Help!! Sick gecko :(

[tolbunt5]

I had my female Leo, Elizabeth, in with Mr. Jingles (my male Leo) so I could give my new girl Anne her own place in peace & quiet to lay her eggs. Well, 2-1/2 weeks and no eggs, and now I discovered Elizabeth like this! See pics. Her belly looks bloated and her tail is so skinny it is unreal. Is she dying? Is she gravid? Why so bloated? Did Mr. Jingles kill her with love? Please advise. I forced a pinkie down her throat earlier tonight in desperation. Put some fresh crickets in her pen too. Help!!

 

[Styx]

She definitely looks gravid. Hopefully she is not eggbound.

Does she have a lay box - a place with moist soil or moss to lay her eggs?

 

[tolbunt5]

Yes she does. Do their tails get this thin when they are gravid too young? Or is that a separate issue? It looks to me like she hasn't been eating. How do I get her eating again? I have tried R'zilla's appetite stimulant to no avail. ?

 

[tolbunt5]

Also- what is the clear goo coming out of her vent?

 

[tolbunt5]

This is her a few months ago:

 

[Geckomaster743]

You should have never bred her. Her tail was already TOO skinny. Bro she may die
Though...
1. Use Flukers Repta - Aid.
And does she still eat?
2. Make sure she takes vitamins like Rep Cal / Herpavite
3. Make sure she gets constant heat.

Any way i just went online to do some research for you and read that Its Vet Or Death.

 

[tolbunt5]

Oh, no!! She has Repashy calcium/vitamin powder free choice. She did eat 1 mealworm last night. I force fed her a small pinkie but she spit it out. I did not breed her intentionally, I only have 2 pens and I needed one for my new female that I was told was gravid (now I see is not), I wanted her to be able to lay eggs in peace. Now I see I have unwittingly sacrificed my beautiful Elizabeth for that. I am so devastated. I switched them so now the new girl is with my male and Elizabeth has her own pen back, with a nest box and all. Sadly there are no reptile vets anywhere near me. The closest regular vet is 2 hours away. Is she doomed for sure?

 

[Jordan1]

Though...1. Use Flukers Repta - Aid.
And does she still eat?2. Make sure she takes vitamins like Rep Cal / Herpavite3. Make sure she gets constant heat..

in my opinion it isnt in breeding condition at all but did you say it was accidental? if so if your really willing to try and save your gecko i would make the 2 hour drive if possible if not i suggest you do what darkmaster said. but yes there's a possibility that your gecko might die judging by its stomach and condition, be prepared and keep your gecko in quarintine and keep lots of heat available at all times make sure its around 85-90oF and fresh water and keep trying to feed it, i dont think you should feed it pinkies due to the fact that its hard to digest.

 

[tolbunt5]

The closest vet (2 hours away) knows nothing about reptiles. I have no idea where any reptile vets are here in MD. The girl I bought her from said she can't eat b/c her belly is so big, she needs to get the eggs out. I have been giving her hot (warm water) soaks and gently massaging her belly. She has a nest box, I am praying she can lay the eggs. Yes it was accidental. I feel so bad. I was a Vet Tech for 10 years, I may have to do surgery to remove the eggs if she can't pass them. :/ The vet I used to work for in Baltimore gave me some good advice on that.

 

[Styx]

Disclaimer: I don't keep leos and never have, so this is going off experience from keeping and breeding other species of geckos.

She looks eggbound to me. The clear liquid coming out of her vent does not look normal to me since it appears so viscous, it actually looks like the fluid I see in my gecko eggs. Which I hope it is not. From what I have read in the past, leopard geckos are capable of reabsorbing their eggs. Since it's tricky to tell, it's really best diagnosed by a vet, which likely means some x-rays.

Surgery on reptiles is dicey and risky in the very best of situations. They do not respond to anesthesia well, and it's a last resort. Before that, a vet could try injecting her with hormones to get her to lay.

If it were me, I would get her to a vet asap. They can also give her IV fluids, tube feed her if necessary, and prescribe a special diet. See if you can find someone with this website:
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

Here's a list in Maryland:
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/maryland.shtml

 

[tolbunt5]

Thanks. The breeder I got her from said an egg (or both) might be leaking. What can that do to her?

 

[Styx]

Unfortunately, if that's the case, it's really bad. It can cause Egg Yolk Peritonitis if the egg fully ruptures, which is a killer in reptiles. If an egg is leaking but hasn't fully burst yet, it's time for an emergency vet visit to save the gecko's life.

But, not being a vet myself, I can only guess. I just know that in your shoes I would be waking my vet with a phone call.

 

[Geckomaster743]

I was going to add on and say yeah they can reabsorb the Eggs in some case but this is just plain bad. I think the eggs would have layed perfect if she had vitamin A and alot of calcium. Right now buy Repashy Leopard Gecko diet which www.Geckodaddy.com sells with there products which contains Pure Vitamin A. Its not death for sure but this is pretty bad. DO NOT FEED PINKYS. Your just wasting her Stamina and making it worse. She cant digest them and geckos should never have to. Remember " Insects Only ". Crested Geckos can get Gecko diet,Fruit and other things from what i know but Leopard geckos are insects only. Right now heres what i'd watch out for and what i would do.
1. Keep the Heat up.
2. Leave her by her self away from other geckos.
3. Vitamins Asap! ( Priorty )
4. Mealworms Only ( Decapictated Is Fine. )
5. Save Her energy.
Dont allow her to waste energy on moving. Making her get tired is not what you need because she has a body to operate. Make sure she gets plenty of rest and less noise to allow her to calm down and this may work out smoothly. I hope for the best and i'll pray that your gecko gets better. This is an example of Breeding gone wrong for any guests viewing the website. Tolbunt take this as an experince as this is what can happen to a gecko who carries a Vitamin A,Vitamin D3, Assorted Vitamins and Calcium defincey. Vitamin A and Calcium are key in breeding. Beta Carotene is not a Sub! You need Pure vitamin A dispite the chances of it being Toxic in large doses. So dont waste time with Herpative. Repashy is the best!

 

[tolbunt5]

She gets Repashy Calcium/Vitamin powder daily. I gave her warm water soaks & belly massages for 2 days to no avail, so tonight I did surgery, and success! I got both eggs out, no bleeding out, glued her up, and she is now fully awake from the anesthesia. I will keep her warm and quiet, and try to get her eating her mealworms, now that she has room in her belly to eat. Hoping for a full recovery. She is on my lap on a heating pad now (post-op until I'm sure she's okay).

 

[Styx]

Glad she made it through the anesthesia. Did one of the eggs rupture? Was there any yolk leakage into the abdominal cavity?

 

[tolbunt5]

Nope, no rupture. Everything looked good inside her. The eggs are intact, I put them in my incubator.

 

[Styx]

That is great news, the yolk is one of the major issues with eggbinding. Keep us posted on how she does.

 

[Geckomaster743]

Wow tolbunt i didnt know you could preform surgery! Im so glad your gecko made it!

 

[Rylee]

It's awesome she made it! Thats impressive that you can perform reptile surgery!

 

[jess]

yay!!!!!!! that is sooooo awesome that u were able 2 do surgery urself!!!!!! sooo awesome!!!!! hope ur leo recovers really well & fast!!!!