Leopard Gecko impaction

[cvieira9108]

Looking for some help here. I noticed three weeks ago my sons gecko had lost quite a bit of weight and appeared pretty lethargic. He was not moving much out of his hides and appeared to be suffering from what I now know to be MBD. He would drag his belly along the ground and his rear legs were bowed out flat. He definitely was not himself. Due to lack of supply he had only been eating meal worms for probably the last month and my son had not been coating them with any nutrients when I confronted him about it. Unfortunately my son is pretty upset about all this but to be honest I'm to blame here as I should have been checking on him more carefully. Im really hoping someone can help my out here to get this little guy back on track.

Once I realized there was a problem I though food was the issue along with lack of nutrients. I quickly tracked down some crickets and dusted them with calcium and d3. Over the next couple days I watched the gecko eat and felt like we were moving in the right direction. This past week and a half though I noticed he had stopped eating and had no interest in any crickets, roaches, or meal worms I would put out for him. I feel like maybe he was too weak at the time and his insides were also too weak to digest what he was eating and in turn he became impacted. I then began researching and that where I really learned about MBD and figured this was part of the problem along with the impaction.

I have now been giving him warm baths with my son every morning and afternoon for the last 4 days. We have also rubbed his belly to try and manipulate any masses inside of him but i'm afraid its not working. The only good news I have is the gecko will lick nutrients (such as calcium) from our fingers and we were able to get him to lick some mineral oil today in hopes of it helping his intestinal track. I have also taken Q-tips, dipped them in warm water and carefully tried to manipulate the vent area but have had no luck.

Im really hoping to get this impaction (if thats what it is) fixed but im running out of ideas. Do I seek out a vet for assistance now or are they going to have me do these same things. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[acpart]

It does sound as if you're doing everything you can. Sometimes they just don't poop for awhile and may not be impacted, just a little weak or recovering from not having eaten. There is a danger as well in doing too much, so constant intervention can stress the gecko out and make it even harder for it to go. It's also important not to overdo the calcium and D3 because too much isn't good for the gecko either. I recommend that you document what you've been doing for the vet and to spend a few days just feeding the gecko and keeping track of whether it goes but not doing any more interventions. If the gecko seems to be in worse shape or nothing changes, maybe that's the time tome a vet appointment with the information you've been writing down.
Let us know how it's going in a few days.

Aliza

 

[cvieira9108]

So as of yesterday he finally pooped and it was very hardened and cylindrical. I tried coaxing him into eating a couple roaches but he refuses. He did however eat a cricket last night and around 1130pm I saw him moving about his cage. I’m pretty happy with his response to everything so far and he is much more active. I’m still worried about his rear legs. I’m hoping he is just still a bit weak. He is definitely up off his belly more though and way more alert.