# Help with leopard gecko- eyes closed weight loss



## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

Help not hemp lol
I have a super mack snow leopard gecko. He was with some females i took him out as he was losing weight, i put it down to pestering the females.

But he isnt getting any better. looked at him today and his eye are like slits and really thin.

My vet is off sick at the moment else i would be going there. No where else is good with reptiles.


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## Kimmy173 (Aug 2, 2007)

When did he last eat and what was it? What substrate was he kept on with the females and what is he on now? How are the temperatures?


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

Temp are perfect as kept in a heated garage all other geckos are doing well
eating morio worms
Hasnt ate for a while tho as i thought it could be down to the new suroundings
On repti carpet


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## Kimmy173 (Aug 2, 2007)

Have you tried feeding him anything else? crickets, hoppers, meal worms, waxworms? 

It might sound weird but he could be allergic - unless you've used Morio worms with him long before this and he's been fine. 

How old is he and what weight was he before he started losing and what weight is he now?


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## missk (Jan 14, 2008)

what does he weigh? - will determine whether it's time to get drastic, ie critical care formula
how long have you had him? leos can hide illness for a looong time, seem fine, then decline slowly
have you tried him with other live foods?
has he been treated for worms etc ever? (some livefoods can transmit parasites eg hookworm)

hope he perks up...


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

Not had him that long to be honest, he was fed on locusts i will get some.
Just got some lob worms this morning to try them
But its his eye that are worrying me.
I will have to dig out my records but he is very thin he wasnt massive when i got him.


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

Thanks when he poos i will take a look under my micro scope ( i do worm testing myself).

What about his eyes?


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## missk (Jan 14, 2008)

is he just stood there with his eyes closed? If you haven't had him long or quaranteened him i would suspect parasite infection. If this is protozoan you will prob not see it under your scope (depending what mag you can use obviously). 

How long exactly have you had him?
if he does need parasite treatment you will need to medicate your girls too...

closing eyes is just a sign he feels ill, he probably feels weak. I would get some waxies and hope they tempt him to eat,because if he isn't eating there will be no poo to look at. you may need to feed him some mushed up mealies just so you can get a fecal sample for the vet. He sounds in pretty bad shape, make sure his temps etc are good/stable, in a weakened state it is veryimportant his temps are correct nd stable (ie statted).


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

I brought him off someone on here i brought a group off her first then brought him at a later date. He had been kept with these girls.
Had him about 3 months.

I will keep trying to temp him


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

Pictures


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

bloomign hell heis thin
stunnning though, i would probably get him checked out for parasites..


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

Yeah i know. Im really worried. My normal vet is off sick and she is all i trust. 
he wasnt a big boy when i got him but he had some fat on his tail
Anyone in the walsall/ birmingham area recommend a vet?


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## missk (Jan 14, 2008)

if he hasn't eaten in a long time he will be feeling pretty low. I owuld say he looks bad enough to have to feed him. 

Critical care formula combined with some hills a/d prescription convalescing diet and blended mealies/waxies will give him much needed immediate nutrition.

I imagne the stress of moving to a new home meant his immune system was compromised giving the parasites a chance to get the upper hand and get out of control. Ask the vet to look at a fecal as fresh as you can get, blend up any bugs you have, drip them on his nose and as he licks it off add more. do it for as long as you can before he gets stressed out so you will have poo to look at. if you see worms ask for panacur, take the sample with you, if you see nothing have the vet send fecal to the lab and see if he will prescribe metronidazole.

you can also try some kind of formulated diet like complan, which is designed to be easily digestable and is for building up after illness (in people, should be able to get it in pharmacy). 

hope you manage to treat this in time, but it looks like he needed help a while ago...
weighing your leos weekly will help you spot when one of them is in consistent decline and needs medical attention.

he may also be dehydrated, you can make him a 'reptoboost' or 'critical care' bath with warm water, put him in it, he'll lick it, get some fluids into him... today...

and some waxies, leave them in with him in a mealworm-type dish.

can you pm me who you got him off?

cheers and i really do hope he picks up.


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## linda.t (Sep 28, 2007)

blondesarah said:


> Yeah i know. Im really worried. My normal vet is off sick and she is all i trust.
> he wasnt a big boy when i got him but he had some fat on his tail
> Anyone in the walsall/ birmingham area recommend a vet?


hope you find another vet asap like you i only like to see hannah,
i know hannahs off sick but i know u keep in touch with her could you not ask her if she knows of any others close by.
good luck with him


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

missk said:


> if he hasn't eaten in a long time he will be feeling pretty low. I owuld say he looks bad enough to have to feed him.
> 
> Critical care formula combined with some hills a/d prescription convalescing diet and blended mealies/waxies will give him much needed immediate nutrition.
> 
> ...


He is quite active i have pancaur here and metronidazole, here as i treat my tortoises with it.
Thnak you for your help i will get to the chemist and see if i can get complan. i dont have the stomach to crush live food.
I have given him fluids today. I will see if i have any critical care if not get some.


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## missk (Jan 14, 2008)

ok, you need to get some poo, you can't use both drugs at once, so determine if worms or protozoa. if you see them treat the ladies also. the seller should also be informed so they can check/treat their collection (unless all their geckos have mysteriously dissappeared/been sold...). Obviously if you treat the torts you know hygiene is very important when dealing with parasites.


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

Thanks yes im aware, i treat it in tortoises.


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## Shelly24 (Aug 28, 2008)

thats exactly what happened to me leo before she died  sorry, not saying yours will, mine was 17 years old but her eyes closed and she went blind and then she lost all her weight. Yours doesnt have any sort of discharge coming out of its eyes does it? My vet gave me eye drops for mine when she has sticky eyes. 
I had to feed mine wax worms with some tongs/tweezers to try and force fed her when she got so thin, she was so weak she couldnt catch crickets. 
RIP Nala x


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

Oh god dont say that

He has had 5-8 drops of complan just and a long bath, started to get stressed so stopped.

Will retry later.


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## Varanaman (Apr 13, 2007)

Severely dehydrated and malnourished, probably with vitamin deficiency and heavy parasite infection.

My first priority would be to get fluids into the lizard, orally by syringe. Water or even ½-strength VetArk Critical Care at the rate of 10% of lizard body weight per day in 2 or 3 divided doses.

Once re-hydrated and peeing, increase to full-strength Critical Care and treat with Metronidazole [Flagyl].

Varied diet *essential*, crickets, mealworms, wax worms, locust hoppers, earth worms - all coated with calcium carbonate.

An X-ray would determine bone density and if there is a calcium deficiency; if so, put a 5% compact UV lamp in the vivarium so the animal is exposed to it whilst asleep.


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## kinsey (Jan 19, 2008)

When you check for parasites, do you have the facility to check for Crypto?


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## mjsgeckos (Apr 7, 2008)

Sarah, we had a similar thing happen with one of ours, where she stopped eating and shut her eyes after us putting her with a formed breeding group....the Vet popped some KY Jelly on her eyes and gave her an anti-inflamotary jab....she is now back to normal!!!

She improved after around 10 days, and now is completely happy!!!

:2thumb:


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## reptiles_galore (Aug 13, 2008)

i have just read this post. omg has this gecko deteriated massivley since you purchased?

this needs urgent medical attention now! you can see the eye that is closed more the head is starting to collapse in.

a 5% uv bulb is needed today along with as much diffrent force feeding as possible.
syringe direct into the mouth wth some kind of formula including nutrabol. as much calcium and nutrients as you can.

sorry dont mean to be a downer.

do you have the recording for the weight for the lat 4weeks??

dave


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## kinsey (Jan 19, 2008)

Just wondering how the Gecko is doing this morning? 
Have been doing some checking, and milk based products are not suitable for reptiles. 

I really don't wish to worry you but, when you check for parasites, PLEASE PLEASE do check for cryptosporidium, especially if the gecko does not survive. If this is the problem it could wipe out ALL your other reptiles. It is one of the parasites that could be contained in wild caught live food, and or be carried by other reptiles. Have you bought other reptiles in the last 4 months or so. 
K.


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## mjsgeckos (Apr 7, 2008)

kinsey said:


> If this is the problem it could wipe out ALL your other reptiles. It is one of the parasites that could be contained in wild caught live food, and or be carried by other reptiles. Have you bought other reptiles in the last 4 months or so.


Whoa Whoa Whoa....easy!!! Let her get him to the Vets before we surmise....
(not having a dig at you K by the way)....


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## kinsey (Jan 19, 2008)

mjsgeckos said:


> Whoa Whoa Whoa....easy!!! Let her get him to the Vets before we surmise....
> (not having a dig at you K by the way)....


No did not see a dig, I was advising checking for it, as there have been outbreaks of crypto around the country, at least 2 water authorities in the last few months have found it in their systems, and have had to shut the water off for whole areas. 

Contaminated water was in the pipes to homes before it was noticed, which is why I asked if she had bought other reptiles in the last 4 months.
K.
Cryptosporidium Bug Affects Thousands in Gwynedd

waterbriefing.org - Anglian Water identify cryptosporidium source


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## mjsgeckos (Apr 7, 2008)

kinsey said:


> No did not see a dig, I was advising checking for it, as there have been outbreaks of crypto around the country, at least 2 water authorities in the last few months have found it in their systems, and have had to shut the water off for whole areas.
> 
> Contaminated water was in the pipes to homes before it was noticed, which is why I asked if she had bought other reptiles in the last 4 months.
> K.
> ...


NP!!! :halo:


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## PSGeckos (Jul 15, 2007)

And to be fair to Kinsey, treat as Crypto, strick hygiene, quarentine etc, less chance of spreading anything to other reps, just in case it is the dreaded 'C'.


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## mjsgeckos (Apr 7, 2008)

PSGeckos said:


> And to be fair to Kinsey, treat as Crypto, strick hygiene, quarentine etc, less chance of spreading anything to other reps, just in case it is the dreaded 'C'.


Yeh agreed...:2thumb:

:devil: Stay away Crypto!!!


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## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

Apparently this gecko died..... not confirmed by the owner personally to me but my point of me posting now it to warn others not to feed Complan to reptiles. Complan is milk based and reptiles can not absorb milk as they are lactol intolerant as they are reptiles and not mammals. The owner did however upon being told this information did disclose that she felt terrible afterwards!.......


blondesarah said:


> Oh god dont say that
> 
> He has had 5-8 drops of complan just and a long bath, started to get stressed so stopped.
> 
> Will retry later.


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## Bosscat (Sep 1, 2008)

I just read this thinking it was a new post, and couldn't believe that someone was advising giving it Complan, especially when upto that point they sounded quite knowledgeable. I hope the poster (Missk) takes a lesson from this, and that anyone else who's leo is suffering from weight loss takes it to the vet BEFORE it gets to a bad state, let alone feed it Complan. Sorry to Sarah, who unfortunately was told some very bad advice, at the cost of her leo's lfe.

Thanks Reptilerescueden for making us aware of this post.


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## sparkle (Mar 21, 2007)

I am really really shocked here and quite confused about some of the advice given.

I too thought it was a recent post then realised it wasnt.

People need to give advice VERY carefully.. and if unsure a vet should be sought..

I have no idea why complan would be advisable .. I can only see it as very dangerous common sense knows never to give reptiles lactose or dairy..

somtimes I wonder on here why people give certain advice, I also sincerely hope the person giving that advice rethinks..

Im sorry an animal passed away..


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## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

I just want to emphasis about the Complan is a BIG NO NO! Was real worried incase someone searched and found this post and thought they too could try Complan.


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## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

There is a pet shop not far from me who also used Complan, I nearly fell through the floor as they was telling me.


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