Help me with my new gecko!

by lunarrah Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:26 am

So I wanted to get another gecko I looked on craigslist. I found a little lady named lilly, the pictures of her showed a lively heathy adult gecko. The information said she was around 1 1/2 and that their son didn't want her anymore and that they were selling Lilly and her habitat seperatly. But when I went to get her she was skin and bone. I just could not leave her like that. I know some of the things I need to do to make her better but I need help.

-Feed her meal worms and small crickets (by hand)
-make sure she stays hydrated ( I give her water from a dropper bottle)
-Give her vitamins (I mixed Rep-cal Calcium & herptivite in water in a dropper bottle)
-Repta-aid
-When I give her anything with water, the water is sterilized and I make sure the water is warm.

I have a backup tank set up with the proper habitat incase one of my geckos gets sick. I am afraid to put her with my other two adult ladies.

These are pictures of Lilly I took today. (I got her two days ago)

Here are pictures of Lilly I took today. (I got her two days ago)

by Mardy Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:42 am

I couldn't tell if you quarantined her, but she needs to be quarantined away from your other geckos. A gecko in such poor condition should also have the fecal examined, you can get it done for around $35 at the vet.

Is she eating on her own? If so, gut-load the feeders and dust them with multi-vitamin & calcium prior to feeding them to her. Keep the water clean without vitamin mixtures. This is if she's eating on her own.

If she's not, you want to consider mixing up slurry to give her a boost. Here's a recipe from Golden Gate Geckos, it's a very popular slurry used to aid recovering geckos.

GOLDEN GATE GECKOS SLURRY:

This slurry was developed years ago when I was trying to rehabilitate sick geckos. It has helped save the lives of many geckos, and is being recommended and used by many veterinarians and Universities now. Keep in mind that this slurry IS NOT medicine, nor will it cure anything! It is designed to be used as nutrition for anorexic geckos that are off-food and being treated by a veterinarian for a diagnosed clinical disease or illness. Here is my recipe for the mixture:

In a blender, combine:

1 small can Hill's A/D pet food (available at most vets)

1 jar baby food squash

¼ cup Ensure (not chocolate)

¼ cup Pedialite

Contents of 2 capsules Milk Thistle (herbal supplement, liver purifier, found at most drug stores)

¼ tsp. each calcium powder and herp vitamin powder

3-5 X-large handfuls of mealworms, added slowly while mixture is blending

Puree all ingredients until completely smooth, adding mealworms until mixture is the consistency of milkshake. Pour into ice cube tray and freeze. Store frozen cubes in a zip-lock bag in the freezer until ready to use, then thaw out 1 cube at a time in the empty baby food jar at room temperature. Keep thawed slurry in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days, washing the jar and lid thoroughly after each batch.

Using this mixture, draw a full 1ml dropper (eye dropper type) for adults, and 1/2 dropper for juveniles, and place a drop on the gecko's nose, and avoid plugging the nostrils. Be patient and do not force-feed! The gecko will lick it off its nose, and as it does, slowly squeeze out a little at a time as the gecko licks it. Be careful not to let the gecko choke, allowing for time to swallow. Most geckos love this food, and will lap it up. Patience is a key factor!

It's too bad that too many geckos go abandoned like this by kids and parents that purchase animals on an impulse for their kids. Most kids have an attention span of maybe a week for something new and exciting, then they lose interest. When they lose interest, this is what you get...poorly cared for animals.

by **kathstew** Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:02 am

Welcome to the forum!

Good for you for taking in this little girl, hopefully she gets on the road to recovery quickly.

Mardy gave you some awesome suggestions.

A few things:
- I would start feeding her slowly (not a lot at once), to prevent regurgitation. Smaller meals two or three times a day is better than one large meal.
- Quarantine. In this case you may want to put her in a separate room from your other leos for now.
- I'd keep her in a simple set-up for now for ease of cleaning. Paper towel substrate, minimum hides.

A fecal sample may be needed as well.

Good luck!

by **smsararas2** Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:36 am

That IMO is a very serious case of MBD. That reptile needs to see a vet I think to get some treatment. MBD is not something that can be fixed by gaining weight, although that will help.

by **Kermit** Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:53 am

Another reason to feed small more frequent meals is to prevent refeeding syndrom (please google it).

Not sure why everyone misses this but you you please fill out our care questionnaire so that the membership doesn't have to ask a ton of questions. You can find it here: http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/t134-please-read-and-fill-out-with-your-health-questions

As far a what you're doing so far I wouldn't use "sterile" water but you can use spring water. Leos need some of the minerals found in water so sterile doe nothing for them. You should never mix your multi vit and calcium suppliments. You could get themix all wrong and send your leo into hypervitaminosis which could lead to kidney failure and a bunch of other life threatening issues.

Absolutely keep them seperate, use sterile practices such as washing your hads every time you go into the sick leos viv. It could be crypto, it could be parasites, it could be a hundred different things... you won't know till you get her to a vet. Keep them as far apart as posible.

Good luck and please keep us updated

by lunarrah Fri Jan 27, 2012 3:57 pm

Thanks for your replies I am trying to take her to the vet tuesday. She is quarantined and has not shared the habitat with my other two geckos. I am going to move her tank to the other end of the room (its a big room) tomorrow its late and I need to go to bed.

I will post what the vet says on tuesday if I can get a appointment.

by **smsararas2** Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:28 pm

That is a good idea taking her to the vets. I think that is the best thing to do. Kudos to you for taking her.

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