Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, i dont know if anyone here has been following my older posts, but basically, i have a sick baby albino gecko that is on its last straw here. its got roundworms, i've already given it 2/3 of the dosage that was prescribed, but no changes here yet. it is always sleeping, weights 4 grams, skin sags and folds, tail is like a tooth-pick, pelvic showing, legs weak. since this wed, it has stopped eating on its own, i got some of that rept-aid stuff on thrus, and has been given it that since then. i havent had the heart to try and jam the syringe tip into its mouth yet, i've just been trying to drip it in while it is licking, i dont know how much of that stuff it is actually taking in, i dont know if the stress of feeding it that stuff is actually even worth for it, i dont know if that stuff is even any useful at all. i spent $50 at the vet, and God knows how much at trying to get it to eat various things. and ofcourse, i am sure this no suprise to anyone, i got it at petco, infact, i dont even think the roundworms are really messing it up that bad, i think it was petco and the neglect that is really doing it in. but i dont care about petco, it was my mistake, should've waited until a reptile show came into town, got too impatient, and i dont really wanna complain, its pointless, its not going to help my gecko at all, i just wont ever buy a reptile from them again. what i really wanna ask about is what are the chances of this little guy turning it all around, anyone have any experiences with this close of a case? i mean, i am willing to take care of it as long as it is alive, i dont care if it eats that repta-aid stuff for the rest of its life, i will get it. but i mean i am realistic, and i know animals just dont stay kinda sick forever, they either get better or die, i am trying... i feel so bad about the poor guy. any advice or story is welcome, sorry about the lengthy post, didnt mean to ruin anyone's day. thanks.

Actually... I had a little girl that needed to be forcefed for a long time.

Best advice I could offer for now is to make sure the little one is hydrated. If possible, try getting it to drink a good amount of water by the dripping technique you've been using. The next step after that is making sure that the little guy can get the proper nutrients.
What I did for my girl was mix some baby food (turkey flavor) with a little bit of calcium powder and some fruit nectar (don't use anything acidic like oranges or lemon). There was also a few extra vitamins that you could add in, but sadly, due to a hard drive burning out on me I lost the recipe I had. That's all I could really remember of it.

Once you get the baby to drink some water from the syringe or dropper for a day or two try getting the little one to eat some of that mixture the same way. They usually like the taste and eat it up pretty well. It might be a bit tough getting them back onto crix and such after this tho. Make sure you don't rush the change in diet or thier lil tummies can't stomach it.

Hope this helps a little.

Has she been pooping all right?

My suggestion is to make sure she is well hydrated, especially if she has been off food for a while or if she has diarrhea. You mentioned that she has sagging skin, which is a symptom of dehydration. I know when you see a skinny gecko, you intuitively want to load it up on food. But this can actually be damaging to the kidneys without an adequate hydration period. You can accomplish this by giving her just a few drops of Pedialyte a couple times a day. I would do it at 12 hour intervals, that way, she can spend the rest of the time resting undisturbed. (The less you disturb her, the less energy she has to waste.) Dab the Pedialyte on her mouth and let her lick it off. Not too much, just a few drops will do. You don't want to overload her body all at once with too much fluid. I don't recommend any soaks because it'd be hard to keep shallow water warm enough for a baby, plus she would probably have issues with being cold after coming out of the water. Restraining a baby gecko in water is also pretty tough, so you don't want her accidentally inhaling water and developing a respiratory infection.

But what I do recommend is keeping her in a very simple set-up with an under tank heater, paper towel substrate, a small humid hide (I use the 100 ct. mealworm cups) half on half off the heater, a small water dish, and an optional food dish. This is the kind of set-up many breeders find successful for housing their babies, but it also allows you to clean the enclosure daily which will help eliminate the parasites.

If I remember correctly, your vet prescribed Nemex. The active ingredient in this is pyrantel pamoate, which I've used successfully before to treat nematodes. (It just comes in different brand names.) Pyrantel is pretty safe; it works by paralyzing the worms so they get expelled in the poop and it also doesn't absorb in the intestines, so I'm thinking any side effects would depend on the worm load you're dealing with. Even so, I would hold off on the medication until her body is a little stronger.

Okay, so that's basically the first step (hydration). I have a few more suggestions, but we should probably switch to e-mail. Use the link on my name to contact me.
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chickabowwow

I agree with all of the suggestions so far. I may be wrong here, but i would also mix in some caluium with D3 into the Pedialyte to ensure that she will not become deficient. Not too much, though. And i would also up the temperature to a steady 90*f without a temp gradient, to simulate an incubator. This has worked for me quite a few times when dealing with sick or injured animals. The temp hike is going to simulate a pseudo fever, allowing the body to heal faster.
My thoughts are with your new baby. Have you contacted the Petco that you got her from? You may be angry, but letting them know that you got her with round worms will alow them to treat the others that were with her. Believe it or not, Petco is now obliged by company policy to take sick animals to the vet. If they do not, MAKE A BIG STINK ABOUT IT!! call the district manager. Go in every couple of days (if you can) and see if they have taken the leos off the floor to treat them. They will do it if other people are notified. I know this because i worked at one for 3 years. As awful as the company is, negative publicity will make them take action. you may save other tiny lives! good luck.

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"i wasn't born with enough middle fingers"

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