Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know there is nothing I can do but I have to ask anyway or start crying. Is there anything new to try????? Also what are the odds that the other one has it too (she is fat/ voracious/ healthy). They have lived together since birth from what I was told. The vet said she will have to be killed.

crypto spreads like wildfire and is very contageous. chances are the other one will have to be put down as well. I am so sorry to hear about your geckos, this is truely heartbreaking!!!! you might try contacting the University Of Texas @ A & M, to see if they can give you any more info. they have the best vet school around and have very up to date info and techniques, they might be ablke to help you. i would assume you would need to get into touch with someone that researches reptile virus's . bacteria and parasites. just for some info and you dont have to answer me, in fact drop me an email who did you buy the geckos from?
also i will contact some friends of mine to see about any other places to contact, i know there is a good bunch of reptile vets, researchers and universities but i cant remember offhand who and what they are
again sorry
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-robin day
Geckoheads And Geeks

Hey,
Sorry to hear about your gecko. Not to be rude but are you sure its crypto and not coccida....my leo is just getting over coccida the parasite is dead and now i am waiting until wednesday to see if the mordulated eggs are dead....sorry to ramble on but i just wanted to see, maybe this could help your leo....Anyway, again my condolences.

crypto is when there is a big blackish blob on the gecko near the stomach, right?

read up in the other thread, it does cause stomach sweeling but umm i dont know about a black blob, that kinda a general statement... just read the links i provided up there. and crypto needs to be diagnosed by a vet, a qualified vet
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-robin day
Geckoheads And Geeks

Often what is perceived as "a big blackish blob on the stomach" of a leopard gecko is just the animal's liver, which becomes more visible if the animal is thin. That IS NOT sufficient by any stretch to diagnose crypto...it could be something as curable and relatively harmless as worms (nematodes), a bacterial infection (also curable), or something treatable, though not curable, such as coccidia.

Why do you think your leo has crypto?

cos' someone said that a blackish blob meant crypto.

you need to

i did, but i didn't like the vet, he didnt seem to know what he was doing. HE GOT MAD THAT I DIDN'T HAVE A UV LAMP! so im going to a diff vet.

My vet just has a bunch of books that he looks stuff up in. I'm waiting for them to do something I couldn't do, besides prescribe meds. Bah.
I don't trust most vets as far as I can throw them. And I do throw them, if they don't wiggle too much.

Do not euthanize your gecko just because it has a black spot on it's belly- that could just be its liver. I understand you didn't ;like the vet, but what did he/she say?

Do you think that also the green/black theory is to do with maybe the fact that when dead, the gut area of most white to clearish underbellied herps turns this color? I have seen a few dead ones at pet shops and other peoples and even had a couple babies die from just not eating as hatchlings and they all get that look to them. I have even seen corn snakes do the same thing. You seem to be really on top of things. Just wondering what you think. I have heard it diagnosed as crypto darn near every time but I think it just happens to all dead mostly.

ok here goes, i did some research and if you read the info about crypto here is what you find.......

"It lives on (or just under) the surface of the cells lining the small intestine, reproduces asexually, and oocysts are passed in the feces

Crypto lives in the intestine of infected humans, birds, fish reptile and other animals. Millions of Crypto can be released in a single bowel movement from an infected specimen. Infections occur after oral consumption of the parasite. Crypto may be found in soil, food, water, or surfaces that have been contaminated with the feces from infected humans or animals. Crypto is not spread by contact with blood.

In most patients infected with Cryptosporidium the infection causes ashort term, mild diarrhea. Since such symptoms are associated with a number of ailments, infected individuals may not seek medical treatment, and the infection may subside on its own. Thus, it is difficult to say how many Crypto infections occur. On the other hand, individuals with with compromised immune systems can develop pronounced, chronic diarrhea; that may go on for weeks or months. Needless to say, such an infection, if not fatal unto itself, can exacerbate other opportunistic infections common in immunocompromised hosts.

In snakes and other reptiles, the most striking clinical manifestation in chronic infections is swelling of the stomach. "

http://www.avianbiotech.com/Diseases/Cryptosporidium.htm

thus i guess since its intestinal this is where the infamous black blob comes from
, sounds like swelling of the abdomen is common but it should not solely used to diagnose crypto.... only a qualified vet can do that through either necropsy or fecal smears ..
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-robin day
Geckoheads And Geeks

wrw

I have seen autopsy photos of crypto and was thinking the same exact thing that you were. But the black 'blob' may be HIGHLY distended beyond what they see in 'normal' death of a gecko and release of gasses after death. Can anyone confirm this? (I don't know spit about reptiles but am a biochemist and know what microorganisms can do to a body)

Please tell me more about how long you have had the gecko that is infected. Is it a recent purchase? Did you quarantine? Did you put it in the same enclosure with the other gecko? Where did you buy the infected gecko? What test or tests did the vet do to diagnose the crypto? Do you have other reptiles in the room?

If it truly is crypto, and the geckos were housed together, you wuill need to euthanize both of them. Crypto can even spread via the air, it can wipe out a whole roomful of animals, even if they are housed seperately in the same room. It is a nightmare, the ebola of leopard geckos.

However if I were you I would want to make absolutely SURE it is crypto, and not coccidia, which while incurable is treatable- your geckos can live a happy life, quarantined, if you provide superior supportive care. Crypto on the other hand ALWAYS causes a painful death in leopard geckos.

I have had her for ~6months and she was rescued along with her cagemate from a person who could no longer care for them (they were in with three other questionable lgeckos). From what I was told they came from an IRBA fair but were put in with three others from petco with no quarantine ARRGG!!!. They were already together for ~6months before I recieved them so did not separate them. No other reptiles in the house. Acid-fast, classic symptoms continue even after treated protozoal/pinworm (see other post below), a very knowlegable vet who sees a lot of crypto cases. The other one is so healthy even living with it since birth that I am hoping she is one of the few who is immune (some are apparently resistant) since they do not know that much about the disease it could be that the organism infects along with a virus or parasite or even transmitted via germ cell line and via contact. She is 'classic'crypto symptoms and it makes me want to puke. I have maintained her weight where it is but only by hand feeding her 2x per day everyday. The vet said take her off the supplement and if she beggins to loose weight he will kill her. I will have an autopsy done to be sure for the other gecko and then if the fat one looses weight I will have her put down. Have you seen a gecko come out of it or a gecko that has been around crypto live? Thank you for the post

ever heard of a gecko with crypto that has survived. All info on crypto in leopard geckos that I have read says it is always fatal in the species, but perhaps your vet knows something others don't. Thankfully, I do not have any personal experience with the disease. Sounds like you have a good vet, I wish you and your geckos the best. It sounds like they are recieving the best loving, knowledgeable care possible. Good luck. I hope yours is the first case I've heard of.

He is recommended by everyone for reptiles. He sees a lot of crypto cases and bred lgeckos in college. It is very difficult to POSITIVELY confirm a crypto w/out a small intestinal biopsy (meaning an autopsy). She has all the symptoms though. A gas filled tender abdomen, loss of weight, reacurring diahria, a protozoal infection seems to also come w/ the crypto. I have never heard the black blob but it may be in advanced cases? He also did an acid-fast test & id'd a 3-5um round orange/red organism characteristic of crypto. Some lgeckos seem to be immune to it and am hoping against odds that the other one is the few that are not infected.

I have a lizard "Daisy" who has the same black spot on her stomach & has lost a lot of weight. She is lethargic & not eating. We are trying to feed her some reptiaid through a syringe, but she eats very little. I have a picture of her stomach here if someone could look at it to see what they think.

http://groups.msn.com/TheMacPhersons/daisysick.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=4

Also, what ever happened to "tribbielvr's" gecko?