Please help

[Jas28]

Hi,

I purchased two baby Leopard Geckos a week ago today from the same pet store, but one still hasn't eaten anything since he's been in my care. I am quite worried about her because she seems to be very thin throughout the body and the tail. When I first got her, she was much thicker. The other gecko is eating normally.

I took the gecko I'm worried about to a local family-owned pet store, and the owner said it sounded like a parasite. He proceeded to give my gecko a shot of Panacur, which is used for parasite treatment/deworming. He said if the gecko ended up not having a parasite, it would not harm her.

I'm hoping this will help her. I've tried crickets and mealworms, both left in the cage and hand-feeding. Do I need to force feed at some point? When is this point recommended?

The temperatures and husbandry is all spot on. I've been checking it very frequently. Both geckos are housed together.

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you for your time!

[mlededee]

separate the geckos so that you can monitor each, their feces and what they are eating more closely. put them in quarantine type enclosures--paper towel substrate, 2 hides and food/water dishes with no cage decorations.

take a fecal for each to your herp vet to test for parasites (it is likely that the heathly looking one has anything the other has since they came from the same place and were housed together). the vet will be able to prescribe treatment based on the results of the fecal. you should do this ASAP before the unhealthy gecko loses more weight.

try wax worms for the thin gecko and see if she will take those. you can also make a mix of turkey baby food with wax worms and mealworms crushed into it. you only need to make a small amount at a time. hand feed this to her and leave some in the cage in a bottle cap for her to eat if she chooses (replace daily). this will help her to regain some strength and hopefully get her interested in live insects again while she recovers.

[Jas28]

I have separated them, so now she has a cage all to herself. I think the other one is a little more of a bully. I hope this helps.

I also gave her baby food with mealworms, but forgot to crush the worms so I'm going to try again. She did like the baby food and licked it off my finger for a while, but not the worms. I went to the pet store but they ran out of wax worms but should get them tomorrow.

Also, she began shedding today. I heard this makes them lose a bit of their appetite..Do you know if this is true?

Thank you for your help.

[mlededee]

i've never heard of shedding reducing their appetites and never noticed it in any of my leos. just make sure to provide a humid hide so the shed goes well. you will probably want to keep handfeeding her until she is eating well enough on her own, so any appetite issues brought on by the shed should be remedied by that.

[dr del]

Hi,

And remember to check her little toes!


dr del