Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just had a baby albino gecko hatch about 2-3 weeks ago. It was very exciting... first egg to actually hatch. It was very alert and jumpy, until today. Now, it hardly moves, and when it tries to walk, it's feet are floppy and don't sit flat. It didn't eat anything until two days ago when it ate two mealworms. The setup has a UTH, water, shelter, calcium powder, a moist hide, and paper towel substrate.

I had a few questions that came to mind:
Can vermiculite cause impaction? (I use it in the moist hide.)
It is likely that the mealworms were too big for him/her? I fed the smallest ones in the container, but they looked big compared to the tiny gecko.

I fear there is nothing I can do but wait, watch, and hope. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Sounds like your baby is suffering from malnourishment. 2-3 weeks sounds like an awfully long time to go without food. Babies are usually ready to start eating 5-8 days after hatching. Are you sure it can see its food? You have to offer it in an easily accessible dish. Make sure it has a constant source of mealworms available. When I feed hatchlings mealworms, I try not to offer any mealworms that are much longer than the length of its head. You also have to consider offering baby crickets if your baby shows no interest in mealworms. Give it privacy when it eats too. Some babies won't come out to eat if the you're standing there watching them with the room lights on. It's also extremely crucial that you properly gutload and dust the mealworms, because your baby needs that nourishment.

By the way, there is always a lot more you can do than just sit around and wait. If you are concerned about your baby's well-being, take it to the vet. The fact that it was born active and alert shows that it was born a survivor.

And yes, vermiculite can cause impaction not to mention the risk of exposure to asbestos. I suggest switching to sphagnum peat moss.
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chickabowwow

Thanks for the suggestions!

I had a dish of mealworms in the cage for it to eat, but I finally had to hold them in front of its face with a tweezers to get it to eat. You are probably right that it just didn't see them; they were in a ceramic dish that was almost as tall as the gecko.

We called a few vets, unfortunately they were either closed on Saturday or didn't deal with reptiles.

Eric

herpvetconnection.com
arav.org
anapsid.org/vets

These will help you locate a herp vet. Beware of the ARAV site though, because some regular cat/dog vets get themselves listed even without any herp training or expertise.

I don't mean to sound rough, but this baby hasn't been eating for a few weeks, so you had actually had more than just a weekend to bring her to a vet. Babies don't have much fat storage, so going without eating for just a few days will have a big impact on them.
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chickabowwow