Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got a pair of geckos in from a snake breeder in S.Carolina. Apparently some guy bought them for his kid, and the kid was scared of bugs and didn't feed them. The guy brought them to this breeder to take care of them, but he doesn't know much about leos. He had them for a month, and said they were eating, and I offered to take them from him. I got them today after the Post Office had them for two days (not happy about that, they were paid for overnight shipping), and they were looking pretty bad. They're skinny, but bright eyed. They had skin all over thier toes that had been shed and gotten stuck there, and it took me an hour with warm water to get it all off. One of them had skin stuck to it's face. I got them all cleaned off, and put them into a small desktop fishtank until I can get a 10gal. tomorrow. I put some small crickets in with them, and one of the geckos went right after them. Both moved their bowels, which is a good sign, and now they are relaxing in the little hide I gave them. I'm really hoping I can rehab these two, because they look like they'd be gorgeous geckos. I think one might even be a snow, because she's all white with black spots. I'm going to do everything I can, but I want to help them bulk up fast. I'm going to get some pedialyte from work tonight, and try and get them each to take some, so that I can make sure they are hydrated. If anyone else has any tips on how to get them bulking, feel free. Just FYI- they are too small for pinkies, and show no interest thus far in mealies.
Thanks!
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1.0 Giant
1.0 Blizzard
0.1 Patternless
1.2 Normal
1.2 High-Yellow

Props to you for taking them in (That's how I ended up with way too many, LOL! Be careful!)

Try wax worms...just don't let them get addicted to them...
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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"

The snake breeder emailed me today after I told them they came in safe. He said they have a fondness for mealworms, so I'm hoping they'll go after waxworms. I'm going to the pet shop tomorrow to get yet another tank, and I'm going to get some small waxies and mealies while I am there. I also brought home a bottle of pedialyte from work with a syringe, and if they don't eat well, I am going to give them some of it. I might even pour it into their water bowl to try and trick them into drinking it. They're pretty small, I'm thinking juvies to sub adult, but I think they'll make nice adults if they make it through. The one that I think is a snow, Frost, is missing a toe on her rear foot, and her feet were covered with old skin, but she cleaned up nicely, and I think she'll do ok. Onyx, the other one that I can't figure out a morph for, is very lively and attacking the small crickets like crazy, but he doesn't always seem to get them. Wish me luck folks! I'll get pictures on my gecko album asap.
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1.0 Giant
1.0 Blizzard
0.1 Patternless
1.3 Normal
1.2 High-Yellow
0.1 Snow (possible)

I would run fecals on them, times of immense stress can lead to parasites. I am also in the middle of rehabing yet another leo right now. She came in a very similar condition, thin, dehydrated, covered in old shed, and loaded with parasites. A few rounds of dewormer after a fecal had been done cleared that up. So anyway, i would definately get a fecal done asap.

As far as fattening them up, make sure to use supplements and you can try butterworms or waxworms. I have heard they can get addicted to them although my most recent rescue didn't. I tried to avoid that by not feeding them constantly, i would switch it up...crix one day, mealies another, waxies another, then back to crickets.

As far as the color, it would be cool if you had a snow but keep in mind that leo's lose their color when they are starved. I got a rescue leo a while ago (3yrs) and he was pure white with black spots. As he got healthier and gained weight he stayed white and i thought i had a snow...then when he got really healthy and back on his feet he turned bright yellow. the most recent rescue i got was almost white too, and now she is also bright yellow.

Either way, good luck with your new guys and definately get a fecal done. They are in good hands!

(A pic of my older rescue)

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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Anerythristic Corn
0.0.1 Red Tegu
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

Yeah, I figure she'll get her color back when she gets healthy. Either way, I just want her to be ok. I just took in a temporary rescue. A friend of mine had a female that she said "hadn't eaten is like 4 months." I told her I'd take it for a bit and see what I could do. When I got her, she was tiny. She's literally the size of a 3 month old juvie. She's still got some fat in her tail, her eyes are clear, and she's very lively. I'm keeping her seperate from the other two rescues, but I'm going to follow the same regimen with her as I will the first two. I'm hoping to get her back up and fat again so I can give her back to her owner. I hate to see a leo suffer or starve like this.
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1.0 Giant
1.0 Blizzard
0.1 Patternless
1.3 Normal
1.2 High-Yellow
0.1 Snow (possible)
Pictures:
http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?folder_id=1360820