Sick Leo

[xtinanard]

Hi everyone,

I have a sick Leo and I am very scared and concerned. He is 3 years old and is usually an amazing eater. He has stopped coming out when we got a new puppy because he doesnt like the sound/ smell of her running around, which is understandable; however, he would still come out to eat. He had his monthly shed at the beginning of this month, but has since not eaten and refuses food. We were struggling with our heat mat which we later found had unstuck from the bottom of the tank, but have since ordered a new one and got it back to working for him. He has pooped about 2/3 times since we discovered the heating issue, once in his water dish which is unusual. I have been having to force him out of his humid hide to spray it down and he goes right back in-hasn't gone on hot side for this whole time. Last night i had to force him out again and he started yawning and screaming which he has only done once when he was very stressed from being handled too much and threw up. This time, he was just yawning and looked like he was wretching and his tongue was very white. Please let me know if you have any advice as we fear this is impaction. I administered him a drop of olive oil last night and we plan to soak him tonight in warm water for hydration.

Thanks,
Christina.

 

[acpart]

It's not unusual for geckos to stop eating for awhile. It's harder for them to want to eat if they're cold and, if you don't have a thermostat for the heat mat, the hot side may be too hot. Make sure you have floor temperatures (not air temperatures) that are in the low 90's on the hot side. Don't worry if the gecko spends a lot of time in the humid hide; that happens sometimes. Offer food and, unless the gecko's tail starts getting a lot thinner, try to give him some space to recover from the stress. He may not necessarily be sick, even if he's not eating.

Aliza

 

[xtinanard]

It's not unusual for geckos to stop eating for awhile. It's harder for them to want to eat if they're cold and, if you don't have a thermostat for the heat mat, the hot side may be too hot. Make sure you have floor temperatures (not air temperatures) that are in the low 90's on the hot side. Don't worry if the gecko spends a lot of time in the humid hide; that happens sometimes. Offer food and, unless the gecko's tail starts getting a lot thinner, try to give him some space to recover from the stress. He may not necessarily be sick, even if he's not eating.

Aliza

Hi Aliza,
Thank you for your concern. We took Lemmy to the vet last night and they said that he has an enlarged liver with free fluid surrounding it. It was nothing we could've done through husbandry. He is being monitored overnight and we hope to hear news that this can be cured.

 

[acpart]

Hoping for the best.

Aliza