My gecko is dieing aand i dont know why!?

Question

in may i purchased a leopard geckoe after reading several reptile keeping books. it has a heating mat, light, two hides ( one with the moss stuff ) a water dish ( i put new water in every day and clean it ) and its substrate is a fine sand. since i got it it has only eaten about 2 crickets and a few mealworms.... it is extremly thin. and now it has some sort of red crust on its lips.... i think it may be impaction but the books i read said that it was not a risk. it is 80 - 85 degrees faranhite in the tank in the day and about 79 at night. i have tried everything i can think of. he was a little thin when i bought him but i thought it wasnt a concern, did i buy an ill one? what can i do? i aim to take it back and ask the people and then the vet but it rarely moves ( even at night ) and i dont know what to do!!!? pls help!

Answer 1

Remove the sand immediately!  Most leo books were written in the 80's when not much was known about them.  Calci/Repti/Vita-sands clump like kitty litter in the intestinal tract and cause rock hard blockages that are difficult to pass.  Bump your *substrate* temps up to about 90-93*F (monitor w/ a digital with a probe on the flooring/substrate) and replace the sand with paper towels for now.  Make sure he's hydrated, even if you have to use a syringe (needleless, of course!).  Try to get Silkworms, they have a higher water content and may help flush out his system.  I would also take him to the vet as soon as you can for a check up - try to find a qualified herp vet, I got mine from www.arav.com & he's awesome!

Good luck with your lil guy! ~Michelle

Answer 2

I would say it might be impaction from the sand. You should now change the sand substrate to something like paper towels for now.

I say your temperatures are fine maybe you might not need a heat matt if it gets to hot at the warm end.

Have you tried putting your gecko in a lukewarm bath? That might help him with his bowel movement and get him nice and clean and hydrated.

If all else fails and he still doesnt eat bring him to a qualified reptile vet.

Answer 3

feed the poor thing take him to a vet DO SOMETHING

Answer 4

take him to a vet he could have a parasite ; hope all works out well!

Answer 5

What substrate was the little one on at the p-store?. Geckos under 6"s really shouldn't be on anything a part from paper towels. From the sounds of things he IS impacted. Remove the sand ASAP, and put tiles/paper towels down. Contact your vet, and your leo will need to be force fed. You say you empty the bowl everyday?, I presume all the water is gone?, if so thats a really good sign that he's atleast drinking. Contact your vet, change your substrate and go from there. If you need anymore help, E-mail me.

Answer 6

is it old?????????????????????????????????????...

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Answer 7

Take it to a vet straight away. Stupid

Answer 8

No, it's not the car insurance.  He's suffering from the long layoff of the show "Lost" on ABC.  You might want to replay all the episodes from last season to tie him over.

Answer 9

if he doesn't get a chance to sell car insurance daily he will eventually die

Answer 10

take him to the vet

Answer 11

hi i have a geko they are very fussy eaters one will eat one wont and one of mine is thin to . i think you should take

it to the vets before it gets any worse

Answer 12

Is it a baby or adult?  If it is a baby it is most likely impaction.  Adult digestive systems can handle living on sand, but babies can't. If that is the case impaction is 99% fatal.  I would take him to the vet and have him euthanized, because leo's can starve for a very, very long time and it is a very sad thing to watch (i have seen it).

In the future, keep juveniles on paper towels until the reach almost adult size.

Answer 13

I heard about this one thing called mouth rot, but i don't think its that, plus he should be living on paper towels as a baby, bring him to a vet ASAP

Answer 14

well, if you did your reasearch properly you would have known not to house a juvenile on sand. newer husbandry research has shown a high impaction risk and most owners who are inexperienced and unable to spot the early signs dont use sand. the temps sound ok. i think it needs to see a vet as it is probably too late too save this gecko and the vet will put it out of the misery you created for it.

when you say two hides, one moist one and one other, do you know you are supposed to have one warm hide, one cool hide for if the gecko gets too hot, and one moist one for aiding it to shed its skin, that makes three hides.

it should have a white light on for 12hrs a day to simulate daytime then turned off to simulate nighttime. if you want to view it at night then you should use a red bulb as it cant see red light. but you should simulate day/night cycles else it will get stressed out. seriously sounds too late for this little guy please take it to a vet

Answer 15

I took my gecko off the sand as soon as I found out it was dangerous and if you have a light and a heat mat it might be over heated. Leopard geckos don't need light and a light gives off heat and so does a heat mat, he might be overheated.