R.I.P. Lucky

[drewlowe]

Yesturday i had to put my Male Leopard gecko to sleep. It was a very sad and hard decision to make. I've been struggling for the last 4 months to try and keep him alive. I've spent everyday for the last 4 months force feeding him 2-3cc's of "leo slurpies". About a month ago he tried to eat on his own but the items went through his system completly undigested along with the recipe i've been feeding. Me and my vet worked very hard to keep him alive, but to no avail our best didn't work.

I'm having a necropsy done even though i know exaclty what it is. the results should be back within 6-10 business days.

I know I did the best i could and more than most people I know, but it sucks knowing your best couldn't save him no matter what. It don't matter how much much money it cost me or the time i spent with him he was entirely worth it and i would do it agian if i had to.

Psylocke a.k.a. Lucky Lived for only a short time 4 years, 4 months, and 2 days. A friend of my mans had 2 leos of his own and brought me a pair of eggs to incubate. I ended up hatching out 2 beautiful leos for him, but one i absolutly fell in love with he had a cute horseshoe pattern on his head, hence the name Lucky. After MUCH bribbing and a trade for a 55 gallon cage Lucky was mine. I know the trade wasn't fair to us but i HAD to have him.

He was as spoiled as any leopard gecko could be and loved very much!!! He will be deeply missed by me and my man. Even though he's gone he still has a huge part in my heart, and i'll never forget him.

Jamie

[drewlowe]

The gallery wouldn't let me upload a pic for some reason, so here's a pic of my baby.

[mathaldo]

so sad to hear :(

[Jase_on]

Sorry to hear of your loss.

[KyleK]

I am very sorry to hear your loss. May he RIP. I also own leopard geckos and I know how special they can be.

[newticus]

just out of curiosity, you said you know what was wrong with him, what was it?

[drewlowe]

just out of curiosity, you said you know what was wrong with him, what was it?

Before i say what it is, i would like to say something first. I take the strickest qaurentine with my leos, at least from the rest of my collection. They have thier own supplies and do not come into contact with and other supplies or animals i have. I take all the necessary precautions when i feed, clean, ect...

I'm also working with a vet to find a cure or at least something to suppress it.

I'm sure you figured it out, it's cryptosporidium. I don't know exactly how it got into my leopard gecko collection, but it did. I'm doing the best i can in dealing with it. Without have to put down a "healthy" appearing leo. I have lost 3 leopard geckos to this lucky bieng the 3rd, but i still have 5 more females and i'm not willing to give up on them yet.

Some people will fringe on this, but i really don't care. I know exactly what i'm dealing with and i'm working with a vet.

Thanks

Jamie

Edit I've also had stomach washes done on a few of my other herps a couple times a piece and had the sample sent off to a lab and every one has came back negative.

[KyleK]

Is cryptosporidium a parasite or what is it exactly. I have heard of it before but I am not sure where?

[taz19772005]

sorry for your loss.

[drewlowe]

Is cryptosporidium a parasite or what is it exactly. I have heard of it before but I am not sure where?

http://www.indigosnakes.com/Reptilian%20Crypto.htm

http://research.ucsb.edu/connect/pro/disease.html

Thank you everyone.

Jamie

[thekeeper]

I am really sorry for your loss. Since it is crypto you really need to isolate all leos and use papertowel substrate. However, unfortunately, it spreads through a collection quickly. I would be devestated by it, as my collection is medium sized and full of really neat morphs. Seems like this is spreading throughout a certain segment of the leopard gecko community. Some huge breeders are literally a breding ground for the disease. Just out of curiousity, did you get the leos at pet shops, shows, breeders, etc? Also I am in Saint Louis and breed leos, so if there is anything that I might be able to do for you please let me know. I recommend Dr. Pernikoff or Dr. Wentz, they are both very good. Good luck.

[damzookeeper]

so sorry for your loss. I wish you all the best with your remaining leos. Seems like you know what you are up against and I wish you all the best.

[drewlowe]

I am really sorry for your loss. Since it is crypto you really need to isolate all leos and use papertowel substrate. However, unfortunately, it spreads through a collection quickly. I would be devestated by it, as my collection is medium sized and full of really neat morphs. Seems like this is spreading throughout a certain segment of the leopard gecko community. Some huge breeders are literally a breding ground for the disease. Just out of curiousity, did you get the leos at pet shops, shows, breeders, etc? Also I am in Saint Louis and breed leos, so if there is anything that I might be able to do for you please let me know. I recommend Dr. Pernikoff or Dr. Wentz, they are both very good. Good luck.


Hello The Keeper. Nice to see someone else from st. louis is here.

I use both of those vets. Dr. Dan Wentz is the first vet to correctly diagnosis and start to help my leos. Unfortunatly he is a very hard man to see. (usually takes me a week or two to get a visit. Were Dr. Pernikoff takes a day or two.

As far as seperating all my leos i've done that before and almost lost all of them (8). They were all housed together 1 male and 7 females (after all of them went through a 3 month quarentine and a fecal sample tested for parasites). I bought all my leos through different places. Shops, breeders, and local expos so i have no way of knowing how it got there, god i wish i did know though. I've been through 4 different vets here before it was correctly diagnoised. For about 1 year of more Webster Groves Animal Hospital Dr. Reger (sp) and Some vets office by Chippawa Dr. King (you should know which one) was telling me they had pinworms and kept stuffing Panacur down them. I was so tired of not having the get better i set out to find a Great reptile vet and that's when i found Dr. Dan Wentz.

As i said up above i did try to seperate all the leos but i almost lost all of them. I was told by Dr. Dan wentz that it would be ok to put them back together since Phoenix (2nd one that passed away during isolation) was confirmed to have crypto by a necropsy and i have to "assume" all the other leos had it. He said as long as i didn't breed them they shouldn't do no harm to each other. So about 2 years ago i decided to put them back together (except the male) I've been dealing with this for almost 4 years now. All of the girls bounced back to appear healthy but the male just recently (about 6 months ago) started going down hill. I tried to put him to sleep 4 months ago but Dr. Pernikoff still wanted us to try and save him. He actually couldn't belive i was taking the time already to feed him "leo Slurrpies" ( awhole bunch af bugs and good stuff all blended up and feed to him through a suringe.

Hopefully they will have the results when their supposed to. I will be calling Dr. Pernikoff's office next Tuesday Oct. 1st for Lucky's results from the necropsy which set me back almost 400 dollars. I'm haveing 3 different tissues looked at by the lab. I will be completly puzzeled if it came back negitive for crypto because i've already had one come back positve around 3 years ago.

Even though I don't follow the stricktest routine with the leo collection itself i do take strick quarentine and procedures involving my leo collection and the rest of my animals. I also work with the leos last and take a shower after working with them. They have all their own "equipment" their own mealie bin, supplies and ect. I have had a few of my other bigger species tested for crypto through a stomach wash (almost a hundred a pop)just to see if i'm cotrolling the spread of crypto and every test has came back negitive. So aperently i think i might be doing something right.

Oh please don't thinkk i like this, it's an EVERY day battle i go through. Most people tell me just have them put down, so you don't have that risk anymore. Belive me that thought crosses my mind everyday. But i don't give up that easily I feel that i took a vow of sorts when i bought them. To take good care of them for thier whole life (not for them to just be my breeders). I will not give up on any of my animals until the vet thinks thiers no hope in helping them, and my vet still doesn't want me giving up, he actully talked me out of putting lucky to sleep 4 months ago to try and help him. I really just want a cure and if that means testing it on my leos then i'm keep trying until my leos want to give up.

What i really want is better detection thorugh a fecal sample, if this was possible it would have never got into my collection of leos, but for leopard geckos the only testing available is a necropsy to my understanding from both vets. Even better would be a CURE. I would absolutly love it if there was a cure and i'm sure my leos would be thankfull.

I also know me taking about this tarnishes my name. Everyon talking "don't get animals from her she has "gasp" crypto in her collection" Which right now i don't really care about anything negitive anyone has to say. Most people don't know me or how i care for my collection. I've controlled it and i'm doing the best i can to deal with it. I get great complements from my 2 vets and my man (he has to though) on dealing with this and for all the whispers at shows and the Herp meetings doesn't bother me. If it wan't for people like me taking the time and money to try and find a cure or prolong death, and talking to people about it most people wouldn't be as aware of crypto and the harm it could cause.

Wow it's been a long time since i made a post like this. If this condones me as a "bad" keeper ohwell. All i need to know is at least i don't give up and i try the hardest i can and i know i've done one hell of a job. (not directed towards you The keeper)

Jamie

[drewlowe]

Well I called Dr. Pernikoff and got the results. Exactly as i thought, it's crypto but man i wish this was just a bad nightmare. The vet was a little taken back by 1 thing though, they found crypto ocdyisis in the lungs. Crypto is supposed to be an intestinal parasite, and not affect the lungs. He also had two different bacterial infections that would not have been able to be detected without a necropsy. Bet the vet said that wasn't from my keeping, he said it was due to the crypto and low immune defeciancy (a secondary infection). Which the first time i took him in to put him to sleep he had to cut out and drain an abcess near his left eye due to a secondary infection.

I went over with him the reasons i'm keeping the leos even though I KNOW they have crypto, and reason why i should put them to sleep. I also explained the procedures i do with them and the rest of my collection. We talked about a few different things, different meds, isolation, culling all of them or just one or two to see how far the crypto is in the "healthy" appearing leos. Probly a few things i'm leaving out too. I'm supposed to call him back Friday to discuss a few things. He wanted to make a few phone calls and talk to some people he knows about my situation.

Don't know much beyond that, I really hope for a cure soon, but doubt there will ever be one, so i'll just keep doing what i'm doing and wish for the best.

Thanks,

Jamie