Why is this leo so emaciated?
You say it is a rescue. Where from? What conditions was it in (habitat, etc.) Was it fed at all?
99% of the time a leo won't look like that unless it is sick/parasitized.
The other 1% is severe abuse, not feeding the animal at all for many months.
The first thing you need to to is get the animal hydrated. Put drops of pediltye, gatorade, or water on its nose 3x a day for it to lick off. Do not try to assist feed until you are sure the animal is hydrated, it could cause liver damage.
Second, so need to get enough food in it so that the animal defecates and you can see what the stool looks like. First, try squeezing mealie guts onto its nose and see if the animal will lick it off. If not you can try making a nutritional cocktail. I recently created one that my geckos are going nuts over, they lick it up like there is no tomorrow.
Starling's Gecko Ambrosia
1 tsp. turkey baby food
1/3 tsp Kerns strawberry-banana nectar
7-8 drops Flax Seed Oil*
3 drops Liquid Vitamin C
Pinch Calcium Powder
Pinch Herptevite
*Note on Flax Seed Oil: Buy only when packaged in black bottle, store in refrigerator after opening. Should have a nutty smell and taste. If it tastes strong in a bad way- like turpentine, throw it out, it has gone rancid. Available at Trader Joe's, health food stores, and online. You can also buy in capsule form.
Mix well. Texture should be a thick liquid you can suck up through a 1 cc oral syringe. Fill syringe and drop slowly on geckos nose. When the gecko gets a taste, it should start licking. Slowly empty syringe to keep up with gecko's licking speed. Do not force feed, let the gecko determine how much it wants and how fast. Be patient. Sometimes the animal will stop licking for a minute but if you stay with it it will start up again.
The turkey is for protein. The nectar is for liquid and for some reason geckos like the strawberry-banana flavor. Flax seed oil is rich in Omega 3's and I have found that it stimulates appetite and helps geckos get fat (to get geckos fat, try grinding flax seeds and adding to your mealworm gutload mixture). Also adds a fat balance and geckos like the taste. Vitamin C, Calcium and Herpetivite are for nutritional support, The liquid vitamin C is optional, but that's what I used and my geckos love the taste of this mixture.
When you get a stool, look at it. Is it runny? Does it smell off? If your gecko doesn't eat, or gets onto solid food and still has runny stools, you need to take it to a vet and get a fecal to see what is wrong. If the animal is sick or parasitized, the best hides and temperatures and food in the worlld won't help it until it gets the medicine it needs.
