I'm really worried for my leo Murdock! After taking him to the vet, they gave me allopurinol. I've been trying to give him a dose every other day... but nothing seems to be working. Now he's having a hard time getting his shedded skin off his feet and tail... and one eye is closed and doesn't look too good... I've invested so much time and money into the little guy, and it breaks my heart to see all of it fail... I'm considering putting him up for adoption so someone more experienced can give him a better life. I'm really lost... Please help if anybody has any suggestions or advice! Just to give an over-view: 1. What substrate are you using? I am using a felt-like carpeting to cover the bottom of the tank. I spread moss (from Petsmart) here and there. 2. What sized enclosure do you have your leo in? 40 gallon tank. 3. What are your warm side temperatures? 80-90F. 4. How are the temperatures measured? Thermometer stuck to the inside of the tank, under the night heat lamp. 5. What are you using as your heat source? I have a 75W daylight lamp and a 75W nighttime light. 6. Do you have any method of regulating the temperatures? I typically have the day light on from approx. 8am to 5pm. The night light is on 24/7 at its highest setting, but has a temperature regulation dial. 7. How many hides do you have for your leo? What are they? I have two. One faux coconut hut and one half-cylinder of wood. 8. What food have you offered? At the beginning, I fed him dried meal-worms. After he got an eye infection, I started giving him live crickets. Now that he has gout, however, I give him wax worms and live meal worms. I typically give him one of each every two days now. 10. Are you supplementing the food? If so, with what and how often? No. I used to use calcium powder with the crickets and dried meal-worms, though. 11. How old is your leo? About a year and a half or so. 12. How long have you had your leo? Since he was around 3 weeks old. 13. Give a little detail about the behaviour of the Leo also. He's very docile, used to being handled, very alert at night, doesn't move very fast now due to his gout. He doesn't chirp or scream.
No under tank heater I see. So your hot side really isn't good enough for your little guy. The UTH (Under tank heater) is a must. This is why.. During the day the rocks absorb heat from the sun. At night the rocks keep the heat and expel it thus giving the belly heat the Leo needs to properly digest his/her food. The lamps are worthless other than a second heat source if your house gets cold. Hides: 1 warm hide, 1 cool hide, 1 humid hide. Your 1 hide short. Use a plastic container with a hole cut on the top, line it with cocoanut fiber or paper towel. Wet it. Creates proper humidity. In the wild the Leo will go deep beneath rocks where the humidity builds. This is where they shed their skin. Your not feeding him enough and wax worms are high in fat content. I'd recommend going with Super worms over meal worms and as many as he can eat every other day. After a dusting with Rapashy Leo formula which has the proper measurements for a leo to become healthy. Calcium powder should be set on a flat plate where the leo can lick at it when they are in need. Make sure the Calcium powder has no D3. They don't exactly need it. Repashy has it but in the smallest amount possible. Which is normal for what they receive in the wild. And no matter who tells you at the petshop..Dried food really doesn't do it. As for gout: Gout is a issue for any reptile and he needs to be healthier in order to fight the infection. The meds only do so much. A proper diet and vitamin intake can help build up his immune system. You can follow my advice or go your own way. There isn't much more I can tell you. But many will agree to what I recommend.
OH and one more thing. Stick to the nightlight only. Daylight actually hurts a leo's eyes. They are only active really during dawn and dusk. And sometime through the night. Daytime they hide.
Hi there Spikewick sorry to hear about Murdock, First of all i would suggest taking him back to the vets and telling them the medication is not working as they may have got the diagnosis wrong and they can always change the medication to suit that if that is the case, also make sure your vet is a reptile specialist and not a normal vet who say`s they can treat reptiles as i had a bad experience with one like that Secondly you need a moist hide for him in order to help him get those last pieces of shedded skin off, i keep a moist hide in my tank in the center and i make sure it is moist everyday as sometimes he enjoy`s going in there just to get re-hydrated. I would also suggest dusting your food for the leo with vitamins with D3 every feeding and calcium with the vvitamins once every 2 weeks also leave a calcium dish in his home so he can help himself to it as needed a small bottle top would work Wax-worms are very high in fat content so i would suggest 1 wax worm a month not every feeding give him more meal-worms and be sure to gut-load them with the correct bug food. Hope he get`s better soon if i can be of any more help please let me know or refer to a Leopard gecko care sheet there are many on the internet. Take care and good luck
Thank you so much! I'll get going on buying the supplies ASAP. I really appreciate the advice, though, truly. I suppose I'll post updates occasionally to give anybody an idea on how things are progressing. I'm just going to have to try as hard as I can to get him back to health quickly... Thank you again, though!
Also, thank you Jakyl! I'm actually thinking of switching to a different reptile specialist nearby, just to make sure, and also to get a second opinion. I'll look into getting some calc. powder, too. Thank you, friend!
I gutload using carrots and mustard greens. My superworms take to that. Also mealworms are ok but they are high in chitin. The superworms have more meat on them than the mealworms. Also higher in protien.
To find qualified herp vets in your area (by state): http://herpvetconnection.com Avoid feeder roaches in the diet, avoid high protein gutloads in your feeders diet, and if possible, consider switching to a staple of silkworms. They are costly and require specialized care, but they are soft-bodied, calcium rich, low in fat, high in protein, and contain an enzyme called serrapeptase that has been known to benefit ill bearded dragons in clinical studies. The enzyme is known to help with arthritis, reduce inflammation, and reduce arterial plaque buildup in humans. The gutload needs to be considered because some insects will store and excrete uric acid from nitrogenous wastes (typically associated with high-protein foods). Uric acid has direct implications on gout symptoms. Here is our Leopard Gecko Caresheet - as the others have addressed, proper husbandry can make an immense difference on the recovery of ill reptiles. Leopard geckos in particular are quite hardy, and providing ideal conditions to reduce stress and promote proper immune function is often all that is needed to remedy mild ailments... Gout might be need additional veterinary assistance. http://reptileboards.com/threads/leopard-gecko-caresheet.59997/ Also - don't rely on 'stick-on' thermometers, they are essentially worthless. Regardless of what you are using to heat the enclosure, you will need a digital thermometer w/ probe or tempgun to accurately measure your temperatures. Measure all temperatures at the surface; the warm end needs to be ~90 degrees F. You may consider giving the leo a bath as well to aid shedding and hydration. They will not only lap up water when thirsty, but will take it in through the vent when soaking. This may be a judgement call on your part, as you also don't want to stress the gecko out too much... Water level should not exceed the mid-line of the body and should feel just barely warm to the touch of your forearm (more sensitive than the hand).
