Wellllll I'm a big softy.......

[trailblazer295]

Today started out innocent enough. Feeding day for my snakes. Swung by the reptile store on my way home to pick up food and a new bag of cypress. Of course have to do the rounds and browse what they have in the tanks. See if anything is new etc. I notice a tank by the front cash "leopard gecko for adoption, free". I'm thinking that's weird why would a reptile store be just giving away reptiles. Guy told me "yeah that came in last night he is thin" We he offered me to hold him. He wasn't kidding about thin. He told me "oh you could take him, you like things to be perfect and a challenge". I seem to have a rep at that store for being OCD....no idea why...:hmm:.. I had done research into leopards in the past before I got snakes and almost bought one but in the end had snakes instead. But I felt so bad looking at this almost adult sized (length wise) lizard and how skinny he was. I'm not at all a lizard size expert but the skin hanging off his arms even to my dim brain thought "that's not good". I asked a few questions in terms of feeding in general and then feeding for this guy as he didn't appear in any condition to go cricket hunting. Well I felt so bad for what the little guy/girl has gone through. While holding it was very calm just sort of hung out and walked around a bit. Never tried to bite me or get away. So not having a cage for a leopard gecko I bought the 10g setup he was in and brought him home. Upon getting home I discovered the UTH the previous owner was using was in the CENTER of the tank. (sign #1 why he was in bad shape), so I let it run, peel it off move it to one end and tape it down with foil tape. It came off better then I thought actually. Go about sanitizing decor. I plugged the UTH in curious how hot it would get (I haven't had a glass terrarium also he was still in the travel container during all this) Within about 15-20min while cleaning the rest of the cage and a temp probe on the glass under the wood chips the temp hit 94f and still climbing. So not only was this thing centered, it was too hot period with a "gradient" of too hot and less hot. (sign #2 why) I stole one of my Rancos of my boas cage as 2 on a 24x24 is overkill but I had them anyway. Set that up to 88f inside the hot hide. I filled his water dish and put him in his newly resetup home. I snapped one pic before putting him inside as he has been through a lot of stress the past few days. Being moved twice on top of being in poor health to begin with. I hope the little guy/girl pulls through. The guy told me he was a white snow leopard??? I'm not sure if I heard right. I just felt bad for the condition he was in and not thinking or caring for that matter what morph he was.

So this is my new addition and his home as it sits now. I'm sure I'll tweak things with time but it's better than before anyway. I'm sure I'll have more questions because this is my first lizard so just flying from the seat of my pants somewhat. Please take it easy on me and my seemingly dumb questions as I didn't really have the time to fully research or have all the equipment etc. I might be missing some stuff that can be added later.

On a positive note Mushu ate after a 5 week hunger strike.

Disclaimer: I do not have big hands which emphasizes how skinny he is.

Side note: I just noticed he is only looking at me through one eye. The other is just a slit. He stopped moving in the last pic and stood there for a bit with his eyes mostly closed to slits. I shut the lights off and left the room.

[Albert Clark]

Kudos to you t295! Great job and pickup. I know that gecko has a new lease on life thanks to you.

[Aaron_S]

He just seems underweight. I inspected him when it came in. Hopefully it eats soon as that should fix most of it's problems.

They eye thing could simply be due to stress. Don't worry so much right now about it, just take a once over to make sure it's clear of shed or any other debris.

[trailblazer295]

Okay thanks, Adrian didn't know much about him. He wasn't in when it came in. Glad someone checked him out that knows what to look for.

[Aaron_S]

Okay thanks, Adrian didn't know much about him. He wasn't in when it came in. Glad someone checked him out that knows what to look for.

Yeah I happened to stop by the night before for a couple items.

He seems okay other than underfed but I'm not a vet and can't check anything on the inside. Was/is a alert and active. Both good signs.

[trailblazer295]

He is in whatever shape he is. Could be too late but never know. Have to wait and see. He did walk around my arms after awhile.

[Sasha2]

Just keep him far away from your other reptiles. Crypto causes that kind of thinness.There was a big rash of that around here back when I raised leos and it was a real concern.
Not eating, continued wasting away sometime regurge.Plus if I remember correctly a green belly or might have been green stool(could be wrong here its been awhile).


BTW I would pull the back legs off the crickets so he can eat more and larger cricks to put on weight..
Personally I would put him in a shoebox size tub with papertowel so you can see his feces and he doesnt ingest any sand(which is debatable but in his condition not worth the risk)

[trailblazer295]

I'll move the tank when i get home. I didn't think of that. He is on aspen chips not sand. I don't know the history of how he got here or why. Just he was given up. I'll check his belly when I get home.

[reptiledude987]

He is thin but Ive seen thinner that have pulled thru just fine. Hopefully now with good care you will be able to turn him around. Good luck and be sure to keep us posted.

[trailblazer295]

So good news update this time. So I've moved his tank from reptile room to my room. Took him out of the tank while I added a humid hide, calci dish and moved things around a bit. I had him in the travel container for it. So now the good points 1 he had both eyes open to look at me when I picked him up even though he was in the hot hide at the time so Aaron might be right about stress 2 He was frisker today when I picked him up, wiggled when I was putting him back in his cage and his movements were much faster then yesterday and had some power behind it as he was trying to wiggle himself free of my hands. So he still has some life in him. 3 didn't really notice a green belly per say under the light but then again I don't know what I'm looking for. Despite not eating he was in better shape than 24hrs ago. A nights sleep in a properly heated hide seems to have done a lot for him. I've put 2 powdered wax worms in his dish. He went near the dish when I put him back but then went back into his hot hide. They can't escape it anyway so I'll leave him be. I'm happy he appears better today, seems to be a strong little guy. Looking forward to what he looks like healthy and plump.

Here is his new digs.

[Aaron_S]

Hopefully he starts eating soon. Once he's healthy you'll find that the leos love eating and go for their dish right away when you drop in some worms.

Stick to the soft worms for now, wax, silks, tomato horns and then crickets.

[trailblazer295]

I've got wax and meal but adrian suggested wax first so started with those.

[Sasha2]

Like I said Im not sure about the belly being green but the thinness and not eating is a bit scary. He could be impacted too. I hope its just lack of care and he will get to eating soon I hate seeing them so skinny and fragile.
I really liked having leos, they are always smiling.

[EL Ziggy]

Great job on the rescue Blaze. I'm confident you'll have him in tip top shape in no time.

[trailblazer295]

Like I said Im not sure about the belly being green but the thinness and not eating is a bit scary. He could be impacted too. I hope its just lack of care and he will get to eating soon I hate seeing them so skinny and fragile.
I really liked having leos, they are always smiling.

Why he is this size is an unknown. People that dropped it off didn't really tell much of a story. Time will tell how eager he is to eat. He seemed to have strength wiggling in my hand when he was going back in his tank. So he has some fight left in him.

[trailblazer295]

Sadly he didn't eat the waxworms last night. I haven't seen him outside the hide since he went on but it's only been 12hrs since being disturbed. Hopefully they will be gone when I get home.

[Aaron_S]

Sadly he didn't eat the waxworms last night. I haven't seen him outside the hide since he went on but it's only been 12hrs since being disturbed. Hopefully they will be gone when I get home.

If not, grab a few crickets for him. Just some mediums. Half a dozen. He may not be familiar with the worms for whatever reason.

[trailblazer295]

Well the worms were there when I got home. The gecko was in the hide everytime I checked in on him. Right before bed he poked his head out, eyes mostly closed. So I tried offering a waxworm with tongs. He licked the calcium a bit. Then took the worm. Offered a second, same thing he licked it a bit and took it, this one he dropped while biting it. He lost interest after that. I tried offering a meal worm which he licked a little but didn't bite. Left some in his dish right by the hide but doesn't look like he ate anymore overnight. It's a slow start but a start. He seemed very slow moving like he was mostly asleep but got him to lick calcium as I kept rolling the worms in his calci dish.

[Rattlehead]

That's some good news. Good luck dude.

[Doug 351]

I have only one thing to offer: Even if he doesn't make it, at least you gave him the best chance you could....and...given the extremely high mortality rate of healthy reptiles that leave those kinds of places....stood no chance without your intervention....good luck.

[trailblazer295]

Well I have an update. He has eaten anymore that I can figure. The few worms I left in the dish over the weekend seem to be all there. I tried offering last night but he didn't take. He was actively moving the tank over the weekend has he left calci streaks on top of his hot hide and part of his skin shed behind it. I'm not sure if he licked any calcium or not.

Now for the weird experience. I was away for the weekend and when I got home he and was unpacking things in my room I of course stopped to look in at him. He slowly came almost completely out of his hide straight towards me climbing on his food dish. He didn't look in the dish or anywhere else just focused on me. He just stared at me for awhile, I wasn't offering food or doing stuff in the tank just standing in my room a few feet away. He stared at me for maybe 30 seconds then walked backwards into the hide again until just his head was out. I offered a mealworm but didn't seem interested. It was weird to witness and not really sure what it means but thought I'd share.

[trailblazer295]

Today with some work got him to take one wax worm off the tongs. Wouldn't take a second. Haven't seen him outside the hide just always sleepily in the hide.

[Aaron_S]

Today with some work got him to take one wax worm off the tongs. Wouldn't take a second. Haven't seen him outside the hide just always sleepily in the hide.

He is nocturnal dude.

[ManSlaughter33]

He is nocturnal dude.

Agreed...

Blaze I feed Jankers at about 7-8 pm because thats when he starts to wake up.. now I know for a fact you stay up late lol.
try offering food ONLY late at night until he starts to get more comfortable and works up an appetite

GL!

[trailblazer295]

He is nocturnal dude.

Lol I know but he looks the same at 4pm and 11pm. As Manslaughter said I'm up late lol. I get up at 4am during the week so i can't stay up all night to feed him. It's 5am and he is deep in the hide lol


Manslaughter I'll try it next time. I generally offer when I see his head out of the hide. If he is curled up inside I leave him alone. I offer when the opportunity arises. Most times he doesn't take.



Update :

He took 2 wax worms from my tongs. He was curious about my moments and poked his head out. Took one after a few minutes. 4 worms now. PROGRESS!!!!

[trailblazer295]

Well don't have a good update. Last few days his behavior changed he slept on the open only moving mor or less in a circle on the spot and had a blood red colour showing through the skin. He refused food and didn't even really react it.
. 2 days ago after getting home late from work decided to take him to a vet most likely to be euthanized the next day. By the time I got home yesterday he was already dead.

I'll clean up his cage today and bury him in the backyard.

My foray into reptiles isn't going well. Having to bury 2 in a few months. Not sure what I'll do with the tank now.

[Sylphie]

So sorry to hear that! :( But you gave him a chance and he was under a good care, that's important too.

[ManSlaughter33]

As has been said before,
Sometimes with rescues, you never know.
Don't let it scare you away from advancing in the hobby.
You're a good keeper and love your reps, it's just sad that you ended up with a wild caught, and a sick leo. These are things that sometimes can't be helped.
I've had 2 rescue geckos go from near death to thriving to passing out of nowhere. It happens sometimes. My other CG is perfectly fine. But she was was bought from a breeder and raised healthy.

[reptiledude987]

Sorry he didnt pull through for you man. Dont be too hard on yourself even zoos can have these sorts of struggles. Even with all possible knowledge and all the funding in the world sometimes theres just nothing that can be done.

[Minkness]

As mentioned, rescuing isn't for the faint of heart. I suggest you try again with a known, healthy leo.

[trailblazer295]

Thanks all, I think my next herp will have to be healthy. My snakes are doing fine. Even my pet rock is eating consistently now on bi weekly schedule. My boa is a lazy hunter he waits until food is close enough. No chasing it at all but at least he eats so I'll take it.

Don't worry manslaughter you're not getting rid of me that easy. You're stuck with me :p

[jjhill001]

Did you ever offer crickets?

[trailblazer295]

Did you ever offer crickets?

Yes, after failing with worms. Ate one, dropped the second and lost interest. Never got him to eat anything else after that. Crickets, wax, meal.

[ManSlaughter33]

I can vouch for him, that he offered everything he could, and did the best he can.

[trailblazer295]

Manslaughter has spoken *slams gavel*


Thanks for the support.