Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK I am at my witts end latley, and I need some help, any comments are welcome.

I bought a circle-back leo. on feb 23rd and they told me she was about 6 weeks old so that would make her about 5-6 months old. The problem is she isn't growing. I had her in a 20 gal. tank with a male that was the same age after a few weeks i noticed that they werent best of friends so I put her in her own 10 gal. tank. She eats like a pig (but she wont eat crickets with supplments powder so I have her on Acidophiliz, thats what the vet told me to do). Well it has been 4 months later and still she has not gained weight or grown any. The male is 7 inches and 33 grams. I took her to the vet yesterday and he can not find anythign wrong with her. She has no weight in her tail, but she is active, playful, and eats 6-8 crickets at everyfeeding, and takes her medicine like a pro. Does anybody know what might be wrong.

Alicia & ziggy

mmm, kinda strange. Don't really know what causes that. I have a baby that is close to 3 months old and has not grown much at all he is even going through color changes of the older siblings but just staying really small ?? Maybe some kind of genetic malfunction

I'm not sure either. The part that worries me the most is that she is only 6 grams. REAL SMALL. I do't want to get rid of her, I care for her to much, but I dont want her to be in pain or sick either and I cant figure out what to do and the vets aren't helping.

Alicia & ziggy

a gecko that eats 6-8 crix per day and is 6 grams at 5-6 months? I don't get how that is possible! I never heard of giving a gecko acidophilus though, I know your vet told you to, but dairy is big no-no for geckos. Geckos cannot digest lactose. If I were you I would try stopping that, dusting crix with calcium powder, and putting calcium in a dish in cage for her. She'll take what she needs.

The problem with Ziggy (that her name) is that she has an attitude towards food, she wont eat any crickets that have been powderd. Thats why I have her on the Acidphiliz . This medicine is made for lizards and snakes. Its only dairy product is calcium. Its a digestive tract conditoner. She has actually got more of an appitette since I have gave her this. I am waiting for her to use the restroom so I can take a second fecel sample in today. But she isnt working with me. Here is a link to that medicine to see what u think....

http://www.pet-authority.com/prod04.htm

Some people have been known to actually inject small amounts of calcium supplement into the abdomens of the crickets for animals that have MBD but won't take dusted prey items. I know it is extreme but just a thought.

Cleo
1:1 leos...soon to be 1:5!!!

do you think it might be MBD?

Would cause it to have stunted growth but I don't think it would affect weight gain that much. It could be a combination of MBD and something else. Her body seems to have a problem extracting protein and calcium from her food.

Cleo
1:1 leos...soon to be 1:5!!!

At first I would have said that she was infested with parasites but if the fecal came out clean then what is wrong??? Mhmm...she eats but does not gain much, if anything from the food she is getting. Try upping the amount of protein and calcium in the crickets' food (peanut butter, high quality dog kibble, dry milk, etc) that may help slightly. I am sorry I could not offer any more help. Good luck with the little one!!!

Cleo
1:1 leos...soon to be 1:5!!!

have you used or have you heard anything about the product Miner-all? I hear it is a great way to gut-load the crickets. You can feed crickets peanut butter, they wont get stuck to it?

I use Miner-all and put some of it into the mealies' gutload as well as provide a shallow dish of it in the tank. If you can harden the peanut butter (in the fridge or something) it won't be as sticky or you could just feed them peanuts straight from the shell (no salt or coverings).
Another thought, could you try supplementing the leo with a syringe of bug slurry once a week? Just take some well gutloaded crickets, pinch off their legs, a dash of miner-all, and bit of vanilla or strawberry ensure and mash it all up in a blender. Ensure is a protein supplement drink for humans but the liquid form might be absorbed into her body more easily. You can find Ensure in many places including Walmart, Target, and any grocery store.
Hope this helps!!!

Cleo
1:1 leos...soon to be 1:5!!!

Thank you so much, I am willing to try about anything right now.

Well this looks alittle too familiar to me. I had the exact same prob with alittle female I bought at petco ( I hate petco) a couple years ago. fiona was active, she ate , a lot, got all her spot (she was a very pretty tangerine) and even held her own against my male nelson. the prob was, that no matter what I fed her, and she wasn't picky,she just didn't gain wheight. my vet and my reptile guy checked her out and both suggested baby food and either gateraid or pedialite(pedialite is better) she ate and drank it but no use. She was tested for parasites twice and even got treatments but had none. The doc was stumped. eventually she started losing whieght till she was nothing but bones. she died one night and we never figured out why. the doc thought it could have been genetic.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to freak you out or make you upset. I just want to reccomend some pedialite and beef babyfood. I don't know why your baby is still small, but odds aren't great its the same reason. who knows, maybe you discovered a new genetic mutation! Good luck and I hope all goes well.