Leo gecko rescue - I need help

[Weapon-x]

I'm trying rescue a leo from a roommate who impulse bought two at a show a few months ago. (Yeah I know- don't get me started I already gave him several ear fulls). In spite of all my advice to research his new pets he didn't and consequently did just about everything you can do wrong, wrong.

He had a full grown male and very young female (guessing she is about 3-6 months old) housed together in a 12x12x12 Zoo Med terrarium (because that was all I had available when he brought HIS pets home). No heat source, no hides, etc, etc. Long story short - the much larger male dominated the female to the point she stopped eating and is now extremely skinny and even her tail is skinny. And honestly the poor thing looks like she's at deaths door.

Last night I took her away from him and after getting what was left of her shed off her head and educating myself on leos (BP.net to rescue again) I know a bit more than I did yesterday. But still need some help since I keep Balls and a Tokay not leos.

I am going out tonight to buy her a UTH and have already set her up with a few hides including one moist one. Since she hasn't eaten in several weeks I force fed her a pre-killed meal worm. Once in her mouth she took it down on her own, hopefully that's a good sign.

She is very lethargic and as I mentioned hasn't eaten in several weeks. Other than correcting her environment (heat/hides/substrate) and buying some wax worms tonight can anyone offer up any advice to a would be rescuer?

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions you can offer.

[repti_girl]

you may end up having to mush up some worms and just putting a past on the tip of her nose and letting her like it off instead of force feeding her which is stressful.

Silkworms are good as well, make sure at least one of them is dusted with calcium without D3.

Other than that keep her in a quiet room, dark, and warm.
Hopefully that helps out.

And good for you for taking her out of there... She should never have been put there to begin with.

[Artistry Exotics]

I'd advise against feeding wax worms - they're mostly just fat, no nutrition, and what this girl needs is some good quality food, not junk, to get her back to health. As far as commercial products go, I've had good results with Jump Start as a supplement. I don't feel that Jump Start makes a good meal replacement. I've recently tried AppetitePlus but haven't had much success with it yet, but it might be worth a try if that's all you can get. I've also had positive experiences with Repta-Aid as a meal replacement, but prefer the Golden Gate Geckos Slurry Recipe (however I use a better quality dog food than the Hills A/D... no pet in my house will ever get any product made by Science Diet... I've used Evo, Wellness, and Nature's Variety instead). Keep in mind though, all of these suggestions should be a last resort. If she will eat on her own, that will be much better for her in the long run! Give her a day or so to settle in and try to get her to eat on her own. Keep in mind that some geckos can be picky - some prefer mealworms, some only crickets, some are intimidated by superworms, etc. I had a little girl who went on a hunger strike and wouldn't touch mealworms or superworms for a couple months. I fed her crickets a few times, and I guess it re-sparked her appetite and now she eats superworms like a little piggie.

As far as set-up goes, this will be important for her overall well being, because the more she stresses, the less she'll eat. Keep her new environment simple. Three identical hides - one on the warm side, one on the cool side, and one in the middle with some damp paper towel for a humid hide. Make sure the hides are simple, small, and secure. Don't use loose substrate, only paper towel or newspaper. Personally, I even stay away from tile with new rescues until they've gone through quarantine and all that - it's easier to use disposable stuff. An UTH will be much better for her than heat lamps, but make sure you use a thermostat.

Like Repti_girl mentioned, keep her in a quiet, dark, warm room. Avoid handling except when necessary. Give her plenty of privacy. And just as importantly - keep her away from the rest of your collection and practice quarantine procedures. Her condition is probably just stress related, but she could also be harboring some more serious problems which could put your other pets at risk.

[Weapon-x]

Thanks for the tips. I'll try to make some slurry tonight or this weekend. I had read the wax worms were mostly fat but that they were like crack for leos and I wanted something that would temp her to eat on her own. I have meal worms/crickets. The crickets are way too fast for her in her condition not to mention they may bite her rather than the other way around.

Looking at her last night I think I may be too late. She has a very funny walk to her almost like she's drunk. At one point she fell off her hide (about 1/4 inch) and ended up on her side and seemed to have a very hard time getting herself up right.

[Clementine_3]

Try holding the crickets for her. I sometimes have to hold a back leg for my LV Albino Patternless goof, he is not such a good hunter. It will make it easier for her to try to eat.
I hope she comes around, poor girl.

[olstyn]

Looking at her last night I think I may be too late. She has a very funny walk to her almost like she's drunk. At one point she fell off her hide (about 1/4 inch) and ended up on her side and seemed to have a very hard time getting herself up right.

I don't want to scare you too much, but that could be a sign of MBD. When they don't eat enough, they don't get enough calcium, and their body starts taking the calcium out of their bones to make up for it, which makes their bones softer. This can result in that "drunken" walk. Make sure that whatever you feed her, it's got plenty of calcium, just to be safe.

[Weapon-x]

A huge THANK YOU once again to everyone who offered help on this. It's much apprechiated and great to see a community come together to offer help/support.

Sadly I must report that I was too late to save her. I did get her to take the "slurry" even with the added vitamins and calcium it was not enough. She passed away this Sunday evening. Hopefully she's in a better place now.

[olstyn]

A huge THANK YOU once again to everyone who offered help on this. It's much apprechiated and great to see a community come together to offer help/support.

Sadly I must report that I was too late to save her. I did get her to take the "slurry" even with the added vitamins and calcium it was not enough. She passed away this Sunday evening. Hopefully she's in a better place now.

Sorry to hear that. At least you tried to do the right thing; I'm sure if she could have understood, she'd have appreciated what you were doing, and I'm sure you at least made the end more comfortable for her. Hopefully things go better for you in the future.

[americangypsy]

I don't want to scare you too much, but that could be a sign of MBD. When they don't eat enough, they don't get enough calcium, and their body starts taking the calcium out of their bones to make up for it, which makes their bones softer. This can result in that "drunken" walk. Make sure that whatever you feed her, it's got plenty of calcium, just to be safe.

Sorry that is too bad