What doe sit mean if my leopard geckos tail is small and wrinkley?

Question

leopard geckos

Answer 1

It means your gecko is in trouble, and could be close to death.  It's burning up more calories than it's taking in, and it has exhausted the reserves in its tail.

What are you feeding it, and how often?  How old is it?  How long have you had it?

A proper diet includes gut loaded insects such as crickets; Phoenix, Silk, and Meal worms of the proper size.  The insects should be no larger than the space between the lizard's eyes.  The insects should be dusted (shaken in a plastic bag) with reptile vitamins and calcium with D3 2-4 times a week, depending on the age of the animal.

If your gecko is still eating, give it all the properly prepared insects it can eat in an hr. daily for and adult, and twice daily for a young animal.  Be sure to remove the uneaten insects so they will not bother the animal once its full.  You can offer 1-2 Wax worms a day until it begins to put weight on.  But Wax worms are fattening and have no nutritional value, so make sure he is eating other insects as well.

Very young animals shouldn't be given Meal worms as the chitinous shell is hard to digest and can cause impaction.

Next question is - IS it eating?  What substrate are you using?  Sand or a loose substrate could have caused impaction.  Is the animal's bowels moving?  If the answer to these questions is "no," then your Leo needs to see a vet, and asap.

If you don’t already know of a qualified exotics/reptile vet in your area, google: “Herpetological Society” -or-

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/  for the one closest to you.

Good luck with the lil guy, and if he doesn't start eating better soon, take him to the bet and get him the help he needs.

I hope this has been helpful.

Answer 2

It means it's malnourished for one reason or another... there are many reasons: inadequate temperatures, inadequate amounts of food, impaction, parasites, infection, etc.  I'd suggest putting your leo on paper towels for the time being and getting yourself a good digital thermometer.  Make sure your warm side is 88-92 degrees on the floor of the tank.  You may need to adjust this if it's too far off.  

Then make sure your leo is being fed as much as he can eat EVERY DAY.  If he is eating and is still losing weight, you need to get him to a vet with a p**p sample.  My guess is that he could have parasites from stress.

Here are a couple links to find a good vet near you:

http://www.herpvetconnection.com

http://www.arav.org

Answer 3

Usually this means that the gecko does not have a lot of fat. They use their tails as a fat store. You could try feeding him waxworms to fatten him up. But beware feeding him too many. Waxworms can be addicting for to geckos and then they will refuse other foods. They should be used as treats.

Answer 4

your not given it fatty foods