Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My new female tokay seems to be doing much better, but the male is not eating as well, and seems to be not digesting food. I recently found an undigested wax worm in one of the stools, which I am assuming is from the male, because he is the one that is more hesitant about eating, and the one that is not putting on the weight as fast. Is this a sign of parasite? I know that I really need to get these guys to the vet, and I will asap, just curious what is going on.

Matt

really hard to say for sure. it's a well known fact that most wc tokays are infected with parisites when shipped here. add putting them in captivity and the stress from it and the pariste load can get overwhelming causing problems. i would def have fecals done asap. since their together if tight on money, have one checked and treat both.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.15 Tokays
1.4.10 Leos(13 albino)
1.2.0 AFT's(amel male)
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

I only feed wax worms sparingly b/c of the fact that they are more difficult to digest than other feeders. I'd be more concerned if he was passing other insects (undigested), loose stool, blood, etc.

i would agree, i probably wouldn't worry about it with wax worms. even cricket wings and heads are sometimes hard for their stomaches to digest, especially given your gecko's background. if they're having trouble with crickets or moths or something then you may worry about it. wax worms, mealworms, superworms have a tougher " shell" then the others and will show up in the feces more often.

Ok...that is good to know. It really only has been the waxworms. I recently got some superworms, because they looked like a nice hearty meal, and those little bastards are lively. They each took some down, but they actually swallowed them still moving quite a bit...i figure thats gotta be reaking some havoc on their little stomachs. Maybe not though. Anyway, I ended up killing them first and just giving them with tongs. This way seemed a bit easier for the geckos.

They also tend to like me to feed them by hand. Actually I doubt they like it, it is just more convenient. I have put crickets in there, and they will still be there for a day or two, but if I then pick one up with tongs and present it to them, they eat it right away. Any thoughts?

Also...I took out the male and put him in a moist container with some paper towels to soften the shed, and then proceeded to get the most off that I could. I am assuming that they did not have the proper humidity requirements previously, because they both have what looks like layers of retained shed on their toe pads. I got off what I could, but did not want to mess with the toes too much in fear of damaging the pads. What should I do to get this off?

By the way, they are going for their first vet visit to get a worming and a good once over next week. I hope they dont have too many other issues.

Thanks again...everyone...for all of the great help.

Matt

thats pretty neat you can hand feed them. mine like hunting themselves but every once in a while when i try a couple will but they usually strike the tongs pretty good in the process. after a couple sheds being in the much better conditions your providing they will prob shed fine by themselves. the toes and feet could be a problem if they do have shed on them. the dead skin can tighten up cutting circulation off and the gecko could lose toes. you could try putting him in a very shallow bath of warm water and then gently with a q-tip dab it loose and use tweezers to gently remove. i havent had a serious tokay shed prob on their feet but have done as described on several leos in bad shape that werent mine with good results. your vet can prob help if not sure you got it off by then. keep a close eye for them to shed the next few times, specially their feet.
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My posts and replies are my experiences only
1.2.15 Tokays
1.4.10 Leos(13 albino)
1.2.0 AFT's(amel male)
0.2.0 Stenodactylus Petrii(Dune Geckos)

it's for crested geckos, but obviously applies to all.
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=784338,784338