Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Female is refusing to eat mealworms, and she is very lifeless when I pick her up. She is skinny, and breaths are few and far between. Her stomach is darker than her body, I don't know if this implies anything. Please help if you can. Thanks.
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~Laura

Rejoice, the age of the fall has begun
We'll dance as the palaces burn.
--Lamb of God, As the Palaces Burn

I don't know if it will work for your specific species of Gecko, but it sounds like at this point anything is worth a shot. Go to your local vet and ask them for a few of their smalles syringes (without the needle). They might make you pay a few buck or maybe not if you explain what you need them for. In a quick read it looks like Dune geckos are carnivores so you will want to pick up one small jar of chicken babyfood at the grocery store as well. At home you will want to mis a small solution of warm water, a few piches of sugar and a pinch of calcium. Mix this together. Then with someone's help.... hold your gecko and gently using both hands, encourage them to open their mouth. This is where the other person's job is crucial.... they need to be ready with about 1/2 a syringe full of the baby food and quicky inject it into the gecko's mouth. Repeat this process with the water/sugar/calcium mix as well. If this works you will have at least gotten some electrolytes and nutrients into your gecko. Repeat every day until you notice a change in activity.

I hope this helps and like I said, I have not tried this meathod on a dune gecko but I am currently using the syringe method on one of my cresteds and it works well. I have rehabbed numerous reptiles using this simple method and I really hope it works for you. If you have any more questions feel free to email me. Good luck.

Ellena

Educating the public is the only way to prevent this from happening.

Well, thanks for the help, but unfortunatly she did not make through the night (night of the post), and she is gone. I am very sad at this, and it is strange because she was such a healthy and vigorous eater... I was worried more about my male gecko, because he doesn't always seem interested in eating. He looks wonderful though, great skin color, full body, no insides or ribs showing... it is really weird... Well, I will keep the help you gave in mind in case I do need it, thanks again.
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~Laura

Rejoice, the age of the fall has begun
We'll dance as the palaces burn.
--Lamb of God, As the Palaces Burn