Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was trying to find out if impaction occurs in the large or small intestine. Any thoughts would be great, thanks!

I think the terms 'impaction' and 'obstructions' generically refer to any blockage/obstruction in the gastointestinal tract and/or digestive system.

Acute impaction is when the gecko eats a large chunk of something foreign, like bark or a big mouthful of sand. This in turn obstructs the digestive system.

Chronic impaction is the more deadly case where a large amount of foreign substrate (like sand) has collected in the gastrointestinal tract a little bit at a time. Like all those people who say "I've kept my gecko on sand since he was a baby and he's fine" and then wake up to a dead gecko one day.

Chronic impaction is typically the small intestine and I think it is most often accompanied by cloacal prolapse. I'm sure there have been other cases out where foreign materials have gotten lodged/built up in other areas of their little digestive systems but its difficult to tell because not much is documented. In my opinion, since impactions can only truly be diagnosed through necropsy and such deaths are often blamed on other factors instead (pasasites, etc.)

Warning: GRAPHIC Dissection Photos
Here's a link to an interesting page on the impaction of a 3 year old leo, some X-rays showing the blockage, and some post-mortem dissection photos. Very neat but NOT for the weak stomached:
homepage.mac.com/exoticdvm/reptile/PhotoAlbum181.html
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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"

I don't know which part impaction usually is in, but my guess is that there is more than one place it could be in. Impaction is commonly cause by ingesting loose particle substrate such as sand, bark, etc. But it can also be caused by the chiten in mealworm exoskeletons and baby mice (pinky) bones. Which is why I would only feed a leo, no matter what age, crickets, deheaded superworms (they can chew through the leo's intestines), silkworms, and/or waxworms as treats.
There are ways to treat for impaction besides surgery. Soak the impacted leo in warm water mixed with pedialyte or gatorade several times a day for 10 minutes. The heat on its belly will help to pass the obstruction. Don't feed it insects at that time, instead hand feed your leo from a neddless syrenge. Feed it a mix of veal or chicken babyfood, pedialyte or gatorade, calcium powder,olive oil, and Jumpstart (found at petsmart). Watch closely for poo and work to keep the leo's tail chubby.
Hope this helps someone! Here's a picture of a sand impacted leo.

- Rien

superworms have more citin than mealworms, and no they CANNOT chew through your geckos stomach... I dont see why your saying don't feed your gecko insects but feed it through a syringe. You really shouldnt feed your gecko until you get it unimpacted because your just making matters worse by building up the blockage. Soak your leo a couple times a day in water that isnt hot to your hand and isnt cold to your hand.