leopard gecko, thinning tail?

Question

we have seen him eat plump vit. dusted crickets, but alot of the crickets we put in he lets die. he shed about 2 weeks ago, he looks healthy, shinny skin and bright eyes. it seems that if he misses the cricket he looses interest. we have had him 3 mo. his tail is noticably thinner than it was oh a week or so ago. please help.

Answer 1

feed it a few wax worms. They will help to fatten it up. Keep a dish of live meal worms in the cage at all times. I use calcium sand as a substrate in all my cages and have never had a problem.

Answer 2

The poster above me has an excellent point. Dirt, sand, gravel and walnut substrate can all become impacted in your gecko if he eats some with his cricket. A thinning tail indicates stress in a leopard gecko.

Is your leoard gecko defficating normally? Because if not, that is another sign of an impaction. An impaction needs a vet visit pretty quick

Another cause of a lack of appetite could be habitat conditions, they need a day time temperature of 85° to 90°F with night time temps in the 70°s. They also need a cooler spot in the tank during the day (usually where the water dish is). If the cage is too cold, the gecko will have trouble digesting its food.

You could also try offering it some live wax worms or meal worms to vary up his diet.

Good luck

Ally

Answer 3

A thin tail is a sign of severe emaciation. Your Gecko is starving to death. If he does not get the proper treatment he will die. There are many reasons why this could be ( such as improper prey size, GI impaction, GI tract inflammation, infection, excessively overused vitamin and mineral supplements resulting in hypervitaminosis poisoning, etc, etc. )....which is why you need a reptile vet.

He could be impacted, but it is not likely that is is due to substrate. It is natural for lizards to lick the substrate, and usually this presents no problems if the substrate is sand or dirt. Most often the impaction results from the owner feeding the lizard prey which is far too large for it. Ensure that you are feeding age appropriate size crickets ( medium, small, or pinheads...NO LARGE ). Many people like to try and get out cheap by feeding large crickets, but you can kill the lizard that way.

What is the defecation frequency? This is important to note as to whether there is a gastrointestinal impaction. If he is impacted, along with loss of appetite, he will be somewhat lethargic and will have difficulty or no defecation. If he has a secondary infection from intestinal inflammation ( gastrointeritis ), he could have labored breathing and swollen abdomen, along with holding his mouth agape. Of course he could also have a respiratory infection if his temps and humidity levels were off.

As I said, there are many possible reasons why your lizard is starving to death. But if you are not well experienced in herp medicine and husbandry, this lizard does not have time for you to try different things and learn. We have no way of knowing without pictures and lab work how serious the situation might be, thus, you need a vet. And it is simply not a matter of fattening him up now by feeding him more and bigger. You can kill him that way too.

A sick, injured, or severely emaciated reptile needs to be carefully brought back into health, and in serious cases this may mean force feeding by stomach tube of a liquid or puree diet that his system can handle until he gets stronger, along with possible antibiotics or antiparasitic drugs.

Until you can get him to a vet, make sure the ambient temp. in his tank stays in the upper 80's to low 90's, but keeping a regular day/night ambient light cycle. Make sure he is offered plenty of drinking water ( filtered drinking water or distilled water only ), and you may add a little unflavored pedialyte to the water dish for electrolyte support. You may also see if he will drink a little initially by placing a small drop of water on his snout. He may shake it off and run away, or he may take in in through his nostrils and drink by closing his glottis. If he seems interested in eating at all, then feed him only a moderate number ( relative to his size and normal meals ) of small or pinhead crickets, to ease stress on his system. Larger crickets have more chitin and harder exoskeletons, not to mention their size difference, which makes them a poor choice for a sick or malnourished lizard. You don't like a big heavy meal when you are sick either, do you?

AND DON'T USE VITAMIN OR MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS RIGHT NOW EITHER. That is an extra taxation on his organs he doesn't need unless advised by a vet. More than likely, if he needs them, the vet will give him a vitamin injection.

>>>P.S.>>>for the post below which advises mealwoms or waxworms to "vary up">>>DON'T!

It is precisely because they are so fattening that he should not have them right now. Too much stress on organ function to process the fat.

Mealworms and waxworms aren't a very nutritious healthy meal for a reptile in top shape, much less one that is sick or underweight..because they are insect larvae. Larvae are always less nutritous than mature insect forms, and mealworms are pehaps the WORST in nutritious value to a herp. In fact mealworms are responsible for almost as many gastrointestinal impactions in small herps as large crickets cause. It also takes more energy for the lizard to break down the fat for energy before it can be used...and this requires water stores. A SICK OR MALNOURISHED / UNDERWEIGHT HERP CAN'T SPARE IT'S HYDRATION TO BREAK DOWN FAT FROM A FATTY MEAL...it needs that water for more critical organ function such as liver, kidney, circulatory and respiratory systems.

Answer 4

May I ask what do you have in the bottom of the tank ? If they eat too much sand, dirt, bark etc. he may have become impacted. They store fat in their tails, skinny tail is a bad sign. Try to find reptile vet in your area.