Please help!!!!

[TrexsDad]

For any one that hasn't read any of my posts before: I bought my Leo at a local pet store on 09-09-09. He wasn't eating when he first came here and everyone said it was more then likely relocation stress. Well a month went by and he still wasn't eating, so we were advised to get him a Vet appt asap. In the few days prior to the Vets my stop Mom syringe fed him Gecko Slurry. He went to the Vets (a Herp Vet) on 10-12-09. The Vet said he was healthy, just skinny. He gave us Carnivore Critical Care to feed him 3mls a day and liquid calcium .3 ml daily. We have been doing that, except for two days. He was not interested in eating all of it everyday, but did most days eat at least 2ml a day. Monday of this week when he was put in his feeding container he ate 2 wax worms and 1 meal worm,so we didn't feed the formula. Tuesday he ate 1 wax worm, so we opted once again to not feed him the formula. Last night he ate 1 wax worm, but my step Mom didn't feel he ate enough the last two days so she also fed him the formula, which he ate all 3mls of . This am I noticed 3 oddities in his poop corner. Two look like mangled wax worms and one looks like it could be a wax worm shell. My step Mom just weighed him and he is done to 5 grams, he was at 6 when we took him to the Vets. We don't have another $200 to take him to the Vets and my step Mom doesn't think the Vet knows all that much any ways. Anyone have any ideas as to what course of action we should be taking now?

 

[roger]

can u post pics.If its stress related ,try putting cardboard all around the tank to give him some isolation and continue with the slurries

 

[robin]

it sounds like he might be regurgitating. what are his temps like?

 

[gitrdone0420]

Its unfortunate to have the mentality of , "The vet doesnt know what he is doing anyways". The vets are there to help you... they went to vet school for that. So please use them as a very useful tool. If you dont like a particular vet, then you can always get a second opinion.

 

[TrexsDad]

I use an UTH and it is only getting around 85ish with that alone on the warm side, so my step mom put one of the red lights over his cage and the temp is showing in the low 90's (93.1 most of the time dropping to 91 at night when the house temp drops) when both heat sources are on. The cool side stays in the low 80's.

Besides the heat here is the rest of the info about his set up: we are using ceramic tiles as the substrate in his cage (10 gal), he has a dark hide on his warm side (where he spends most of his time) and a moist hide on the cool side ( I have seen him in there a few times, and I have seen poop on the paper towel in there).He has a water dish, which my step mom makes me change everyday and she has me use the RO water we use for the birds in it) and he has the food dish with the gecko food in it. The thermometer has a probe stuck right on the tile in his dark side to measure the temp and you can switch it to see what the temp is on the cool side.

I haven't handled him in a while(only my step Mom does to feed him) to try and not add to the problem.There's a couple hrs at night between 6-10 that I'm hanging out in my room with the lights and radio on, other then that he is usually in the room alone, except for a few trips in and out during the day light.

 

[Tony C]

and he has the food dish with the gecko food in it.

What kind of "gecko food"? If it's the dried fruit fly stuff that could be part of the problem.

 

[TrexsDad]

What kind of "gecko food"? If it's the dried fruit fly stuff that could be part of the problem.

It is the dried fruit flies, but he have never touched it.

 

[Ratman667]

Try live feeders. You can get meal worms for next to nothing. Put some in a dish, wiggle some in front of him or place one on the floor in front of him. He might be more inclined to eat moving food.

From what I have heard, that "gecko food" is a waste of money.

 

[Tommy13b]

Yep, they should call that stuff gecko repelent, but yeah, try meal worms or crickets(store bought only) he should gobble em right up, now what are your floor temps?

 

[Tony C]

You should probably skip the wax worms for now, meal worms and crickets are the way to go. Waxworms are fatty, and may put some weight on him, but they have very little nutritional value. He needs a full range of nutrients, not just fat, to get healthy again.

 

[TrexsDad]

Those are the floor temps, the probe is stuck to the floor.

I keep meal worms in his food dish, but he has never ate one. I put a few crickets in his cage everyday for a few hours and he doesn't eat them. We have also tried offering both worms and crickets with feeding tongs, but he has no interest. The wax worms and dried gecko food were bought just to try to get him to try some kind of solid food.

 

[gothra]

3ml is way too much for a 5-6g leo. When I had to feed my geckos slurry, I feed approximately 0.8ml only, and they were adults that are at least 60+ grams.