Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I just received a call from my niece saying that her gecko has vomitted twice now (not twice today, but once yesterday and once today). She said it was what appeared to be water, about the amount of a nickel. Her gecko is still fairly young, 6 monthes or so. It does not seem to be losing weight. The gecko is living with another gecko (her sister). I had my niece separate the two geckos and provide food and water for both, as well as suggested that she hand feed her tonite -- Hand feeding mean, feed her from her hand, to see if she will eat, as well as leave mealies in over night. I'm looking up a vet for my niece now, as she is not at her own house but with my parents for the summer. Any advice, or ideas as to what this may be? There doesn't seem to be a pattern, and this has only happened a few times. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tibeca

Leos will sometimes throw up because they have eaten too much. In that case, there would be undigested food items. But if the leo is just vomiting up stomach fluid then there is something wrong. It could be that she has parasites or that she has a sickness. The best course of action would be to get it to a vet. Good luck!

Cleo
1:1 leos (4 eggs cooking)

Geez,
I agree with cleo,you are making the right move in finding a vet asap. I don't mean to raise a red flag but years ago I had the same problem with one of mine. She would not keep anything down including water. I took her to the vet and a barium test was initiated. When they do a barium test, they put a tiny amount of barium into the geckos mouth and then monitor to see how far down the digestive track the barium goes through timely x-rays and in my geckos case, she had gotten an intestinal blockage that was cureable. While i knew before hand that an intestinal blockage was a possibility, i was tempted to use a tiny amount of caster oil as advised by many of my herp buddies but decided against it and just went straight to the vet. When I told the vet of the idea, he said that it was not adviseable because castor oil could be more harsh on the gecko than the lax based medications they had. But all in all, we came out OK.
Hope this helps and good luck!!!!!!

I would take her to the vet anyway because any new animal should have an initial checkup.....but make sure she is cleaning the water dish every day, make sure the temperature of the cage is checked with a digital thermometer (86-88degrees basking area on only one side of the tank controlled with a thermostat/ rheostat), check the food items to make sure they don't get mold on them (can cause regurgitation), keep the gecko on papertowels, repticarpet, slate (NOT any type of sand, bark or loose material) print out the care sheet for this site on lgeckos to check the basics. www.drgecko.com has great extensive info on illness symptoms to look for, what is normal and what is not, so you can tell your vet the symptoms and catch disease early and info on necessary calcium & vitamin supplements, ect.

I would take her to the vet because any new animal should have an initial checkup.....but make sure she is cleaning the water dish every day, make sure the temperature of the cage is checked with a digital thermometer (86-88degrees basking area on only one side of the tank controlled with a thermostat/ rheostat), check the food items to make sure they don't get mold on them (can cause regurgitation), keep the gecko on papertowels, repticarpet, slate (NOT any type of sand, bark or loose material) print out the care sheet for this site on lgeckos to check the basics. www.drgecko.com has great extensive info on illness symptoms to look for, what is normal and what is not, so you can tell your vet the symptoms and catch disease early and info on necessary calcium & vitamin supplements, ect.

Thanks for the advice. The gecko had already had an initial check-up. I am by no means a newbie. I have 2 geckos myself, but had never heard of them vomiting stomache acids. I know about basic care, and even have "The Leopard Gecko Manual." I've already found a vet for them, of which they'll be going to tomorrow, unless she were to act sickly during the night. Thanks for the advice, and hopefully its something minor.

well, a vet is a good idea. Just for the heck of it though check the temps. Is she sure it vomited sometimes there stools are really kind of liquid if they drink alot of water they will actually pee kind of and it will stain the paper towel like a small spot.
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Even if your on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there
22 leos,1.1 redtail boas,1.1 rainbow boas,1.1 cornsnakes, 1.0 tokay gecko,1.0 veiled cham, 5 dogs and a cat. Oh, can't forget Tater my parrolet.