Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my baby leo still hasnt shed after six days. i am so worried he might be sick. he is really skinny and i havent seen him eat in over a week . i am so sad. i tried everything to get him to shed. q tips, shep box, bath, everything. i would take him to the vet except i am low on money and am young . i really dont want to loose him any advice would help to fatten him up or help hime she. i keep him on repticarpet and paper towels in a ten gallon(he is only 2 inches long) with a shed box and a hide on the cold and warm side. the temps on the warm side are about 88 degrees and on the cool 73-75. i try to feed him silk worms and crickets and sometimes an occasional waxworm or mealworm.she also has a uva uvb light. my other leo is doing great at i keep her in a twent gallon with the same things in it. i am reall6y worried please

How old is this baby? A hatchling? If so, my babies shed the 1st time at 5 days old, I've heard it can take upto a week. Maybe you have stressed your baby by trying to help it, and that's why it isn't shedding, just a guess. My babies didn't like to be messed with at all for the 1st 2 weeks. You say you haven't "seen" it eat, is it possible that it has eaten when you weren't looking? I would remove the UVA/UVB lighting for now too, maybe that is causing it some stress too. I would leave the baby alone for a day or 2 and see if it starts to shed on it's own.

thanks i will try both. also he was four days ould when i bought him about a little over a week ago.

If your leo has had old shed stuck to it for several days it may be best if you remove it. Use a pair of forceps and get as much off as you can paying extra attention to get all the shed off of the head and eyes. In my experience, leos often won't eat if the have shed stuck to their head. Once you've removed the shed, give the leo a few hours to calm down. Then offer it a gutted feeder on forceps. Sometimes licking the guts will trigger a feeding response.

If this little leo is a new addition, it may not be eating because it is sick. Parasites are a pretty common problem with petstore leos and infection will often lead to anorexia. Loose stools and lack of appetite are common symptoms. Make sure you wash your hands after you've had any contact with this leo and don't put any feeders that have had contact with this leo or its cage back into circulation or they could spread the infection. If it is parasites, veterinary care would be necessary.

-Alice

As I said before, don't use tweezers or forecepts on such a small leo. Also, I personally disagree with Shelley's advice, but that's just me.

He/she really needs veterinary attention. You've got a very sick, stressed little gecko there and anything attempted at home will only stress it more. Just take it to your herp vet.

Since you've been doing this for so long, I'm sure you have a great one that does your regular fecals for you. So he should be leniant with the charges. Mine charges $35 or so for the visit and any needed meds.

If you can afford food, caging, regular fecal exams, etc, you can afford to try and save your dying pet's life! Borrow money from a friend, relative, or parent. Get a job, do yard work, babysit, set-up a lemonade stand. I'm sure your parents or any older friends will help you out, at least with the drive to the vet. Saying you can't possibly find a way to pay for the vet check is like saying "I chose to have this baby but the diapers are really expensive so I don't wanna buy them" or "They say my kidney can save grandma, but I like my kidney so I'm gonna keep it".
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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"

cherribomb if you read closely I was going on the possible assumption that it was a hatchling: "How old is this baby? A hatchling? If so,..... " Sorry, but with the way things were worded I thought it was a good chance that she was talking about a hatchling .... OOPS I was wrong, sorry.

I guess I find it amazing that ANYONE would sell a 4 day old hatchling to begin with !!

I do agree it needs the attention of a veterinarian immediately.