeding is unsuccessful, you can force feed using the syringe in the smae manner used to administer accurate doses of oral medications- gently but firmly press the side of a q-tip stick at anangle on the front side of their mouth. Usually this will stimulate them to open their mouth, when they do slip in the stick like a bar to help open the mouth and insert syringe- filled with the liquid food mix. Do not administer more than 1/2 cc or so at once.

Good luck. It sounds like the gecko is in good hands now, I hope you can help it.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

http://www.anapsid.org/fluids.html
http://www.anapsid.org/emaciation.html

Read both of these first. I wouldn't force feed-- stress could easily kill him, I would think.

Do you know his weight? Use the chart on the rehydration therapy link I gave you to figure out how much fluid a day to give him. It's basically 5% of his body weight. Here are some things to try to give him to get him rehydrated: http://sidorsky_1.tripod.com/dragons/pedialyte.html. I'd use the sugar and water solution-- it's safer.

You have to rehydrate him first. Drip the liquids on his nose to lick off. I'd say continue to give him tiny amounts of liquid food as well, jsut enough to keep him going while you're rehydrating him. Use apricot babyfood for a higher moisture content. Maybe mix some water in with it as well?

Liquid foods to try:
-repti-aide
-mazuri
-bug slurry: strawberry ensure with pureed feeder foods in it
-babyfood mixture: apricot, turkey, or chicken baby food with vit./min supplementation, a pea-sized portion of a product called jumpstart, a dab of yogurt or a dose of acidophilus plus,a squished waxworm or two, and some water.

Give this to him a few drops at a time several times a day. I was caring for a baby leo who was in about this condition, and I fed her the liquid foods/fluids every four hours. She did not take much at each feeding, but the frequency of it kept her going.

If you really want to live, you'll have to dedicate yourself to caring for him-- a tough thing to do around the holidays. If you really want to do this, I'll help you any way that I can!

This is unorothodox, but ask this same question at http://www.thegeckospot.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl and http://www.reptilerescue.on.ca/modules.php?op=modload&name=phpBB2&file=viewforum&f=32&sid=7b55980d991809deeca96961924fcd52 . If you have three posts going at the same time, you will get more responses and more advice. Hope this helps. Good luck!

I have run into the same problem with a few of my leopards as well. I had one die just over a month ago and I am trying to nurse the other 3 back to health. First bit of advice get them away from every other animal you have because mine spread from a colony that I had brought home. Within a couple of weeks it had spread to two of my other unrelated geckos. I have tried baby food, t-rex mrp, wax worms, meal worms and force feeding worked for a while and then they started to spit out the food. I am trying electrolytes now by syringe but am still having no luck please keep in touch if you run into a remidy that works for you.

sorry that was a poor image I have placed a new one below

...and I thought my leo's tail was skinny. It sucks to learn the hard way, but your point about quarantining is important. Good luck with the little guy, hope you get him back to full health.

All the bug slurry in the world won't help a gecko unless the underlying infection/parasite is treated and eliminated. If it's crypto, it's best to put him down...it's always fatal in leos. And it is highly contagious.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

Do you know what your geckos have? Do they have diarrhea as well as the vomiting and loss of weight? It sounds like your babies have the same thing mine had-- and if you don't know, you really need to find out...Did you have a necropsy done on the one that died, including a histopathology? I don't mean to make you worry, but if they have what mine had all of your reptiles are at risk...

First bit of advice get them away from every other animal you have because mine spread from a colony that I had brought home

Luckily I had an extra tank and could put this fella all by himself. Like I said...I only have Beardies and a Pictus Gecko so I didn't think I should "mix" them up. LOL I did try the babyfood slurry that I was given a recie for. He wouldn't readily take it but I did get a little into him. I then tried the mealworms. He didnt want anything to do with them either but on the third one, he actually acted like he knew what to do with it and once it was partially in his mouth, started chomping on it. I am guessing that the mealworms and babyfood are the way to go for the next couple of days. At least I will be getting SOMETHING into him. Hopefully he has enough strength left in him to pull through. Thanks again for everyone's help. I belong to a Bearded Dragon email loop thru Yahoo and one of the guys on that loop told me this was the place to go for super fast and GOOD help with the Leopard. You guys are great and I will keep you posted on how this little guy does. Happy Holidays everyone!!!

After each handling make sure you wash your hands really well, don't go from touching any other gecko or whatever to touching the sick one or visa versa.

Don't force feed unless it becomes NESSASARY.. drop the liquid feed and pydialite on the tip of the nose carefully making sure NOT to get it in the nostrals of the baby.. she should then lick it off. I had a really SICK SICK baby leo, I mean so tiny you could see her organs threw her skin under her and her tail was pretty much dead.. she didn't have the strength to even lick the liquid off her .. unfortuantly she didn't make it.. so I'd suggest getting her to a vet ASAP!!! Make sure there are no parasites in her or anything..

Good luck and keep us posted. It's hard work but it's worth it if they do survive, everyone deserves a chance at life right!
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1.0 Leo Gecko's *Astrid* - was told he was a her at first
0.0.1 Pictus Gecko *Raine* - too young to sex

You sound like a good caring nurse and hopefully you can get him back to health. Please keep us updated on your treatments and how they're working. The poor thing sounds like it's been neglected much longer than just a few weeks to be in that poor condition.
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0.0.2 leos
1.0.0 spouse

You sound like a good caring nurse and hopefully you can get him back to health. Please keep us updated on your treatments and how they're working. The poor thing sounds like it's been neglected much longer than just a few weeks to be in that poor condition

Well.....the little guy is doing MUCH better. Besides the eye ointment and Baytril, I tried the babyfood with banana&strawberry juice mixture for several days along with sticking a mealworm into his mouth. It took a couple days but he finally acted as if he had the energy to chew and lo and behold, on Christmas morning I woke up to a tiny little pile of poop!!! (never thought I would get excited about poop LOL) He is really doing well now with the exception of his eyes. I am thinking that he is now blind. His eyes still look terrible and there is no color to them AT ALL.....they are a solid black. When I feed him, I must hold the food directly in front of his mouth and after smelling it a bit, he will grab at it. He has been eating crickets along with the mealworms for the last 3 days and pooping at least once daily. I am totally amazed at how much better his color is along with his energy. LOL I stopped at a pet store that has a good herp guy and he told me to try a supplement in his water (it's sold to use for birds but he said that it could also help this little guys eyes) The stuff is called Avitron. I am not giving it straight but mixing it in his water and feeding it by syringe. Is this ok to continue to use or is there something else I should be doing? I am still using the terramycin eye ointment twice a day. Thanks so much for everyones help!!