Reptile & Amphibian Forums

like i said i am sorry for posting this but i didnt get a reply and i thought maybe no-one saw the message. I am in no way having a go at you lot for not replying as i know that not everyone can help in these situations therefore cannot post a reply..
sorry for been a pain i just really need some help and i hope i aren't been rude by reposting this. please tell me if i am.

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my female leo is really starting to worry me as she hasnt eaten for about a month and half now despite been offered crickets,pinkies,mealies and waxies which she turned down to my suprise.

She has lost an awful lot of weight from her body and her tail and is visibly underweight.

she was eating perfectly but then suddenly stopped i presumed it was just one of those things as my other leos often stop eating for a short period of time. I have taken her out of her larger enclosure and placed her in a smaller one with papertowel for a substrate (was repticarpet in her large tank) and a simple set up (like a quarantine tank)she has always had fresh water and a calcium dish and her food has always been dusted properly whilst she was eating. temperatures are spot on.

i am totally baffled as to why she isnt eating.
she shed her skin last night with no problems but didnt eat alot of the shed..

can anyone shed some light on my problem please? i am willing to administer medication or force feed her.

Thanks alot to anyone who replies.
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Take her to the vet is the only suggestion I can give you. She sounds like she has a problem if she isnt losing eating and is losing weight. You probably should have taken her a couple of weeks ago, but better late then never.
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Josh
My Email

that is another problem of mine. living in the U.K where the herptology hobby is no where near as populaur as the USA or Canada there are far few vets qualified in the feild of herptology. i have rang around at least 6 vetinary clinics in my area and they all say that non of their vets are expireienced with reptiles so they probably would not be able to help a great deal.
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Where abouts in the UK do you live?

I also am in the UK and I've had my Gex for 2 years but never needed a vet.

email me @ narcotikplayas@hotmail.com or add me to msn if u have it on the same address
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Sounds like she may have internal parasites, and if theres no qualified vets around Im not sure what you could do. Maybe you could deworm them yourself? Sorry, I dont know alot about the treatment of parasites and that. Oh and your not being rude at all you just want some help which is very understandable.
Mac

It sounds like she has some kind of internal parasites. You could try administering panacur, you need the 10% solution liquid and a 1 cc oral syringe, and a scale. The dosage I was given by my vet is .01 cc per gram of leo weight, but others have told me that is about 3X higher than their calculations of the correct dosage. I recommend that you buy the book "Understanding Reptile Parasites" and read up on conditions before you try to start treating with medications yourself. If she does not have worms the correct dosage of panacur properly administered should not harm her, it is a very safe medication.

Even if the vets in your area don't specialize in reptiles, they should be able to do a fecal to look for worms and prescribe you asome panacur, it is used for mammals as well. In the U.S. you can but the paste form over the counter under the name safegaurd, but the liquid for is best for leos.

Is she pooping? Do you know for sure she isn't eating? Is she impacted?
Try a warm bath for her and at least call the vet if you aren't going to take her.
Hope she's better soon...best of luck
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thanks for your reply.
she occasionally defecates but mainly just urate and only a tiny amount if 'poop' which is normal dry and stook to the paper towel. she isnt impacted becase she has been on repticarpet or paper towels all her life.
it isnt that i wont take her to the vets its just im worried the 2 hour journey plus the 2 hours back would stress her. i wanted to see if there was anything i could do before i considered doing this.
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Try feeding her beef baby food via syringe. You could also try feeding her pedialite. This is what my vet recomended. It may seem harsh to force feede and I know its streessful, but it can spark her appitite and if not at least get something in her. Hope this can help.

See if your vet does fecal examinations? You double bag it as fresh as you can get it (even frige it). Then put it in a cooler for the drive over. Feed her via syringe first and collect the sample. Most geckos feed without fighting (I just smash up mealworms then suck up the juice) see if you can get a scale to check her weight.