Alright...so it's been a couple years since I had a leo of my own, and recently I took in a very sick gecko from a friend. I've had Cricket (the juvi leo) for about three weeks now. Here's the (rather long - sorry) run down: He had been living in a 40 gallon tank (with no heat source) on some sort of walnut shell substrate. He had a water dish and a couple of hides, but was so thin I was amazed he was even still breathing. This little guy has been through the ringer! His little tail looked like a toothpick and I could see his bones sticking through his skin I took him home with me that same night. Now I have him in a 20 gallon tank on reptile carpet and slate. He has a UTH on one end (temps between 80-89 degrees) and the other end stays in the 70's. I have a digital thermometer/hydrometer that I keep on the floor in the tank to check the temps daily. He has a hide on the UTH side and a hide on the cool side with a misted hide in the middle. When I first got him, he pooped for a day or two (with walnut shell substrate) but then stopped eating. I figured he was stressed, so I gave him some time. I tried to feed him crickets again, but they kept getting away from him. He's so slow and weak, I just didn't think he could catch anything...so I offered him some mealworms dusted with vitamin powder and Calcium. He ate a few, but when I woke up the next morning and checked on him, I saw that he had thrown them up!! I also saw him licking his vent (a sign of parasites, I thought??) so I called the vet. 2 hours and $100 later, I was told that the vet couldn't tell me anything without an x-ray (another $200!!!). He gave me some antibiotics for some potential parasites (only because I brought it up). I felt really frustrated after that visit - I mean, he told me that sand is the best substrate for my gecko (not true!) and that leopard geckos need UVA/UVB light (..even though they are nocturnal...??). -sigh- Anyway. I've made Cricket a slurry, but his head has begun looking sunken the last week or so! After reading numerous posts here, I decided that might be because of dehydration (even though he's been drinking the slurry?) - so I've been misting the tank on one side daily and have been giving him water at least once a day via a syringe/dropper from the vet. He'll drink the water, and he'll occassionally eat a mealworm out of my hand - but he WON'T eat the dusted mealworms! He takes a bite & spits them out, opting for the mealworms with no dust. So basically I have no idea what else there is to do. He doesn't seem to be improving much - he's still as skinny as ever. His head is sunken. And it's making me so freakin sad to look at him every day and night and not know what else to do to help him. The vet said he might have MBD and just might not ever get better...Does anyone here have any ideas?? Can an emaciated leo make it back from to health after being this malnurished? ALSO - as I was attempting to feed him last night, I noticed that he smelled bad! I checked his underside and discovered dried excrement on his vent - which I gently removed with a q-tip dampened with warm water. It didn't seem to bother him, but this morning there was more dried feces/crust on it. Help me help Cricket if you can
