The
guy at the store (an exclusively reptile store in Nashville) said to wait
a week and if my gecko doesn't get back into the right eating pattern,
then I should bring her in again. He checked her out and said she's
perfectly healthy and that her eating habit should get back to normal within
a week.
There is a slight problem here; this
guy is not a non- domestic vet. I would take that diagnosis with
a big grain of salt. Just because someone has 25 leopards does not mean
they are qualified to make that call. When health issues like this come
up, you go to the non-domestic vet. Time is a wasting, so please get on
it. Don't wait more than one week from now. You have had the gecko a month,
the period of adjustment to the new environment from the pet shop should
be over. Sometimes adjustment stress does cause regurge. I doubt
a diet of wax worms only would cause regurge. The sooner you find out what
is really going on here the better chance you have at recovery. Regurgitation
could be caused by a number of things also, so you need a qualified person
to sort that out with you. At any rate, regurge is a serious problem.
He has 25 leo geckos at home, so hopefully
he knows enough about them to make that recommendation. I am a college
student and don't have enough money to take her to the vet unless I truly
need to, so do you think it is safe to wait a week and see? Right
now, she is trying to catch the four crickets I put in her cage, so that
itself is an improvement. I'm not trying to defend him, I'm just
trying to see if I can wait a week. Thank you Chris for responding
to all my newbie type questions. I assume most on this board are
breeders who know all of this, so it is very kind of you to assist me.
Additionally, the "laziness" is a feature
of leopard geckos. They are not real active, especially during the day.
Diet would not explain this. As Chris noted, your diet is pretty high in
fat, so cut out the wax worms for a while and save them as snacks for that
occasional treat.
Also noting what Chris said about the
Calcisand...vets in my locale here say it has caused impactions since its
introduction on the market, not just in leopards, but also in beardies.
I feel strongly that it should not be used. I recommend paper towels or
something indigestible like the Repti-cage carpet by Zoo Med . New leopards
should be quarantined for at least their first month anyway so the geckos
eating can be monitored and their feces evaluated to at least look healthy.
If you introduce the new leopard to others right away you could be introducing
disease or parasites which can be harder to track down than if you had
set up the new gecko separately for a time. Best to play it safe and make
sure you have a healthy good eater before mixing with others.
Anytime a gecko has health issues you
should separate it from others immediately. Just thought I would touch
on that even though it looks like you have a single specimen.
Hope these tips helped.
Regards,
Julie Bergman
http://www.geckoranch.com
