Leo is not eating anymore

[Repti]

Seems like I have big problem.

One weeks ago(Tuesday) I went to the vet and my Leo, Rex, as worms. I'm not sure but I think she told me round worms. So she gave me panacur to give to him. I have to give him 0.2 mL of panacur one time per week during 4 weeks. I have to put the panacur into his meals. After 2 weeks she told me to change the substrate.

Wednesday, I gave him the first dose of panacur. I put it into a cricket. He ate it no problems at all.

The days after I was trying to give him meal worms and super worms but he did not want them. Thtat seems very weird for me because normally he loves them.

Yesterday I was suposed to give him his dose but he wasn't hungry, He refuses a meal worm.

Today, Thursday, He ate a meal worm so after I put the panacur into a pinkie and try to give him. He refuse it. After he ate a super worm and I try again to make him eat the pinkie. He grab it into his jaws, shake it, and let it fell. After he went in his hide.
Why does he don't want to eat? Is it possible that the pinkie smells the panacur and he doesn't love it??
Should I worried??
After what happenned to Samba. It seems like it's the same thing happenning to me.
I'm really freaking out. Please help me!
Any comment our suggestions would be great.

Repti

[Samba]

Repti- DON'T freak out! You need to evaluate a couple of things. As I recently learned, Panacur may decrease a reptile's appetite. You may need to be a little more persistant in assist or force feedng hm/her. sorry, some buttons, such as the 'eye' key aren't work1ng anymore. 1 would not recommend putt1ng the panacur onto or 1nto the food, as 1t wll be d1ff1cult to gauge the amount of med1c1ne gett1ng 1n.

1 WOULD RECOMMEND US1NG A SYR1NGE TO ADM1N1STER THE MED1C1NE. GET A SECOND OP1N1ON W1TH ANOTHER VET REGARD1NG THE LOSS OF APPET1TE AND MED1CAT1ON 1NTERVALS. SORRY ABOUT THE TYP1NG, 1'LL TRY AND GET TH1S F1XED A.S.A.P.

[drewlowe]

Repti,

I have answered some of these questions for you on other treads. I will reanswer them for you as much as possible for now then latter i will add more if i don't finish before i leave work.

ok first off panacur is used for round worms and a few others. Panacur will cause loss of appatite, and is very hard on the kidneys so you need to make sure that your leo is drinking.

As for the doses yours are being given i don't agree with.
the dose amount is fine the way it is administered is what i don't agree with. Panacur only kills the worms and not the eggs so to kill the eggs when they hatch panacur should be given every 2 weeks for at least 3 doses so that should be a total of 6 weeks. After that a stool sample should be taken back to your vet for testing. Call your vet or call another herp vet in the area and ask them about this PLEASE. I have talked to several vets and that is what the told me.(about the worm eggs and such)
also don't put the panacur in his/ her food items it needs to be given directly to your leo try a small syringe. Your vet should be able to give you one.

also your leo should only have paper towels as subtrate and very basic hides in the cage. It is VERY important you keep your cage as clean as possible until all the worms are completely gone. i bleach my cage once a week and make sure i rinse it VERY VERY good. and every time she poops i take out any paper towles that have anything on them and replace them with new ones. Cleanlyness here is the key!!!!


I have dealt with this problem 2 times in 2 years the first time they were all fine afterwards. this time i have been battling with it for over 5 months now. all of my leos (7) except one has bounced back to perfect health. i was down to force feeding her baby food. and i still continue to help her eat. If you have read any of mine and samba's conversations about worms you will know some of this. Loki (my very sick leo from round worms) is still borderline at this moment her condition is monitored daily. I have done every thing possible to save her that i can. I would recommend checking out this site www.ParaZap.com E-mail val and he will answer any of your questions. Before i ordered parazap loki had been to the vet numerous times and had several fecals and the round worms would not go away. she is basicly skin and bones right now (very sad to see). She wasn't eating except what i was force feeding her. for at least 1 1/2 months. after recieving parazap i gave it to her for 2 days and she ate 8 MEALIES WOW shocked me since she had NOOOOO intrest in food for so long. 2 days later she ate 8 more. and every other day she eats around 8 mealies and last week she ate 4 wax worms. yeah!!!! (i'm so proud of her, she's a fighter). the way i'm giving it to her is 7 days of parazap 1 full ml. 7 days off then another 7 days on. she has had her first week of parazap and is currently on her 7 days off. this saturday i will start back feeding her parazap. then after this she will get it the first 5 days of the month every month. it seriously has changed her around so far shes not 100% better we still have a long way to go. But because of parazap i belive it is saving her life(or at least prolonging it) i still wanna see if it will save her though.


The way they get worms is from thier food items. the only way to assure your reptiles health is to have 1 or 2 regular fecal exams done a year.

Thats my thoughts on it. don't have anymore time have to go. Hope this helps.

Jamie

[Emily-Fisher]

It's not just Panacur but almost all medication makes the leopard gecko lose its appetite. Don't worry about it! I never thought of giving my old blizzard leo medication through it's food...I always used a syringe WITHOUT the needle. I would fill it up with medication to match the measurements needed and would drop little droplets either around his mouth or directly into his mouth, if it was possible. As long as your baby has a nice fat tail, don't worry about him not eating and give him the medication through a syringe. When he starts to lose weight, then you should get worried and you should come back to us :)

[Samba]

Well, I wouldn't want to tell someone not to worry, however, I am always concerned when a gecko isn't eating. Repti- there are a few things you can try, (that I didn't get to post before because my keyboard stopped working!). First, make sure you keep you gecko warm, and that he has access to a basking area, (good for stimulating appetite, and digestion). Make sure there is plenty of fresh, clean water. If signs of dehydration occur, a small amount of Pedilyte (shoot, I can't spell) either mixed with food, or given orally should help. This will help replenish fluids. Get a second opinion from another vet. You want to compare results from tests and their personal opinions about your gecko. Keep a journel on what your gecko eats, how often, on what days, and when defication occurs (or when you notice it). This information can be extremely helpful to vets who are working with difficult patients. Keep us updated on your gecko! We are all wishing it will get better!

[Repti]

Well, today I gave him a super worm and he ate it. After I gave him a silk worm with the panacur in it. There was only a little problem the syringe broke so I just put like a little bit less then half of the medication. But He ate it no problems at all.

I am a lot encourage by this!
Now i'm just a little bit(2 days) late in his treatement but there should not be any problems.

I called my vet but I was told that she is in vacation since yesterday. Sh*t

I will continue the treatement and see what will happen.

Repti

P.S.: I give him the medication in his food because the vet told me to do that. How can I force him to open his mouth? to force feed him in case it would be helpfull??

[drewlowe]

just drop it on his lips and he will lick it off it may take some time but if you don't know how to force feed then i wouldn't advise it until you learned the proper way to do it.

[damzookeeper]

If you have to resort to force feeding make sure the vet shows you the proper way of doing it or you could do more harm to your leo. If your vet is still on vacation find another, tell them the situation and see if they will show you how to force feed. If she is taking it without the force feeding then by all means continue this way, it is less stressfull for her. Good luck with it and I hope she feels better soon.