House Geckos

[Geckomaster743]

Are there any vets for animals that Small? Today i found a house gecko when I came to my dad's house and it had a Deep cut through its back. Im sure this is because of my cat because i found 2 other dead ones last week and the claw mark seemed like some thing she would do. When i found it he couldnt move his Back legs or tail but i was able to confirm through some small movements that if he healed he would be able to use them again so i had some hope that he was going to recover. I went to go take a shower after i left him in his new home. When i came back he stopped moving and it was clear that he was dead Im sure i could have done some thing if i knew what to do but is it even possible to help some thing of there size? He was about 2 inches and seemed like he was just a hatchling. Does any one have any ideas on why he may have died? When I picked up his body and looked under it seemed very purple and red as if he had been internally bleeding and that he was dying slowly.

 

[Styx]

There are, but finding one is difficult.

Cat claws are laden with bacteria, and that is often what kills an animal if they survive the initial attack, but that usually (not always) takes a couple of days. In addition to that, a lot of reptiles are like rabbits, in the fact stress and a traumatic event can kill them - rather quickly.

It's definitely possible, even probable, the gecko had suffer internal injuries from the cat attack. If that was the case, then there was not a lot you could do. An experienced reptile vet maybe could have helped it, but it would have cost a lot of money if there was internal injuries and the likelihood of recovery would have been small.

Just with what you've got access to easily, if you come across another injured gecko, quickly put Neosporin (NO PAIN KILLER - ORIGINAL ONLY) on the open wounds and put the gecko in a dark container with a moist paper towel and keep it warm. Put a little dish of Pedialyte in there for the gecko to drink from - the Pedialyte will help the gecko restore electrolytes and hydrate it at the same time.

If you're interested in learning some more advanced techniques of animal rescue, you can always see about volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center. A facility like that usually won't take a house gecko, as they are a non-native species, but if you come across a native reptile that has been wounded, you can call a wildlife rehabilitation center in your area and take it to them.

 

[Geckomaster743]

Thanks for the Information Styx! Really helps, Im going to go burry him now but yeah, Im sure there were things i could have done to improve his chances but with my Knowledge on how to take care of a Fresh wound on a lizard i dont think i could have done any thing untill after reading this. Any way today was great, Got back from a Reptile show ( NARBC ) in arlington Texas and I saw a ton of breeders, Even Landen from Gecko Talk

 

[Styx]

No problem, glad you had a better day.

 

[Geckomaster743]

No problem, glad you had a better day.

Thanks. By the way I should start a new Topic about this but im afraid it will be covered up by a Ton of other posts and your already following this one. My gecko Thesus ( Im now thinking is a Female so i'll have to change the name ) hasnt been eatting for about 3 - 4 weeks and has been spending all of its time under the lamp. She refuses to eat any thing, Waxworms, Mealworms, Crickets. I mean there is no way to get in thing in to her mouth with out going with the Syringe. Im not exactly sure what the problem is but this isnt just a Im taking a break from eatting, She has a Serious problem or some thing because she refuses to let me touch he stomach. I had to put her in a Critter Carrier and then I looked under and saw a view of what her stomach looked like. It seemed fine but when i held her and tried to touch it she squeaked about 5 - 7 times and squeezed out of my hands. At one point i finnaly got her to stand up with her feet on my Shirt and 2 Hands each one of my fingers. She would only keep in that positon for 20 seconds which is also when i noticed that she had no Pores and that it didnt look like she had Buldges ethier. Then when i touched her on the stomach. there was what seemed like a rough spot which could have been a bone but i wasnt pushing to hard and it seemed like it was pushing on her stomach. I dont have any idea on whats going on with her but all she stays under is the lamp like shes tanning. Have any idea on whats going on with her? Ive ordered a Stimulent about 2 days ago which could come tommorow or the next two days after that will make her want to eat.

 

[Styx]

What is her setup like? What are her temps like both right under the basking spot where she's sitting, and in the coldest part of the enclosure? And is she housed with another gecko? I'm assuming since you just found out she's female she's on the young side, which would rule out eggbinding issues (due to age).

 

[Geckomaster743]

In her setup there is a Rock hide and her water bowl. Its very simple the way she likes it, And yes the basking spot is under the lamp she follows it every where. She hasnt been housed with another gecko since i was so sure about her being a male and she had been attacking her fellow cage mates. Honestly i got another look last night and it looked like im a total idiot and im just having the worst of times trying to tell which gender she is. She dosent have Buldges though there are these Pores ( Not a different color, Brownish, They are the same color as her skin so it could just be some scales that are sticking out to me, I wouldnt know ). Im pretty sure shes a Female because of the Buldges but im not 100% sure.

So basicly, Setup: Rock and Bowl, Temps: 75 - 85, Coldest Part: Behind the Hide, Housed with a Gecko: No, Weight/Eggs: Im pretty sure she can lay eggs shes huge. I'll get photos up but this was just like a simple answer to each question. I honestly dont know what the problem is. She just stopped eatting one day and has been on Water and Flukers Repta - Aid for a while. This has been going for about a Month and a Half, Maybe longer. I think i'll begin to document things in the future as a reference so i can go back and remember and see if that helps with the problem.

 

[Styx]

Well, if she is female and large enough to lay eggs, there is always the possibility of eggbinding, especially if she doesn't have a nest box. But even with a nestbox, and even with the best of care, female geckos can become eggbound.

She's a leopard right? Try upping her hot spot to 90 degrees. It's possible she could be feeling too cold.

Basically I'm thinking, in the order of likelihood from what you're describing now:
Eggbinding
Parasites (internal)
Systemic bacterial infection
Impaction
Too cold

And to rule out these:
Eggbinding - x-rays
Parasites (internal) - fecal test run by a vet
Systemic bacterial infection - blood tests or antibiotics (some vets don't run many tests and just prescribe antibiotics)
Impaction - x-rays
Too cold - up hot spot temps

Any of those would cause a loss of apatite. With her sensitivity to her abdomen being touched I lean more towards the eggbinding or parasites or impaction - however, she could just not like her stomach to be touched. I doubt it's impaction if she's not on sand, but I have heard of it when animals are fed something with a lot of chitlin in their exoskeletons. Hanging out under her heat lamp all the time could suggest she is feeling ill, or she is just cold.

 

[Geckomaster743]

I was possibly thinking Parasites because the poop is always White, And when i took another look at the belly it turns out that there seems to be only one spot of inflamation and its red, Its sort below the center of the arm bones and above the Blue vein above the abdomen. I'll raise the temp on the dimmer too see if that helps. Impaction is out of the Options list because shes never been on sand from what i know. So its ethier an Infection,Parasites,Too Cold or at the least Eggbinding.

 

[Styx]

Hopefully it's something that's easy to treat.

 

[Geckomaster743]

Well, That didnt fix much at all. The stimulent is probably at my Mom's house so tommorow she will be able to try and eat, I tried doing a Calcium + Repta Aid + Water + Waxworm mix last night to see if i could some fat, Fluid and just some stuff to help his body but im not seeing much results. He still has a Wrinkly skinny tail. It dosent look that bad but hes in bad shape.

 

[Styx]

That's a bummer.

 

[Geckomaster743]

Yeah, I seriously dont know how to fix this with out going to a vet. Is there any way to tell if there is a Parasite, Infection?

 

[Amanda1]

You can usually find parasites in fecal samples if you have a microscope, but most people don't have those lying around. Infections are tricky, so I'd leave that diagnosis to the vet.

 

[Geckomaster743]

Do you have a Link on to what a Parasite may look like? Going to mom's in about 2 - 3 Hours.

 

[Styx]

A lot of times, they are too small to see with the naked eye, and a microscope is needed.

 

[Geckomaster743]

Well last night when we got to my Mom's house we fed her the stimulant and I'm not sure if it worked or caused a problem. It was like honey and it didn't seem easy for her to digest because it kept getting stuck in his throat and she was just having problems trying to get it down and she didn't even get much of it in. Khenut recommended it to me so i was thinking that it would be more suited for a gecko, Though she's barley gotten it in to her mouth with out thinking she was going to choke. Just now i had another check on her and i found that this Yellowish - Green lump formed. Im not sure how many problems she has developed now but i can sort of list some of things because i did my own diagnostics in a way.
Extreme Dehydration ( Symptom's: Wrinkled Eyes, Lowering Eyes as if she's sleeping)
Possible MBD
And well I know there is a ton more problems but i can't say i know what to name them. Right where the veins are there are 2 Red Balls or some thing on each side. I see that in all of my geckos but could those be eggs? Plus there is another Red Ball above the Vein and then that lump is sort of under the Arm bone. The Lump and Red Ball above the vein are about 1 - 2 Centimeters apart. Here are some photos, That i just took.

 

[Apocalypse910]

Sorry to hear about the issues she's having. I had a really rough year with my geckos too so I know how tough this can be.

A few question-
How old is she?
Do you have any pictures from the top - whole body including hips and tail? Also a better shot of the vent area may help with sexing.
Are you seeing any restlessness / digging or pawing at the ground?
Do you know what temp your basking spot is (best is with an IR thermometer - what temp is the rest of the cage. Have you had heat turned off for any period of time (due to summer high house temps)
How long have you had her - and her cage mate (has she been around or exposed to any new animals)
Are there any lumps around the inside of her jaw inside her mouth? Couldn't tell from your post - was the yellowish green lump in her mouth like pus or somewhere else?

Has she regurgitated any food or sheds - any diarrhea or unusual feces? The solid white stuff is actually not poop but urates - basically the equivalent of urine but solid.

It is hard to tell from the angle but her belly doesn't look distended. That would tend to rule out egg-binding or impaction but isn't conclusive .It is possible there are eggs there but it is pretty hard to tell from the pic. BTW sand is only one cause of impaction, it can happen from diet and a few other causes just not as frequently.

You can test for some parasites at home but it is pretty difficult - and you won't be able to test for everything. Obviously a vet visit would be ideal here. I personally would not use honey - for re-hydration i'd suggest syringe feeding pediatric electrolyte. I would also soak her daily in warm water - that will help a lot with hydration.

In the mean time you should really quarantine her. Keep her away from other geckos. Be sure not to swap any cage furnishings including water dishes when cleaning her cage. Clean your hands thoroughly after handling her especially before touching your other geckos. Do not move uneaten food between cages. If she has a cage mate you should separate them and follow the same quarantine procedures with him to avoid potentially spreading any infection. I don't know what is making her sick but given her condition I'd take precautions in case it is something like crypto.

The final thing I'll say is the cage hygiene is absolutely crucial in dealing with any sick gecko as a compromised immune system makes them extremely susceptible to mouth-rot, eye infections, and respiratory infections. In the wild reptiles frequently have parasites and live fairly normal lives. Reptiles shed some of these parasites in their feces and in the limited space of a terrarium they reinfect themselves and the parasite load can quickly build to a level that makes them very ill. This can be prevented by frequently removing all feces from the cage, cleaning regularly, and cleaning their water dish daily.

Sorry I can't tell you what is wrong with her but I hope that helps. Keep us posted and I'll try to tell you more if I think of anything. Hope she feels better soon.

 

[Geckomaster743]

She's dead. Im probably the saddest guy on the planet right now... She was a Strong fighter, I prayed for her, I did every thing. And she still died. Any way I'm not sure why she died, But i took some photo's and kept the date of when she passed away and the time. I can sort of explain what happened. We were driving home and Im not sure why but i had this feeling that some thing bad had just happened to Thesus ( Ive now confirmed that she's a Girl, So we can all come up with a good name for her ) So i came running in as soon as we got home and i ran up stairs to find her throwing up this Gucky stuff that was like mucus. I picked her up and tried to get that gunk on to the tissue i was holding out. After i while i was noticing her pulse was dropping so i tried to open her mouth. In about 10 Min she was irresponsive and thats when i had tried opening her mouth. She had stopped breathing from her mouth and i noticed that her nose and the well pretty much every where was swollen. When i got half a Centimeter of her mouth open i saw this Glueish like thing sticking the Top of her mouth to the bottom and i couldn't get it open and i knew that she was then being suffocated. I used my nail to break the Glueish substance but it took time because i wasn't sure if it was thick. Then i saw her " Teeth ". I had always assumed geckos had Hard gums and that was it but when i saw those teeth i was thinking she was turning in to some Mutant animal from " I am Legend ". And Im seriously not cracking a joke here i was terrified that she had teeth because of all the bites I've ever had, I thought they were just gums and nothing to worry about. But besides that when i had her mouth fully open it was too late. Her heart was at the minimum and was barley pumping. Since it was already pumping i was more concerned about getting Oxygen in so i tried removing what was in her throat. She basically had a WHOLE throat full of mucus and the part near her mouth mixed with the fluids in her mouth and became some sort of cement. By the time i had got the gunk out of her throat near the inner part she was well.. Dead. No Pulse, No heart Activity and I'm sure cell's were dying by the second but i didn't realize that because i was still trying to get oxygen through. Im not sure how much time she would have had but she was done, And all i have to blame is this Infection and the cursed Stimulant. The day before I had given her the stimulant i told you guys about and she didn't like it much at all. It had a honey like Texture and was very sticky. I gave her water with it but I'm not sure it washed out and just mixed with the mucus. 2 days before she was doing great with Repta - Aid... So thats one review for you right there. Zilla's Stimulant killed my lizard. The infection did have part in this but that finished her off, She was fine and recovering and possibly had a chance. Any way thanks for all the advice guys. I may get her body examined to see if her cause of death was Infection,Disease etc. By the way before she died she looked like she had some sort of Prolapse ( I found red when i lifted the flap slightly ) and she was in the process of taking a Poop so i do have samples to take from her Reptile carpet as well to see if this was a Systematical Infection. Once again thank you all for advice on how to help her. RIP. The Good Days.

 

[Apocalypse910]

I"m so sorry to hear it - sounds like you did everything you could to try and save her.

It sounds like the stuff in her mouth is mouth rot - same thing affected my sick geckos before they died. The mouth rot is usually secondary to another condition but it is hard to say what that may be.