HELP......What the hell is wrong?

[Dragons & Balls]

I have a small collection of leopards and blizzards.I just found one that was dead and was black underneath and there is another one that is getting black.....What is wrong?The others are doing great and our snake collection is doing awesome...Let me know ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!

[Neo]

ppl say black underneath is crypto.. a parasite very very easily spread.. were your leos losing a lot of weight? but make sure the black spot isnt just the leo's liver cause u can see it through the skin on some leos

i'm really really sorry about your loss :( :(

[lilyskip]

wow, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. if the black undersides weren't there before, it could definitely be crypto. as neo said, this is highly contagious. it might be too late for your other geckos, but separate the ones with black undersides from the others, and put the healthy ones in a different enclosure. good luck...keep us posted!

[Alicewave]

Wow that is rough. It definitely sounds like crypto. It wouldn't hurt to move all your other reptiles to another room if possible. It is transmitted through fecal contact and soaking in a 10% ammonia solution for 30 minutes is the only practical way to kill it. There are a few treatments available but they seem to be more on a maintenance basis. Leos that don't die of crypto can live for a while with regular medication but there is always the risk of spreading it to other herps. There is a lot of information about it on the web. There's also several older threads in here about it...it seems to be common in leos. Good luck preventing this from wiping out your entire collection.

[DragnDrop]

As already stated, the dark spot could be a sign of crypto, or the liver (which is easily seen in thin geckos since there's not much fat under the skin to hide the internal organs from view). If the dark area is quite large, it could also be pooled blood, which happens after death.
Your best bet is to take the healthy ones in for a complete check up. Keep the lizards and geckos far away from any snakes and ampibians you might have - opposite side of the house or even another floor would work to help cut down the chances of spreading any cooties. If it is crypto, you can't be too careful, it spreads like wildfire.

I'm sorry about the loss, and hope you can find out what happened and save the rest of your collection.

[drewlowe]

I just now seen this thread.I'm very sorry for your loss but i will try to tell you how you can get your leos tested in a few different ways. what i'm going to say is going to might be a little hard for you to do but you may need to do it to save the rest of your collection. If you still have your leo that passed away put her/him in the freezer and call your vet right away. Tell them what happend and you think it may be a possibility of "crypto" YOu must get your leo in there within 3 days so they can perform a necropsy. That is the best way to test for crypto. If it is to late to take you leo that passed away in. Then you should take the rest of your collection in and have them checked out. Make sure you take a fresh fecal in (no older than 24 hours) to be tested. Plus if they suspect crypto they may have to flush out one of the leos stomachs and send it off to a lab. Now the next way to test crypto sounds harsh but if it resorts to this point then you will have to decide is it the best idea for your colony. You may have to sacrifice one of your leos(preferably the sickest one) and have them do a necropsy on that one.

If you have a crypto test done if it's positive its positive. If it comes out negative it could mean it's negative or later it could be positve.

I know about this cause i currently went through it myself. but luckily my leos had coccidia which can be cured with meds.

Until you find out results it would be best to separate the sick leos from the ones that appear healthy and completly clean out the cage the way alicewave suggested and keep them on paper towels or newspapers. And any time you notice a fecal throw out the piece of paper towel or newspaper. During this time you should have strict quartine until you find out whats going on.

I hope this helps and i hope everything turns out ok for you and the rest of your collection.

You should get fecals done at least once a year since leos eat insects!!!

Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

Jamie