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  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran Capray's Avatar
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    Help! Leopard gecko lethargic, not eating

    My friends have a leo thats 7-9 years old. In the last month it has stopped eating and drinking, it seems lethargic and its eyes have dried in to shrivels because of sand residue/a dirty cage they say. It will move and respond to touch and disturbance but will not eat. Please help! What can be done to help her?


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  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran Capray's Avatar
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    Chloe
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  3. #3
    BPnet Senior Member Archimedes's Avatar
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    If their gecko isn't responding well to sand, they should take her off sand. Leopard geckos can become impacted on sand if they don't respond well to it. You need to take her to a vet.
    Pet stores have terrarium carpeting that works just fine for leos and is machine-washable, so a lot of effort isn't needed to clean it.

    Do you have any pictures of her tail? They store essential nutrients in there, so a chubby tail is a sign of a gecko that's doing just fine. Her body looks thin, but her tail will be the key as to whether she'll pull through or not.

    What are her habitat's stats? Temp, humidity, size etc? More information is needed.
    Last edited by Archimedes; 12-31-2012 at 12:14 PM.
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  4. #4
    BPnet Veteran Capray's Avatar
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    The temp. In her cage is 86 fer. and the warmest spot is about 90 fer. They dont have a humidity thing in there but Im guessing there isnt much because the lamp is huge and there is a screen top.

    I will tell them about changing substrate.
    They have a little bowl of small mealies but she isnt able to eat them because of her shriveled eyes. She has water available too snd is drinking if you put her feet into it.

    This is her tail:

    I dont know muchabout leos but it looks thin to me. Will a vet be able fix her eyes?

    Thanks for the help.




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  5. #5
    BPnet Senior Member Flikky's Avatar
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    Re: Help! Leopard gecko lethargic, not eating

    I don't know anything about Leos but wouldn't raising humidity help keep her eyes moist and not 'shriveled'?

  6. #6
    BPnet Senior Member iCandiBallPythons's Avatar
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    I would post somewhere like geckoforums.net

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  7. #7
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    Ditch the sand, put paper towel in or ceramic tile.
    Make a humid hide out of a small tupperware bowl; cut a hole in the side (smooth the edges, I use a lighter...be careful!!), put damp paper towels in. Put it on the warm side of the tank.
    The light used for heat is drying the air and the sand is doing the same.

    That poor little gecko is in rough shape. A complete overhaul needs to be done to the tank. He needs a lot of TLC and he needs it now.

    My ideal set up:
    Solid substrate
    UTH, thermostat, accurate digital termometer
    Humid hide on the warm side
    At least 2 dry hides, 1 on each side.

  8. #8
    Registered User Dark Lady Kat's Avatar
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    My daughters leo just went through something similar when we first got her she didnt come with heating or anything and had been raised that way but I keep my house cooler than most and she soon started using much of her fat stores and we got all of our info up to date on her and we had to start hand feeding her crickets and superworms but by far the thing that got her activity back up and her fat stores back that she loved was balptic dubias her stores and energy where back with in two weeks my reccomendation get a pair of feeder tongs or tweezers and offer the food directly to the leo if its lethargic its not going to want to chase crickets and meal worms are good for maintence but not for build up
    Dark Lady Kat
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  9. #9
    BPnet Senior Member Archimedes's Avatar
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    Any updates on that poor baby? Her tail is SUPER-thin from the looks of it, is she responding okay to a tank overhaul? I think the most important thing would be her substrate, but it might be too late if she's that reluctant to eat and her fat stores so low.

    Please let us know how she's doing, I wish you and your friends the best!
    1.1 Ball Pythons
    a) Calliope 0.1, Banana Ball, 2018/19 season, 600g
    b) Geralt 1.0 Chocolate Sable Mojave pos. Trick ball, May 27th 2020

    3.2 Cats (Fury, Leviathan, Walter, Chell, Amelie); 2.0 Dogs (Bjorn, Anubis); 2.1 Ferrets (Bran, Tormund, Arya); 0.1 Beardie (Nefertiti); 0.1 Slider Turtle (Species uncertain) (Papaya); 2.0 Hermit Crabs (Tamatoa, Sushi); 0.1 Conure (Mauii); Two Axolotyls (Quetzl and Unnamed); Two Tree Frogs (Pluto and Colossus); One Anole (Zeus); One Crestie (Noferatu); 3.0 Guinea Pigs (Paco, Poncho and Piccolo); 0.1 Pink Toe T (Azula)

    Fish:
    1.1 Oscar Cichlids (Rocky 1.0, hx2020, Red Fire, and Bubble 0.1, hx2019, Tiger), 1.1 Convict Cichlids (Hurley and Sloane), 0.1 Strawberry Peacock Cichlid (Comet), Two Plecos, Rubby the Rubbernose Pleco and Trinidad the common Pleco, 2.0 Upside Down Catfish (Poseidon, Neptune), One Red Parrot Cichlid (Firefly), 1.0 Betta Fish (Jenkins),
    2.2 Cherry Barbs ("The Worst"), 1.0 Electric Blue Acara (Goldeneye)

  10. #10
    Registered User Dark Lady Kat's Avatar
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    Re: Help! Leopard gecko lethargic, not eating

    Quote Originally Posted by Archimedes View Post
    Any updates on that poor baby? Her tail is SUPER-thin from the looks of it, is she responding okay to a tank overhaul? I think the most important thing would be her substrate, but it might be too late if she's that reluctant to eat and her fat stores so low.

    Please let us know how she's doing, I wish you and your friends the best!
    I am anxious to hear an update as well it has been almost 2 weeks since they posted a response
    Dark Lady Kat
    0.2 Normal Ball Python (Nyx, and Eirene)
    1.1 BCA unknown locality (Osiris, Isis )
    0.1 Boa ( Nephthys )
    0.1 Leopard Gecko (Ms. President or Ms. P)
    0.2 Cats ( Raven, Snuggles )
    0.3 Dogs (Trinity, Athena, Lexi)

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