skinny gecko

Hello....Well I am posting because I have recently just got out of jail after 2 months and my brother said he would take care of my leopard gecko and when I got back my 2 yr old gecko was really skinny. He won't eat anything I give him and I put a moist shelter in his tank but nothing is working (he has some skin that is shedding that is just only his upper half of his head). Is there anything I can do because I'd be really upset if he died. I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

poor guy! well to start off could you fill out this care questionnaire so that we can get a better picture of his set up, http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/t134-please-read-and-fill-out-with-your-health-questions
you can try getting a large tupperware and putting about a inch of warm water in it and setting your leo inside with the lid over most of the tupperware, let him sit in it for about 15 minutes to help with the shed, i dont think thats why he isnt eating though, once you feel out the questionnaire then we will be able to help you out more.

About your leo:
- Sex---male
- Age and Weight---2 years old----dont know the weight...dont have a scale
- Morph (if you know)
- How long have you owned your leo---2 yrs
- Where was he/she obtained (Pet store, breeder, wild caught, etc.)---pet store
- Is your leo wild caught or captive bred---captive

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo-----not tame---
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how----not eating---slow movement
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.--no
B) Fecals
- Describe-Do they look any different than normal---no difference from what i've seen
- When was the last time he/she went--im not for sure
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem/issue you are experiencing and how long it has been going on
skinny and not eating and having problem shedding his head
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size---10 gallon tank
- Type (ex. glass tank, screen enclosure, tub kept)-----glass tank
- Type of substrate (sand, vinyl tiles, ceramic/stone tiles, etc.)---sand
- Hides (how many, location and type (hothide, humid hide, regular hide etc.)---humid hide and 2 reg hides
B) Heating
- What is your main heat source (heat bulbs, under tank heat mat etc) **Please include the brand and size of your UTH if you use one**----under tank heater
- What are your cage temps (hot side and cool side)-----93 f---hot----89---cold
- Method of regulating your heat source (thermostat, rheostat, light dimmer etc.)---thermostat
- What are you using to measure your temps (probe thermometer, infrared lazer tempo gun, stick on temp gauge, etc)---thermometer
- Do you have any lights (describe type (red,blue, basking etc) and cycle duration)----none
C) Cage mates-------no cage mates
- How many (males, females)
- Describe health, or previous problems of cage mates

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What are you feeding----crickets and superworms
- How often are you feeding your gecko and how much per feeding?once a day and 4 or 5 superworms or 3 crickets
- How are you feeding (hand fed, tongs/tweezers, left in dish, ect)---left in dish
B) Supplements
- What calcium suppliment are you using (please include brand)
- What multi vitimin are you using (please include brand)
-How are you implimenting your suppliment program (how often do you dust with each suppliment, do you leave calcium in the tank 24/7 etc.)----every other day
- What are you gutloading your feeder insects with---white powder

alright, here is what i would suggest, i am betting you might have heard this before but sand can cause impaction and that might be the reason he stopped eating. sand is very bad, not only can it cause impaction but it also carries allot of bacteria and can cause eye infections, shedding problems and all sorts of crap. if i were you i would switch that out with paper towels. for a more realisted look once he is better you can go to home depot and get peal and stick tiles that look like slate. here is a thread that tells you about housing and the substrates that you can use.
http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/t166-proper-housing-for-leopard-geckos
but anyways i would get rid of the sand, the rest of your set up sounds good, do you have a digital prob thermometer? those are very nice and help allot with correct measurements, and you can get one for around $10 at your local pet store. i would try and raise the hot side to 98 for right now while he is sick. this sounds like it will be hard on him because you never handle him, but with impaction if that is what it is, you can try warm baths and massaging his belly but i don't know how much he would like that, and you don't want to stress him out to much. can you get us a picture of him and of his belly? the easy way to get a picture of his belly is to put him in a clear container and taking a pic from underneath the container. there is also a recipe for slurry, which is for helping Leo's that are not eating.
http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/t815-slurry-recipe-for-the-long-term-fasting-gecko
if you take it and drip it on the tip of their nose they usually just lick it off so that is a good way to try and feed him, don't try and feed to much because you can actually kill him if you do, just do small amounts at a time. wax worms are very high in fat and that is what he needs right now so you should try getting some of those. umm... i cant think of anything els really, if you could get us some pictures that would help.

update on gecko: Gecko still is not eating but has shed again after I gave him a quick bath,but is starting to take interest in the food but still not eating.

well its good he shed that is one problem salved, have you tried any slurry yet? if he doesn't start eating soon i would try dropping some slurry on his nose to get his apatite moving along. keep up the hard work!

I havent tried any slurry yet but im going to get some meal worms and wax worms to see if he will eat those then if that doesnt work ill try the slurry

ok sounds good, good luck!

Thank you and Thank you for all your help I really appreciate it.

my pleasure ^_^ we love to help fellow leo lovers on here!

Mystic has given great advice!

One thing I want to point out, is if he just shed he may not be hungry. Leos eat their shed skin, so if he makes a big meal out of that he may not eat. One of my leos (Rosie) doesn't eat for a day or so after shedding. Their shed skin has a lot of nutrients that are good for them, so its a good idea to let them eat it.

well he is really skinny so that is why im so concerned but i did notice that there was only a little piece of skin in his tank. but he still cant open his eyes all the way, they are about halfway open. Is that a problem?

that could mean he has shed stuck in his eyes, or he is just getting very week, can you take a picture of him and show it to us? a full body shot and eye shot will help us, also a shot of his belly will help us get a good look at him so we could tell you if we can see anything that doesn't look good. also i wouldnt leave any crickets in the tank because they can stress him out, same with the worms inless you are sure they stay in the bowl. are you dusting your feeders with a calcium and multie vitamin? and when it asked what you gut load your insects with you put white powder? im not sure if you know what gut laoding is but it is when you feed the insects food such as carrots, gold fish flakes, oats, high protein dog or cat food. if you don't gut load your insects they are like empty shells so try and gut load them if you aren't already and that will help with more nutrition. also if you have any bright lights on try and keep it darker for him.

That's not entirely true mystic. In the nutrition sticky, the nutritional values are of the insect pre-gutload. They will have nutritional value. The point of gutloading is providadditional essential vitimins such as A, C, lutine, etc thru. A whole food source rather than thru powdered suppliments. The bugs are nutritious on teir own, they're just MORE nutritious with proper gutloading.

thanks for the correction kermit, i always thought that their nutritional value would drop very low unless they were gut loaded. i just keep on learning lol

well my computer is not letting me upload any of my pics so Im gonna have to figure something out.

here is one

well they are really small but here they are

UPDATE: My leo finally drank a little bit of water and i found some poop in the cage so thats a good sign im hoping that he starts eating his food now...wish him luck

Hello, if you could use an image hosting website to upload your pics as those are too small xx

[img]http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/[/img][img]http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/[/img]

poor little guy, he is very skinny, he looks like he is keeping his eyes shut because he is to week. i would start with the slurry but make sure not to over feed him the first couple times, but he looks like you need to take him into the vet, he might have something else wrong with him such as a parasite or something. but taking him to the vet might also stress him out to much so its a hard decision. definitely start some slurry, he needs fat that's for sure. i hope he can rebound from this, allot of the leo's that get to this point have a very hard time coming back from it. i hope by keeping him warm clean and giving him some slurry it will help him become healthy again. good luck i hope you can help him pull through.

I believe he will pull through hes a toughie

i sure hope so, you just keep doing your best for him, that is all anyone can ask of you ^_^

Well, its not getting any better with my Leo ...ive tried the slurry and he wont eat or lick it off the top of his mouth ....does anyone have any other ideas....I really need help.