Baby leapord gecko freakin out?

Question

I just got 2 baby leapord geckos (first ones) and I was concerned that they didnt want only meal worms to eat so today i got crickets and I went out to dinner and I think one of them ate one because he has sand on his face a little bit but I think its upsetting him because he keeps freaking out and shaking franticly. My guess is that he ate one that was a little to big and its still alive a little and moving in his stomach, any ideas? also he has been shedding but i think he may have pretty much finished but he is a little pale so maybe hes not finished yet...? any tips on keeping them happy would help

Answer 1

Sweetie, I rehab SO many Leos.  This whole thing was just SO sad to read, that I don't even know where to begin.  

You are doing EVERYTHING wrong. :(  I know that's hard to read, and I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but the goal here is to save the Leos, and turn you into an informed and good owner.

I'm not a diplomat, so I don't know how to say it better - but trash everything you are doing, and start over, before it's too late!

It's a lot to learn, so READ the links I give you, please.

First - get them OFF sand, and stop feeding meal worms!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Impaction

I don't know at this point if you DID feed insects too large, or if it's the sand, but either way... both ways?  He's in trouble!

Start immediately with the warm soaks and massage (read that link on impaction to see how to do this).  TRASH the sand, and get those babies on paper towels asap.

This makes me so CRAZY, Q after Q, trying to save these animals from such a STUPID mistake.  And the trouble is - it is NOT your fault.  MANY sites say to use sand.  I'm gonna post some at the end which do.  They have good info., but note my disclaimer about the sand.

So, start the soaks and massage - NOW.  Don't let it go long.  If he doesn't eat, or p**p in the next 3-4 days, get him to a vet.  He's impacted.  Since he's a baby - he'll go down quick.  It's not just the sand... you're also feeding him meal worms.  They have a chitin shell which is hard for adult animals to digest, and should never be fed to a baby...

This is so distressing to me, to see these mistakes just because you didn't research your animals before you got them.  But, even research can't always help (though the sites saying it's okay to use sand tell you never for babies).  These sites are SO outdated.  Sigh.

Like I said, there is much to know, and I don't even know where to start on this one!  

Insects - they should never be longer than the space between your gecko's eyes.  They should be gut loaded 1-2 days prior to feeding to your reptiles.  They should be dusted, for babies, every other day in reptile vitamins and calcium with D3.

"You are what you eat" is never more important an adage than when you're talking about reptiles who primarily eat crickets.  All the nutrients the lizard gets comes from what its food ate...

Too low temps. can cause impaction, too.  Reptiles can't digest without heat.  I have no idea what sort of husbandry you have going on.

All I can do at this point is tell you to dump the sand.  Get them on paper towels.  Make sure they are warm enough, and watch real close.  If the one who gobbled the face full of sand stops eating, gets 'lazy,' or can't p**p?  Rush him to the vet.

I would give the one who ate the sand soaks, like the link above says to do, and hope he can pass it.  I don't care WHAT kind of sand it is - sand is NOT digestible.  And if it was the 'good and kind' reptisand?  That stuff clumps when wet and does NOT dissolve.  So, that is most likely a trip to the vet's, and I hope it can be saved.

I wish I could "honey-gloss" this for you, and tell you "it will be fine..."  That is NOT the case.

These animals originate from rocky arid regions of hard packed earth.  Desert doesn't MEAN sand.  They are not designed to ingest sand with their prey insects.  

They need a moisture hide for proper shedding:

http://www.leopardgeckowiki.com/wiki/ind...

They need calcium with vitamin D3:

http://www.dachiu.com/care/abeard.html

http://hubpages.com/hub/Metabolic_Bone_D...

They need a warm and cool gradient in their home, for health and digestion...

All these links might seem like a lot of reading, but we are talking about an animal which can live over 20 yr. and is dependent on YOU for its care.  So - DO the reading.

An informed owner is happy one with healthy and content pets.

I hope the baby will be okay, but I'm afraid it won't, it if you don't get it to vet.

Answer 2

Hi,

First things first, they should not be on sand, of any type (even calci sand). For babies you could keep them on kitchen roll to make it easier to monitor feeding, but large (large because they're a lot less likely to eat these with food as opposed to small) wood chippings will be fine.

Why were you only feeding them mealworms? Personally I think the key to a healthy animal is variety where diet is concerned. Keep giving crickets (of appropriate size), try small locusts and small mealworms. When fully grown you can try occasional waxworms and pinkie mice.

Are you dusting their food with a good reptile vitamin/calcium supplement?

I'm not sure why he's behaving like this, it could be any number of things. When you see something out of the ordinary you should (if it's nothing obvious) always look at their husbandry to make sure you're not going wrong somewhere.

If everything that you can see seems ok and you are worried, I would take him to a vet who's got experience dealing with reptiles.

As for shedding, if he is still shedding you'd know. If he has or ever gets any stuck on him try giving him a warm shallow bath and/or gently rubbing un-shed area with damp cloth.