Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My girlfriend was recently hired to care for the reptiles at a local pet shop and feed store, and when she arrived (two months ago, approximately) there were two very young leopard geckos for sale who were quite obviously very ill. They were both way too thin and refused to eat. My girlfriend took them home to care for them and gave them Jumpstart and Flagil(sp?), but their condition continued to deteriorate. A couple of weeks ago, one of the geckos suddenly lost the use of its hind legs and passed away a few days afterward. Upon inspection, there was what appeared to be a large black mass just under the skin in its stomach. The other gecko is still alive but still refusing food.

I'm curious about just what it is that these poor little critters have been afflicted with. Has anyone seen this before? I suspected that maybe they'd eaten some substrate which had clogged their digestive systems or something like that, but I'm certainly no expert.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions--I'll pass them along to the management at the store for future reference.

Take them to a vet. Until then try feeding them meat flavored baby food like beef or chicken or turkey. I've been doing that for 2 weeks for my gecko, just to try to keep it alive. I have to put it on it's lips, then it licks it off. Glad my appointment is tomorrow.

>>My girlfriend was recently hired to care for the reptiles at a local pet shop and feed store, and when she arrived (two months ago, approximately) there were two very young leopard geckos for sale who were quite obviously very ill. They were both way too thin and refused to eat. My girlfriend took them home to care for them and gave them Jumpstart and Flagil(sp?), but their condition continued to deteriorate. A couple of weeks ago, one of the geckos suddenly lost the use of its hind legs and passed away a few days afterward. Upon inspection, there was what appeared to be a large black mass just under the skin in its stomach. The other gecko is still alive but still refusing food.
>>
>>I'm curious about just what it is that these poor little critters have been afflicted with. Has anyone seen this before? I suspected that maybe they'd eaten some substrate which had clogged their digestive systems or something like that, but I'm certainly no expert.
>>
>>Thanks in advance for your suggestions--I'll pass them along to the management at the store for future reference.
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What are the other symptoms? What does their feces look like (if there is any)? What are the tank conditions? Has their food been dusted with a calcium D3 powder?

The loss of movement in the back legs sounds to me like Metabolic Bone Disease. The lack of appetite can be caused by this as well. Have you noticed any other symptoms? For example tremors in the tail, like when a healthy leo strikes at prey and flails his tail but 10 times as fast and they can't control it.

Go to www.drgecko.com it is an amazing site and will go into more detail about this condition and others.

If it is MBD it very serious from the sounds of it and you should get to a vet if you can. I would also seriously question the pet store your girlfriend works at. They should know that leopard geckos need calcium in order to survive.

The most important thing you need to do is keep this gecko hydrated. Dehydration can kill your gecko faster than anything eles. If it isn't drinking water you can put some on it's lips for it to lick off.

Good luck. I lost my gecko to MBD after treating him for three months. While Rex was sick I researched this disease as much as I could so if you have any questions feel free to ask. Also if you want to get some info from a herp nutritional expert go to the frog forum and look up EdK. I don't know how much he specializes in leopard geckos but he knows alot about MBD. He helped me out in the past, but I would recommend going to a vet to confirm it is MBD first.

Lisa
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>>>>>> Upon inspection, there was what appeared to be a large black mass just under the skin in its stomach.

I agree with the others, take to the vet immediately. Sounds like MBD which is bad. Get it take some water and baby food. Maybe try a mixture of pedialyte and turkey or some other meat flavored baby food.

Also I know this sounds strange, but gatorade will also help since it helps hydrate, I use it on my bearded when he got sick. Try it, it may work.

Oh and my brother used to work at a large chain petstore(not saying the PET companys name but they aren't SMART). They had leo gecko's in there with the same problem. The black under their bellies was caused from impaction, so it could be that. I'M just saying this it is MY OPINION on the subject.

Just take the little fellow to a vet fast.
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MBD would be a possibility if the leo were actually growing or breeding, but that's not the case in its malnourished state.

It sounds more like an impaction to me. That would explain the lack of appetite, the paralysis, and the dark spot on the abdomen. If you are using a particle substrate like crushed walnut or any type of sand, that's most likely the cause. Although these products are labeled as safe for reptiles, this is a common occurrence with young leopard geckos. You can bet that it will happen again as long as the store keeps using the same substrate.

Your leo is not going to be interested in food while he has the blockage and probably even for a little while after it gets cleared. You also shouldn't try to force feed him because it will only make the problem worse. He can't poop, afterall.

With mild cases, dabbing a bit of mineral oil (just half a drop! not a full drop or 3 or 4 drops) on his mouth can help alleviate the problem. Normally soaks help too, but I don't suggest doing this for babies and skinny leos because it exposes them to too much cold even if you use warm water.

Your best bet is to take him to the vet. People don't realize how much a tiny little grain of sand or shell can tear up a little gecko's innards. A vet will be able to prescribe some antibiotics to prevent infection.
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chickabowwow

Sorry I never said it was for sure MBD. MBD can occur in non-breeding and adult leopard geckos, it all depends on the conditions the animal is in. I should know my leopard gecko was four years old and not breeding. I will also admit that I was fully at fault. Unfortunately, I wasn't as educated as I thought I was.

It could also be impaction but the paralisis of the back legs sounds like MDB to me.
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I agree that paralysis would indicate impaction or some other problem. MBD usually first shows up as weakness in the jaws then progresses to bowing of the limbs, starting with the front. If these skeletal deformities are absent, it's probably not MBD.
-Alice

While I do agree that those are a couple of the most common problems that show up with MBD, I wouldn't cross MBD off the list if the gecko doesn't show them. My gecko had neither of those problems. This is taken straight from Dr.gecko website, hopefully that is ok.

"Lethargy
Anorexia
Paresis (weakness) or paralysis.
Intention tremors.
Pathological fractures.
Swollen or distorted limbs.
Softened or rubbery limbs.
Soft facial bones (especially the jaw)
Intestinal prolapses.
Lameness
Reluctance to move.
Scoliosis of the spine.
Renal disease.
Tetanic seizures.
Lack of growth or weight gain.
Gradual weight loss.
Seizures, muscle spasms and/or tremors.
It is important to note that Metabolic Bone Disease can affect each leopard gecko differently so the symptoms may vary from gecko to gecko."
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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