crypto/vet bills/ health problems and leo's ?

[DirtyDuck]

I am having problems with my leo, it stopped eating, won't poop, I have tried diff. foods nothing works. it use to be a very good eater and started to fatten up. well now 4 my question the petstore owner said I should take it to the vet to be checked for crypto. I have lost 5 leo's so far with these same symtoms. and the petstore owner said that it is probably being spread from my first 2 that died ( wich I bought from a diff. petstore). I was new at the hobby and didn't know anything about crypto so I didn't sanitize the tanks after the first 2 died I thought it was something I did. the petstore owner said if it is crypto throw everything away. and buy all new ****. :( well I would like to know what kind of money I should expect to spend at the vet. and what does anyone know about crypto???? help please:( :mad: :confused:

[Repti]

I only know sometime it's a black spot on the belly.
For the money, you shouldn't care about that. Try to get a fecal first and bring it to the vet.

[J-Man]

Repti, for all you know he could be on the brink of being flat broke and have very bad money problems. He definitely should care about that... there are more important things in life than herps. I"m not saying he shouldn't do anything about it if he doesn't have the money... I'm saying if he doesn't have the money then he should sell the leo or give it away to an experienced keeper.

[LISA127]

Shouldn't care about the money? What world is everyone living in? And this is coming from an animal lover, who spends more time w/animals than humans, and volunteers at the local humane society.

That said, yes, take him to the vet. I'm not saying u shouldn't care about the money, of course, but he does somehow need vet treatment.

[Repti]

What I was saying by don't care about the money is don't stop helping him because of the money. My leos had round worms before. At first i told myself I'm going to sell them because I don't have money. So what I did Is I started working to get money to treat them and get them to the vet. Today they are healthy. So when I said don't care about the money was try your best to treat them and get them to the vet. That's all. If I offend somebody, Sorry.

Repti

[DirtyDuck]

What are the symtoms for coccidia? and how effective is the treatment?

[Neo]

to answer u question, dirtyduck, a fecal costs somewhere around 20$ and bout 40$ for a physical (i dont like those cause all they do is weigh it, poke it, look in its mouth and bam, 40$ gone). and i think medication is somwhere around 20$.. yes, check for a black spot under the belly, but make sure it's not just the liver.. hold your gecko up to a bright light and see if the black spot is somewhat structured (then it'd be just the liver). i thought i had a gecko w/ crypto so i spent 40$ for them to tell me it was a liver. and make sure the fecal u bring in is less than a day old or it's not accurate..

as for eating, sometimes geckos will go on random hunger strikes.. unless its losing a whole lota weight then there might be a problem

[DirtyDuck]

my leo hasn't eaten in a couple of days so it hasn't pooped either so I can not take in a fecal sample. the last time It ate it threw up the crix. symptom of crypto? or coccidia? Thanks for answering my question. how long do your leo's go on hunger strikes? mine is going on 4 days and is getting skinny.

[Neo]

i dunno what coccidia is and my leos havent really gone on strikes yet, but i heard from other ppl in this forums that their geckos went for a few months. on the regurgitated crickets see if there's white stuff on it cause sometimes poop looks like it's regurgitated when not properly digested (one of my leos did this to me) the white stuff is its urine. are these the same leos u say may have sand impaction in the earlier post? o and make sure to keep the temps in like the mid-high 80's for proper digestion and activity

crypto symptoms: extreme loss of weight (like to the bone), large dark spot under the belly

it's a parasite that still affects an animal even the parasite is dead highly contagious.. ppl on this forum know more bout it than me so..

[DirtyDuck]

I checked the "black" spot on her belly and it is "structured" the shape it most resembles is a triangle, or maybe a bell? but behind it close to the right back leg on the side of the stomache is a round black spot maybe a little bigger than a bb but a little smaller than a pea. my leo gecko is about 6 months.

[DirtyDuck]

same leo's that I thought might have sand impaction, but not sure till I take them to the vet. because I don't now what to look for. no white stuff on the crix. My leo still has alot of energy not like the last one that died it just laid in it's hide all day and night but this one comes out at night well it did last night so far it just peeked out of it's hide at me tonight.

[Neo]

hm, i dunno bout that spot next to its leg.. does it look like it's underneath the skin or ontop of the skin?

[DirtyDuck]

under the skin both of them. the pet store owner said my leo is worth $100-$120 it is a hypo orange or tangerine. it is yellow and the head is also yellow it has only 16 spots on it's back and has orange legs and a little bit on it's tail maybe 1/16". so he said it would be worth it to take it to the vet.

[Neo]

yeah definately, i think vets have a method of making a gecko poop for a fecal, but i dunno if this costs extra or even is true for that matter..

[Amiechann]

Had a leo last year that I bought with crypto. She quit eating, and looked like a little walking gecko stick. After I took her to the vet, got a fecal, and found out she had crypto, I decided the best thing was to put her down. Didnt want to take the chance of spreading it to any of our other herps. The entire vet visit was $28.

[Alicewave]

If you've lost 5 other Leos you've got a big problem. Take them to the vet. If you can't afford it find a vet that will do just fecals without seeing the animal but it sounds like you definitely have a problem with some type of parasites. I guess it's up to you whether you want to put the money into it. This is something everyone needs to realize about keeping herps or any other kind of animal. 9 times out of 10 you are GOING to spend more on vet bills than you do on the actual animal and it's husbandry materials. If you can't afford to spend at least twice as much as what you initially spend on an animal you can't afford the animal. If you can't afford vet bills, stop buying herps. The best advice I can give you right now is quarantine, quarantine, quarintine, and disinfect, disinfect, disinfect. If you want to learn more about crypto, do a search on it through the threads. There are many old threads about it.

[LISA127]

5 other leo's have died?? Wow, get this leo the vet immediately! Normally I'd say 2 days without eating for a leopard gecko is nothing to worry about, but if 5 leo's have died, there is most definetely a problem!

[drewlowe]

First off if 5 geckos have died then there is something going on wether it be parasites or with your husbandry. First thing yes go get them checked asap!!! Coccidia and crypto are both very hard on little leo systems. Symtoms are pretty much the same thing. You have to get a fecal to have them check for parasites. Coccidia can be cured with medication (ALBON) and strick cleaning. Crypto they have not found a cure for yet and it can spread to the rest of your collection if you are not careful stict quarentine and cleaning are needed. Vet visits bills all depend on where you go. the initial visit can be between 35-50, fecals 15-25, meds depends on how many animals you have and the type of medication givin. I've had meds range from 5.00 to 20.00. But i also have 8 leos.