So a couple month back, two of my geckos were diagnosed with crypto. I followed the doctor's orders and used every medicine they gave me, often spending hours every night making sure my girls took the medicine. I was also force feeding them per the vet's orders, something they absolutely hated. All of the stress eventually killed them both, one after the other, earlier this week. (((((((WARNING: GRAPHIC SCRIPT AHEAD))))))) One of them died in my arms as I desperately attempted cpr on her, and the other died in the night, in a puddle of her own diarrhea. (((((((GRAPHIC SCRIPT OVER)))))))
Needless to say I'm heartbroken. The thing is, I have one other gecko, named Leo (I'm very creative, I know) who also had Crypto this entire time, but only got officially diagnosed a couple days ago, so I never tried any medicine or force feeding on him. He, is doing MUCH better than my girls were: his tail is fat, he's active, he's eating, and is all around a seemingly very happy gecko. I've been wondering what I can do to prolong his life, or at least make his last days happy.
So here's my issue: what can I change to make sure he is the happiest and healthiest he can be? I've looked up bioactive habitats, but none of them say anything about if your gecko already has parasites, so I don't know if having a cleaner crew etc. is safe for Leo. My worry is that he could infect the bugs, which could then exacerbate his infection.
Some info:
-I currently clean his bathroom tile once a week. I just bought isopropyl rubbing alcohol that i could use to sterilize the tile, but I wanna make sure it won't hurt him or make him not wanna use it.
-he eats a steady diet of superworms. I've never gutloaded any of my feeder insects before, but I am going to start. I could also try varying his diet by feeding him different feeder insects once in a while. Suggestions are welcome, but nothing too fatty that he could be spoiled with, and refuse other foods (looking at you, waxworms)
-I use a washcloth in his moist hide, because he used to eat the paper towels I put in there. It really doesn't hold moisture all that well though, unless soaked.
-On that note, I spray his moist hide daily; occasionally every other day when I'm feeling particularly unmotivated.
-I sprinkle all his food with Calcium Plus.
-I give the superworms water crystals every thursday and sunday to keep them hydrated, so hydrating foods are not needed.
Additional parameters:
-I WON'T use sand or any other substrate Leo could possibly eat. I don't need the risk of impaction along with the crypto.
-I have a 20 gallon tank I can move Leo to. Said tank has two heating pads on each side, for a total of two potential heated hides, one unheated hide, and one moist hide. Other than that I do NOT want to buy a whole new tank.
-I very low on money right now. I can't do anything that is going to cost me over $100.
-I AM NOT FORCE FEEDING HIM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Anything that he can eat/drink of his own volition is still on the table.
-I have severe diagnosed depression. That means that anything that is going to take a huge amount of daily upkeep is out. (huge being more than like, one hour per day. When I was force feeding my girls, it took many hours every day, and it really took a toll on me)
This is his enclosure right now:
He has tile flooring, a heating pad, a bathroom tile, a water dish, a ceramic feeding bowl to keep superworms in, one heated hide and one moist hide (along with a few decorations. He's currently in a 15 gallon tank. (i tried to add pictures, but the forum kept giving me the error message "null". ???)
Please help me if you can! Thanks!
Needless to say I'm heartbroken. The thing is, I have one other gecko, named Leo (I'm very creative, I know) who also had Crypto this entire time, but only got officially diagnosed a couple days ago, so I never tried any medicine or force feeding on him. He, is doing MUCH better than my girls were: his tail is fat, he's active, he's eating, and is all around a seemingly very happy gecko. I've been wondering what I can do to prolong his life, or at least make his last days happy.
So here's my issue: what can I change to make sure he is the happiest and healthiest he can be? I've looked up bioactive habitats, but none of them say anything about if your gecko already has parasites, so I don't know if having a cleaner crew etc. is safe for Leo. My worry is that he could infect the bugs, which could then exacerbate his infection.
Some info:
-I currently clean his bathroom tile once a week. I just bought isopropyl rubbing alcohol that i could use to sterilize the tile, but I wanna make sure it won't hurt him or make him not wanna use it.
-he eats a steady diet of superworms. I've never gutloaded any of my feeder insects before, but I am going to start. I could also try varying his diet by feeding him different feeder insects once in a while. Suggestions are welcome, but nothing too fatty that he could be spoiled with, and refuse other foods (looking at you, waxworms)
-I use a washcloth in his moist hide, because he used to eat the paper towels I put in there. It really doesn't hold moisture all that well though, unless soaked.
-On that note, I spray his moist hide daily; occasionally every other day when I'm feeling particularly unmotivated.
-I sprinkle all his food with Calcium Plus.
-I give the superworms water crystals every thursday and sunday to keep them hydrated, so hydrating foods are not needed.
Additional parameters:
-I WON'T use sand or any other substrate Leo could possibly eat. I don't need the risk of impaction along with the crypto.
-I have a 20 gallon tank I can move Leo to. Said tank has two heating pads on each side, for a total of two potential heated hides, one unheated hide, and one moist hide. Other than that I do NOT want to buy a whole new tank.
-I very low on money right now. I can't do anything that is going to cost me over $100.
-I AM NOT FORCE FEEDING HIM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Anything that he can eat/drink of his own volition is still on the table.
-I have severe diagnosed depression. That means that anything that is going to take a huge amount of daily upkeep is out. (huge being more than like, one hour per day. When I was force feeding my girls, it took many hours every day, and it really took a toll on me)
This is his enclosure right now:
He has tile flooring, a heating pad, a bathroom tile, a water dish, a ceramic feeding bowl to keep superworms in, one heated hide and one moist hide (along with a few decorations. He's currently in a 15 gallon tank. (i tried to add pictures, but the forum kept giving me the error message "null". ???)
Please help me if you can! Thanks!
