Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have posted many times over the past year about a pair of geckos that I that will not eat. Both (male/female) ate great for months then just stopped. They are housed in 20gallon longs separately. I have two females housed together exactly the same way that are fine. I have had multiple fecals done with nothing found, I have had x-rays done, nothing found. I have even treated with panacur. They simply pay no attention to mealworms (any size), super worms, wax worms or crickets. The female is withering away. I have forced fed everyday over the past week turkey baby food. These two are going to die of starvation. What are the last measures that can be taken? The whole "take to a vet" has long been exhausted. Two different vets found nothing. For what is called a easy animal to keep I have had no luck. I have killed two and have two on their way out. I have kept turtles, snakes, fish, 9 saltwater tanks but never had the worries that these stupid geckos give me. Husbandry I believe is perfect, temps are right, hides are right, I have never used an impactable substrate. I have tried with and without lights. I have tried feeding at every time of day and night. They just show no interest in eating and are skinny and dying.

Matt

Have you thought about separating them?
that might work....

Where did you get them?

Sorry if I did not make that clear. They are separated. Both are adults. Each has their own 20gallon long tank. Both came from different breeders.

The female is from the breeder that I bought two others from at the same time (1.2). The other two of the trio died. One acted the same way as this female. I told the story of getting medicine for him and overdosing my other female (the vet gave the wrong dosage, and I don't use him anymore).

The current vet says that it could be something genetic just as problems that any other human or animal can have. And there is truth to that, could be disease or cancer or numerous other problems. But through normal tests they appear healthy.

Matt

I had a similar problem with a fat tail mail.He stop eatting for four months for no reason. He saw a vet found no problems. He lost 25 grams in this time I had to maintain weight by fedding him with a needleless syringe by dripping on his nose and mouth."turkey babby/gatorade/calciun powder/"I did this a few times a day this seemed to keep him alive. I allways offered live food every day then one a he just ate and still is. Keep at it don't give up.

sounds like you need to force feed some bugs.My leos open their mouths if I hold my hand over there head and then put a finger and thumb on either side of their heads right in front of their eyes and knda stroke their face and presto! they open wide.I don't know why they do this,maybe it feels icky but it is an easy way to get a mouth open to poke in a bug.
-----

(c) 2004 Neopets, Inc.

I'm so sorry about your luck. I know how frustrating it can be not being able to do anything more.

As for feeding have you tried waxies? I know they are not a very good staple, but when it comes to life or death try eveything first. Waxies are like candy, if your leo still doesn't take those keep force feeding. However, instead of just baby food (and this is where it gets nasty) blend up a smoothy for your leos. I blended live crickets, molted mealworms, calcium powder and a bit of water. Unfortunately when my leo was sick by this time he just vomited everything, so it was not much help. You can't beat live food and this smoothy is the closest you can get, give it a try. I think Kelli H or Marcia has a really good blender mixture. The main thing you need to worry about is keeping them hydrated. In the end that's why my leo passed, he couldn't even hold water down.

Good luck, keep us updated.

Lisa
-----
0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
0.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Albino Pacman Frog
1.0 Lovebird (Tony)
1.0 Elkhound Cross (Otto)
0.1 Malamute Cross (Paris)
6.0 Bettas

Matt,

I am currently in a similar boat as you. I recently acquired 3 hatchlings. They came from very over crowded conditions - I thought I could save them. I chose the 3 healthiest from a tank of 40. For the 1st month everything went well, then slowly one by one they stopped eating and started withering. Same incompitent reptile vets in my town too.. spent a little chunk of change trying to figure out their illness. Vets said they were just fine. Fecals negative of parasites. I talked to a few people and determined the cause could be some sort of internal bacterial infection. I've been treating them for the past week with the antibiotic Baytril. 1 of the 3 has made amazing improvements.. the other two, well time will tell. So my thoughts are that perhaps this too could be your problem? I've had these babies in a seperate room from my breeding stock, and I always wait until the healthy kids are cared for each day before going in and feeding/touching the babies. I'm glad I have done this, because from what I'm learning, bacterial infections can be passed from leo to leo. So..even if your two are in seperate cages, if you are handling them together - or if you aren't washing your hands well enough before touching one or the other.. infection could have spread??? I'm no expert, it's just a thought. But maybe it will help you. If you have any questions, let me know. Best of luck to you.
Regards,
Hailey

How did you determine that it was an internal bacteria problem? Wouldn't some wastes from these bacteria be found in fecal samples? Also how do you go about getting this medication?

Thanks,
Matt

Also I always wash whatever comes in contact with the "sick" ones. Also I wash out the cages every few days.

I have absolutely no suggestions on how to get your leos to eat but just want to wish you the best of luck and tell you too keep working hard for the little guys.

You've done and are doing all that you can. Like your vet said not all humans are healthy either and sometimes it just cna't be helped, have you tried asking the breeder if he/she's had any problems with your leo's siblings/parents?

good luck

Matt,

I work for a dog&cat vet clinic. One of our technicians used to work for a reptile vet. She offered the idea about the bacterial infection. I spoke with the reptile vet who had seen my gecko's, she said it was worth a try and gave me the dosing measurements. (I obtained the antibiotic from my own clinic). The fecal test done on my leo's tested for parasites and bacteria from parasites. From what i gathered, the bacterial infection they were having me treat for is not digestive related. Rather more like a secondary infection from upper respiratory complications etc. But like I said, these babies came from very poor conditions - I'm not sure the extent of everything they were exposed to. The baytril did help them though, so I thought maybe it might be worth a try for you too. It's so frustrating/draining to watch them wither in front of you and you feel like you've tried everything to help them. Especially like you said - they are supposed to be so easy to care for. Did your vet suggest fluids? I've been injecting mine with fluids also. For the first few days I gave about 50 units twice daily, now I'm giving 50 units every other day (they ea weigh between 6-10 grams). I think that helped them too.

I really do wish I had more answers for you. I wish you the very best of luck.

Regards,
Hailey

I talked to the vet. He said he doesn't recommend antiobiotics, but it can't hurt. We have run out of options. I hate to hope that is an infection, but at least we could pin point the problem. I am not sure if it is Baytril, I have not picked up the medication. But he said it only takes about a drop and would be over 10 days. I am going to stop force feeding for a few days just to decrease their stress.

It has just been really frustrating. I see everyone else posting nice pictures and telling good stories and I have this stress. Thought I do see some others have just as frustrating of a time as myself.

Maybe this could do the trick. I have played around with husbandry (though I have two others that are healthy and housed identically) with no improvement. I have tried all types of food available to me, no luck. I have had fecals done by more than one vet, and nothing has been found. X-rays have been taken and nothing found. I did a 3 dose of Panacur over 3 weeks to no avail. Not really sure what is left after the anitbiotics.

I appreciate the time you have spent trying to help me out.

Matt

Matt,

About a drop of medicine sounds right. I've been giving mine 1 unit daily each (0.01mL, which is about one drop). I'm putting a full 14 days into them, but the one had awesome recovery in about 3 days. Last night, she ran to the mealie dish as soon as I filled it - I was very happy! The other 2 still worry me a bit, but I don't know how good my chances were to save them provided their size. If yours start perking up after a few days, keep going on the anti's - you will want to run the full coarse. Also, forcing the meds can be tricky.. I've been offering mine in the corners of their mouths - just a smidge then as soon as they start licking it, I squirt the rest in . The baytril has a bit of a foul odor to it (just to forewarn you if that is the medicine she prescribes). They do not like it. Much like human meds though - nothing good for you ever tastes well.

I hope to hear good news about yours soon. I'm not sure what's left if the anti's do not work. It's hard to know what conditions they were exposed to before they came to you - perhaps yours, like mine, just weren't dealt the best hand in life.

Best Regards,
Hailey