HELP - my gecko is sick!

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if you really dont want sand in there liccy put paper towel in their at least till its better. You'll just have to change it daily and or everytime they poop (im no expert by any means by the way) lol but if the sand is bothering you change it for now
 
you need to remember that sand is there prefered substrate..If you go putting them on paper and they cant dig and act like they do naturally they will eventually stress out and you dont want to stress it anymore after what it has been through..
 
Hello

Hello,

Well, that sounds pretty good what the vet did. What type of antibiotic did he administer, & for what an overall infection?
IF you are going to use sand, do not use the calcisand. We use paper towels, & then a moss in a cave & hide & that works perfectly. He can burrow in the moss in his cave. Right now with him sick, any loose substrate will hold & harbour bacteria.
There have been so many incidents with them getting impacted with sand. So until he is completely healthy, I would put him on paper towels or shredded newspaper, but no sand.
You can soak him in warm water to see if you can get any of that stuck shed off, because eventually, it will cut off the circulation. When they are sick, they can't really shed themselves very well, & they give up. Gently pour water over his head & body to moisten & loosen up the skin hopefully to where you can get it off without hurting him.
The assisted feeding works very well. The chicken & or turkey babyfood they tend to love. Just mix the calcium up with that & syringe it to him.
Please keep us posted. I hope he is doing better.

Tracie
 
the antibiotic is Baytril Oral... not sure wat is does to be honest... however, I have to give him .001 ml which is 1 drop out of an insulin syringe... and he wont open his mouth - or even like it off his lips??

How do i get him to open his mouth? - also, when i give him the baby food... hwo do i open his mouth then?

Last night - he sat there with his mouth wide open... im nto sure wat this means??

Nad at 2:30 this morning when i got up - he was in his hide flipped on his back again? - so i flipped him right back over...
 
Use the tip of the syringe to push his bottom jaw down "GENTLEY". If you are having trouble I,ll do it for you if you can get over here.
 
ok... so to make sure i dont manage to kill the other one... :(

* Does anyone think it is environmental due to the set up and that the other gecko (which is now seperated) could get it? or suffer the same problem when back in the enclosure?

* Calcium / vitamin deficiency? - i should be able to stop the other one from getting it

* Any other ideas? - i am so reluctant to get another one in case it dies too.. and as for the one i already have... i am scared it will die :(

* I will take the healthy one to the reptile vet tomorrow anyway, and perhaps he can diagnose what happened to the sick one, and we can take measures to make sure the healthy one stays healthy...

Any ideas?
 
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1. Stay with sand - its their natural subtrate.
2. All the sand should be dry, only offer a damp hide box.
3. Id be using crix, and woodies.
4. Feed the crix and woodies gutload- loads of nutrition.
5. Dust them in calcium and vitamin powder every 2nd or 3rd feed and alternate what your dusting with.
6. Mine have water bowls just incase. Theyre not neccessary but can help.
7. Mist once a week including the walls of your enclosure.
8. Knob Tails are Desert dwelling Geckos and are used to harsh conditions of heat but NOT heat EXTREMES,
Have a hot and cool end available, preferably with a hide at each end. During the day around 28deg and in winter around 23deg to immitate the seasons.

They do not require UV lighting as theyre noctunal. They heat up by laying with their bellies on the hot sand at night after the sun has heated it up during the day.

Personaly I would never feed my animals mealworms as they have a hard shell and this is hard for the Gecko to crush in its jaws when feeding. If the Shell is not crushed and the Mealworm is still alive upon swallowing, the mealworm will be in the Geckos’ stomach and the mealworm will eat its way out, ending in a dead Gecko. People have used them with no problems, but thats just my opinion, why risk it. Personaly preference.
 
post a pic of your enclosure, we will be able to give you some tips on what to chance. And with mealies eating their way out of the stomach i have never heard a confirmed report of that hapening, i dont think they can survive a bath in hydrochloric acid to be honest. Give it a hot end and a cool end. Mist one end every few days and give a small water dish if you wish, as celly said give it a hide. Also keep it on sand, they can become unsettled and quite stressed on other substrates. Dont give up.
 
sorry to hear of the passing liccy, wish i knew something abot geccs, good luck with the other one,
 
Really sorry to hear about your loss, I haven't lost any of my gecko's but I would be devestated if any of them died.

From what you described it sounded like the sick one was seriously sick before you ever got it, and was probably too far gone by the time you were able to see a vet. Personally I don't think you should blame yourself for it dying, it's just a very sad and unfortunate thing to happen, and you tried your best to help it.

From your description the surviving gecko sounds like a healthy one and I don't think you'll have any probelms with it. Clean your enclosure out thoroughly and disenfect everything to be sure, then set it back up as per peoples suggestions. Keeping a healthy knobtail on sand is perfectly safe IMO, and with the right heat & moisture and with nutircious food and supplements, your other gecko will be a-ok.
 
Hello

Hello,

Oh I am sorry your gecko passed away. I personally think it was a bacterial infection or a viral infection, one that could not really be treated. Maybe crypto or microsporidium which is not real common in reptiles but there are still outbreaks from time to time. He could have picked up something before you got him. I hightly doubt it is something you did that quickly. They are very hardy.
How old is your other gecko? Sand is such a back & forth issue. I have honestly seen so many impactions on the younger ones from sand. So, just use at your own risk. In captivity it is so hard to keep it clean & free from bacteria. We have used paper towels & sphaghnum (sp?) moss & it works very well.
The hot spot should not exceed 88 or so, but they do enjoy a hot spot. A ceramic heater is a good way for them to get heat. I always used a low output UVB just to make sure they got a little bit of D3 synthesization. Something like a reptisun 5. They have never minded a little bit of light & it is dim & 12+ inches away so it wont hurt.
Calcium is a good idea several times a week. You can either dust the feeders or you can put a dish of calcium powder in the tank, & he will instinctively lick it when he needs it. I have found that works pretty well for geckos.
Good luck with your other one. I hope he is nice & healthy.
Hopefully nothing was transmitted to him, just keep an eye on him.

Tracie
 
hmm... i seperated them as soon as the little one got sick...

I cleaned out the cage thoroughly, and washed the sand extremely well... and the good one is back in there as it has all the heating and hides etc...

I am going to the vet today - with the body - and the good one (yes ... kept very seperated)

Dont want to take any chances....

Yes - everyone tells me they are easy to look after and quite hardy.... however at this stage - im not sure they are right for me :(
 
Ok - Here is a pic of my enclosure... it is one of those exo-terra glass ones. the base is 1.5 Ft x 1.5 Ft and it is 2.5 ft tall...

The only reason I have used this is because i already had it, and the same goes for the heat rock.

I have a heat rock under the sand up near where you can see the plug / elec cord.. it didnt have a hide there until this week and i have been using a little cardboard box with a cut out in the side...

the hide in the pic is one of those double sided ones that have a half stuck on the outside - so you can look in there without disturbing them. It is a big one - but they seem to love it. The only thing is that it has an artifical base... and therefore no sand in the bottom? - a previous post in this thread said to have the cool in with moist sand in the hide??

There is the water bowl there, which i only keep a small amount of water in - and the little one used to drink out of it?

I have put some Mondo grass in the cage - does this pose a threat??

Alicia
 

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Liccy, there's nothing too far wrong with your setup. Lots of the changes people will suggest are valid opinions, and there are a variety of equally valid opinions even if they are slightly different. Its up to you which ones you take on board.

In my opinion, for an adult pair of levis that tank is a little on the squishy side, but for one adult or a couple of young ones the size is fine. I know these cages are a little squishy to provide lots of accessories without becoming full, but I would suggest another small hide either on top of or halfway ontop of the warm area, and I would suggest a mound of sand in one corner against the wall. In my tank that size I have a mound piled up about 1/3 up the back corner for digging, misted every few days and re-mounded every fortnight.

If the gecko's like the hide you have, keep it. I do suggest another hide or at least the damp sand mound as an option for them too.

I keep mine on the same kind of sand, and all mine have access to a similar waterbowl. They dont use it often, but when they do you'd think they were camels!

If the modo grass is real, potting mix around the roots of it could possibly harbour bacteria and mould and it may have pesticide on it. It's probably ok but you'll get lots of people advising you to take it out. Up to you. When you mist the tank droplets will form on it which the gecko's will like licking off. If it's clean grass then this will be a good thing.
You will also find that it will provie a little food and shelter for crickets before they're eaten. I find that my gecko's can be easily freaked out by crickets touching them when they're not in the mood to hunt, so I put a couple of fake leaves in the tank for the crickets to hide under (and water droplets to form on) so they don't stress the geckos out too much until they're ready to hunt.

I think your remaining gecko will be fine :)
 
Liccy - It is unfortunate that your little Gecko died, but please don't get disheartened...unfortunately, these things happen from time to time...

What you need to do now is work on your other Gecko, watch him and learn from keeping him. You will find that you have learnt significantly with your sick one - my Ackie has lost the tip of his tail and was once a fussy eater - I have learnt, and he is now happy and hungry ;) Unfortunately, the best way to learn is to be forced to...it is a shame, but you will find your understanding of husbandry will increase significantly...

Stick with them - I doubt you will regret it... ;)
 
sorry to hear you lost it..If you know anyone who lives near you who keeps and breeds them see if you can get them around to have look at your setup...It looks too damp to me..??please correct me if I am wrong and its not damp..
 
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