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My gecko has not been eating for quite a while. He looked like there was something stuck on one side of his mouth and now I notice the tip of his tongue is very red. I looked online and I found something about mouth rot and I'm very worried. His stools don't look normal in the last few weeks. I am going to try and find a reptile vet but wondered if anyone knew anything about mouth rot or what else it could be as I'm very worried. Is mouth rot very serious and can it be easily cured? One site said trying to treat it can make it worse. It's late tonight and I'm very worried going to bed.

In leo's i would probably be more concerned about parasites than i would about mouthrot, especially since you said his stools dont look normal.

Mouthrot is commonly caused by a respitory infection that moves up the respitory tract and becomes rampid in the mouth. Respitory infections are usually caused by tank temps being chronically too low.

I would definately find a herp vet ASAP, especially if your leo isn't eating and is losing weight. Many conditions can be simple to treat but they get much more difficult as the leos health declines...the longer he goes without eating and the more weight he loses the less chance you have of being able to get him back. So find a vet ASAP.

A little info about your set up would be usefull...

Is your leo housed alone?
How old is it?
How long has it been since it last ate?
How long have you notice the appetite declining?
What substrate do you use?
What are the temps (high and low)?
What is the humidity?

For now...if your leo is housed with others then seperate him immediately to a hospital tank. Make sure to wash your hands througholy after touching him in case he has something that is contagious to your other animals.

Set him up in a hospital tank on paper towels, with several hides, a water dish, a calcium dish, a hot spot of 90degrees, and ambient cage temps in the 80's.

Make sure to bring a fecal sample with you when you go to the vet as parasites may be involved. If the vet cannot get you in very soon (next day or so) you can try tempting him with slurries of chicken baby food with calcium powder mixed in.

Definately call around tomorrow to find a good reptile vet.
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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

Thank you so much for taking the time to give all this information. We are going to a reptile vet about an hour from our house and have an appointment on Saturday.

We have a real problem with getting the temp in the tank perfect. During the day in the summer when everyone is at work the house gets too warm so I leave the overhead lamp off but some days end up rainy and cool and maybe it's not warm enough. I have a ten gallon tank with a lamp at one end and three thermometers. There's very little difference between one end and the other. We tried an under the tank heat but he stayed away from that area. HE's got two hides. One is a lot and one is a like stone thing which he prefers but I worry that it's too hot or too cold under there.

My gecko is my only pet and it's about a year and a half old. Has not eaten for over a month but did that last year about this time of year. I used to have one before that we got at Pets Mart and I didn't know at the time but he was not healthy and the vet put him to sleep. We brought a stool sample that time and they said they could only test it if it's fresh and he only went at night. We got this one from two brothers who have a small pet store and their friend was a breeder. They told us to use this special sand which I was concerned about but the packet said it's good for leopard geckos and he's been fine until this mouth thing. We change it every few months. He was a good eater for a long time but was never good at catching crickets so I switched to mealworms. He looks interested in the worms when they're moving and looks at them closely but then walks away. His stools only got bad in the last couple of weeks. I noticed something on the side of his mouth a while back and thought it was a shell from the mealie that got stuck in the side of his mouth so didn't do anything as he was still eating. In the last couple of weeks I noticed his tongue was red at the tip and thought it might be irritated from licking the thing stuck in his mouth. Now his tongue looks worse. I can't tell about the humidity. We have a humidifier in our house because I have asthma. Thanks for your help and let me know if you have more information. I didn't know geckos got respitory infections. Could he get that from us? Thanks again and any more info you have would be appreciated.

You may find it easier to control the temps in a longer tank. A 20gallon long is a great size, the length allows one end of the tank to be significantly cooler than the other. This way you can set a heat lamp and/or pad on one end and not have to worry about it getting too hot because your gecko will always have the other side of the tank to go to if he is overheating. Make sure to put hides on both the warm and cold sides of the tank. I would wait until you have seen the vet before you switch his tank though, as this may be very stressfull on him.

As far as poop samples they do need to be fresh but as long as they are 24hrs or less then they should work. Clean your gecko's cage in the evening before you go to the vet and grab a sample in the morning on your way out. You can also refridgerate it if its going to be more the 24hrs, as anything is better than nothing.

Its really hard to say what else might be going on, but if you have an appointment at a reptile vet that is awesome and im sure they will be able to help you.

They cannot get respitory infections from humans, so no need to worry about that

good luck at the vet, let us know how it goes!
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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

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