Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A friend of mine went to the Ky show, with me, she got a gecko, off a young boy, the geck was very skinny, he ate when she got him but now she can't get him to eat, she wants me to take him in, but I know nothing about gecko's, and I have tons of bearded dragons, so I don't want to bring in a possible disease from a gecko, if anyone is local, or wants to pay shipping can have him, but he is very SKINNY, and looks very weak,,he is the color of skin, like a naked little mouse, the boy said he was luetist (spelling????) but someone else said he was patternless..if there is a differance,,or if someone can give me an idea what she could do...the vet here just recommened putting him down because he was so skinny, and weak, but, he also told me the same thing about a dragon, that just got through laying eggs, and I couldn't get the weight back on as fast as I would have liked, so I called him, took her in, asked for advise on what to give her, and that was his advise...now she is fat as ever, after a few pinky's and super worms. If any one has an idea's throw them at me,,
pekapup@yahoo.com
Thanks

the 1st thing i have to ask is, why did she buy a skinny gecko in the 1st place? it is a patternless, when the patternless geckos first came out they were thought to be leusistic, but theyre not. the best thing to do with a leopard gecko is to just keep trying. if it's big enough, try pinkies, superworms, silkworms, and a few waxworms. do not ship this gecko, or try to hand it off to anybody other then people experienced with rehabilitation. please, all you can do is keep going, if it gets to a point were the gecko is in a lot of pain and totally refused to eat, then put it down. when picking out a gecko, rule #1 is to get one that looks healthy, tell your friend to pick wisely next time.
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your head will collapse, but there's nothing in it, and you'll ask yourself, "where is my mind"

how skinny is skinny, 'scribe how he looks,
maybe try assist feeding him? i have a gex that doesnt like to eat at this time and hell eat the Forcefeed solution i give him if i drip it on his nose. heres what i used for the force/assist feed formula

Baby Bird hand feed formula
Ensure
yogert (good bacteria)
herpative
calcium
pedialite
insides of superworms

mix all but the baby bird stuff together, then add the bbhff to the mix so that it has the consistantcy of creme of wheat. i give 1.5 cc for a 10 inch gecko daily.

you could also just take the inside of the superworm and put it on his nose, if he opens his mouth more stuff the worm in his mouth. (makesure that the worm isnt too big for his head tho)

hope this hlps
Ashley

The best place is at your friend's house (don't expose your reptiles). You should probably have a fecal test done by an experienced reptile vet (~$20) to check for parasites. What is the consistancy of the poop, if it is a firm, dark brown, non-smelly pellet it is normal. If it is runny, smelly, odd colored TAKE THE ANIMAL TO A VET. How long has she had him, it takes ~ a week for the animal to acclimate and usually will not eat. These animals live ~15-30 years a few bucks is nothing. Check temperatures of cage, keep it on papertowels (look at the care sheet on kingsnake for basics)