Please Help

[PapyBoi0220]

So I have a leopard gecko named Paprika and for the past month or so he’s been absolutely refusing to eat anything.. Most of that was due to him having some difficulty shedding. I had given him a very VERY shallow bath to see if he’d help himself but it didn’t work so I ended up taking him to his vet. The vet assured me his appetite loss was probably due to his shedding and they took him away for a bit to help remove the stuck shed. During the process he lost his tail (but I’m not super concerned with that for the most part) Its been about two weeks and he’s still not eating.. and he now has.. blisters? Along his back and I’m not sure whats wrong. I’m very worried and any advice is appreciated..

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[ABMoore22]

Oh, my. I’m sorry you both are going through this. Do you happen to have a heat lamp in his tank?

If not, it seems they may have damaged his new skin when removing the old.. After we know about the lamp we can go farther. But you can try putting antibiotic ointment on his sores.

There is a Zoologist on here that will eventually reply. Wait and see what she says, as she knows more about reptile injuries than I do. It kinda looks like scars from heat lamp burn to me. Next time it’s close to his shed time place a Tupperware with wet/moist sphagnum moss in it, in his tank. I leave one in mine at all times. He’s never had a bad shed. You can also put the damp moss inside one of his current hides.

[PapyBoi0220]

So I do have a UV lamp and I was also worried about it being burns after seeing a somewhat similar post on here so I havent been turning it on the past few days until I can figure out a way to possibly hang it up a bit higher.. he does have a cool damp hide on the other side of his tank for shedding which has spagnum moss it in.. as far as I know the lamp shouldnt be emitting much heat but It still probably wouldnt hurt to give him some time and figure out how to position it farther away.. thanks for the advice

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[ABMoore22]

Also, they can get uv burns from uv lamps if uv is too high or they have no area out of the light/in shade/cave. Leo’s should have a uv light of 5.0 for desert dwelling species. It takes A LOT out of them to grow a new tail, so i really hope he eats soon. Mine can never pass up a wax worm, maybe try that.

[PapyBoi0220]

He does have a UV light.. he has plenty of shade and it’s only on the hot side of his tank but I’ve still got it off for now until I can figure out a way to set it up a bit higher.. Ill definitely try the waxworms though and see if he’ll eat literally anything at this point

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by PapyBoi0220.

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[Zoodulcis]

You have a right to be worried. It’s hard for me to be certain, of course, but since there was a difficult shed and the little guy lost his tail, it’s possible that this is a form of necrotizing or ulcerative dermatitis. This ailment can be caused by bacteria or fungus. When it begins at the tip of the tail, it advances upward and can eventually be manifested elsewhere on the body. Loss of appetite is typical, as is tail loss. Topical application of antibiotic ointment is helpful only if the cause is bacterial. Without a cell culture, you can only guess at the cause. If you hesitate to take him back to the vet, then you should use both an antifungal cream and an antibiotic. Raising the humidity is contraindicated if the cause is fungal. Until you know more, it’s best to keep the humidity within its normal range. If the topical alone works, and often it doesn’t, you should see improvement in a week and the ailment should disappear in approximately 30 days. Thorough sanitation of the enclosure now, and your hands after each handling will help prevent reinfection. Hope this helps and please let us know how he progresses.

[ABMoore22]

Glad you replied. I’ve never had any type of infection issue besides from abscesses on cats, but never anything with reptiles. Thanks for your info.

[PapyBoi0220]

I don’t think its this since the issues started after a bad shed and not his tail drop..? At least the appetite loss.. he dropped his tail at the vet because hes fairly young and I havent been able to handle him like… At all yet so it’s always a bit stressful for him there.. He’s also a bit darker color than normal rn if that means something important? Hes usually a bright yellow but hes been almost brown since they took off his shed.. I noticed the bad skin issues a few days after the vet so im a little scared to take him back but not completely against it, more just cautious..? I haven’t changed his humidity levels at all though

[ABMoore22]

To me, it looks like he had stuck shed either due to humidity issues or the heat lamp too close/hot and they damaged his skin removing the shed skin. I love vets, but they arent always best with reptiles… Leo’s go dark because theyre cold or stressed. For him probably stress. If he were mine, I’d add antibiotic ointment to his back everyday for 1 weeks and see what it does. Also keep his cage extra clean. If it doesnt look better, i’d think more on what Zoodulcis here said and do that… She really knows her stuff. Have vet do a skin culture.

On the eating part, you may need to force feed with a syringe and mooshed up bugs (gross i know, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do). If he wont eat within a week. Try to avoid this for stress reasons. But do your best to just not bug him, keep him quiet but offer him food daily. At very least, leave bugs in an escape proof bowl and show him where. Keep the heat lamp low or farther away to protect his skin and make sure he says warm enough. Poor guy has a long road and a lot of body stress coming to regrow that tail.

[Lee]

Hi it may be season, most of my gecko haven’t touched food for 2 months. But have started eating now as the weather warm up for summer

[Shanell513]

Are you feeding it meal worms or crickets. Meal worms can bite and when they start biting the gecko’s won’t have anything to do with them. You may try only crickets. That is what happened to mine not he is on the fat side

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