Leopard Gecko help

So there is a very ill gecko at the pet store I work at and I have decided to take it home to give the best chance possible. As I have never kept a gecko I am looking for some tips. I really want to know what the best substrate would be. And any ideas on how to get him eating and fattened up.
Thx

Hi - Im a newbie here but have had Leopards for ages. Lovely friendly little girls I have. Mine are, at the moment on calci sand as they didn't seem to like paper/kitchen towel and calci was what they were used to. They have a heat mat under one of their hides and a moss 'wet room' that they like to go into to help them shed. Mine eat quite well but absolutely go mad for wax worms! That said they don't like to eat if the room is well lit so I tend to dim the lights (no lights in their viv) at feeding time. One will even hand feed now . I know wax worms are not the best but in the short term to get them interested? They also seem to really like drinking out of their water dish.

Probably nothing you dont already know but good luck

Thx a lot every lil bit helps

First thing is nothing but paper towels or repti carpet needs to be used sand and all that just makes problems because they strike down on to there feeders also a little tip no Leo in the wild is on sand they live in rock environments. Heat pad set for 90 for there hot spot only use a heat pad pig enough for his whole body to go on and put it on one side of the set up so he can get away from the heat. No lights just the light from in the room is enough they are dawn dusk animales they won't do much at night or in the day . Everything you feed your cham you can feed your Leo no wax worms they are crack to a Leo. 10 gal. Set up or bigger on the tank or tub set up they need a water bowl and a D3 calcium bowl they will lick the calcium up as they need it .....also keep a millworm bowl in there its like there dog food to snack on they don't get impacted from millworms like chams can. Dry hide and a moist hide I use a plastic deli cup with a whole cut in the lid for the door one with a wet paper towel for the moist hide also make sure and use colored solid cups. They need more D3 then a cham I use rep cal D3 3x a week and herptivite 2 times a month.... Hope some of this helps

Great stuff. Keep it coming. Would anyone have any ideas on fattening him up as he is not eating on his own. I am thinking some pedialite and special care puppy food mixed in with a bit of mashed bugs and calcium and water. Administered with a syringe ???

Hoj said:

Great stuff. Keep it coming. Would anyone have any ideas on fattening him up as he is not eating on his own. I am thinking some pedialite and special care puppy food mixed in with a bit of mashed bugs and calcium and water. Administered with a syringe ???

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Sign up for the gecko forum there is what they call a millworm slury if a Leo is not eatting on his own and need to add weight fast. Also feed a lot of supers if he is eating

Hoj said:

Great stuff. Keep it coming. Would anyone have any ideas on fattening him up as he is not eating on his own. I am thinking some pedialite and special care puppy food mixed in with a bit of mashed bugs and calcium and water. Administered with a syringe ???

Click to expand...

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/zoo-med-leopard-gecko-food-11.3g-28080

Hi Hoj! This stuff is seemingly a gecko superfood. Really stinky and they love it. I've not tried it before on our Leo's but it has good reviews and I'm going to order some it says you can add water to it do you could probs mix it and syringe feed with it.

Describe what its like that is making you say it's ill.
I would not use calcisand as it has been known to cause impactions.
I have kept Leo's for over 19 years (same ones)....I supplement them the same way I do the chameleons and feed them crickets, supers, once in a while waxworms. Not a fan of using dog food as a part of its liquid diet. Likely to wouldn't use a substrate while it's sick. Waiting to hear back from you before I give more info.

Ok so he has been at the shop awhile and I was moving do I could not help him. But now I have moved and if I don't he will die. He will not eat or move really at all. He sits with his eyes closed all day and looks like a skeleton. He was kept on walnut shells and have a heat light and UVB with a dry hide and one fake plant. I added a wet hide for him out of a plastic food container with a door cut and spagnus moss inside to hold moisture. I had been had feeding him and another for 3 weeks but I am only there once a week and couldn't stop by much more. The other died and they just seem so I don't know how or if I can save him. I am doing this from my phone as I don't have Internet here yet so sorry. I am going to try and take a pic if he should come out of his hide or in the am when I get him out to try and feed.

Pics.
Poor lil guy





I just want to help him. I am pretty angry they let it get this far

There's a disease called cryptosporidiosis.. reaserch it maybe see if some symptoms or visual traits match it... It's a realitivly common and devistating disease.. also known as crypto

EDIT: I'm no expert hoj. I do own 2 male and female.. and I read article on it awhile back.. and it made em look like that so its just a direction for ur research.

That is not crypto if it was the gecko would be bleeding out of every opening...... Hoj they sleep a lot so don't worry to much about his eyes being closed unless they are always closed and he dosnt respond when you are messing with him....... First thing is tell me how your set up is now. Also make a nice room temp water in a bowl filled just enough to cover half his body and let him soak in it for a good hour he will taken in water by drinking it and he will take in water threw his vent the better hydrated he is the better chance you have of saving him...... Also uvb on a Leo is almost a death sentence I am sorry to say they never should get direct uvb of any kind they skin and eyes are way to sensitive for that in any way also he looks albino maybe rapter morph so he is real sensitive to lighting.

Whatever you do man don't give up on him man they are tuff and I have brought back a lot worse then that as rescues. At one point we had over a 100 leos and about 30 morphs lol. I have been in a lot of Leo situations were they would stop eating and drinking during breeding season and I had to bring them back to weight. That's part of the reason for moving down to only 3 leos now .

Oh wow! He's so skinny, poor baby! Hope you get him nice and healthy

Wow poor guy. That's the skinniest gecko I have ever seen. I hope you can help him. Poor gecko, I feel bad when just looking at the pictures of him. He's in horrible shape.

Ok man I found the recipe for the millworm slurry .... Breeders have been using this stuff for years it really helps them man.


In a blender, combine: 1 small can Hill's A/D pet food (available at most vets)

1/4-1/3 cup Ensure (not chocolate)

1 jar baby food squash -

1/4-1/3 cup Pedialite

2 crushed tablets or contents of 2 capsules Milk Thistle (herbal supplement, liver purifier, found at most drug stores.)

1/2 tsp. each calcium powder and herp vitamin powder -

1-2 extra large handfuls of mealworms

After you blend all this up get a syringe with no needle on it and feed him a little 2 to 3 times a day or night he should get a little energy back once you get a little of this in his gut.

Thx so much. I'm off to the drugstore this morn to get some of the ingredients. I just hate seeing any animal so unwell. It's very sad.
I will keep this thread updated with my progress. Hopefully positive
Thx again for all the help. I could still use a good overall care sheet for future reference if anyone has one or a link. As I said before I have to do all this from my phone and it makes it a bit more difficult.

He is now set up in a 10 gallon with a dry half log hide and the warm end heated by a undertank heater. With a moist hide at the other end and a water dish ( very shallow ) and another bowl full off mealworms. No lights at all and I actually have unugged the heater as it is very hott here the last few days. He is about 80-85 right now Substrate is reptile carpet and no decorations or plants right now. I didn't want the crickets to hide on him

Hoj said:

He is now set up in a 10 gallon with a dry half log hide and the warm end heated by a undertank heater. With a moist hide at the other end and a water dish ( very shallow ) and another bowl full off mealworms. No lights at all and I actually have unugged the heater as it is very hott here the last few days. He is about 80-85 right now Substrate is reptile carpet and no decorations or plants right now. I didn't want the crickets to hide on him

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Sounds like a good set up add a moist hide and a calcium D3 bowl I use a milk jug lid for the calcium once he is better switch the calcium bowl to No D3 but make sure and dust his feeders with the D3 2 to 3 times a week. Also make sure non of the hides are on his heat pad also leave the heat pad on heat for a Leo is a great healer if I have a down Leo I will bump there temps to 95 on the heat pad . Get a thermostate that you can set the temp on and tape it on top of were he gets his belly warm it will pulse on and off to keep his belly heat right were he likes it. I will go see if I can find you a good care sheet. Hope all this helps

Here is a care sheet wrote by Ron tremper he is the one who started all the leopered geckos in the USA and he was the first to ever make a morph from wc leos. He knows his stuff.


http://www.leopardgecko.com/leopard-gecko-care