I took in two leos tonight. They were tank mates. One of them is very healthy and fat. The other one is extremely emaciated and has a lot of shed stuck on her. I have seperated them. I gave the skinny one a warm moist hide that she seems to be enjoying. I also got her to eat one roach. Also gave her a calcium dish. I don't think she's ever had one, she's missing several toes and her legs are slightly deformed. How do I help her? What and how much/often should I feed her? I'm going to get wax worms tomorrow to see is she will eat them. She came with giant mealies that she acts afraid of. Any and all advice welcome and appreciated thanks
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need some advice
- Thread starter corrine
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Is a leo a leopard gecko? Anyway. The skinny one's main problems are probably from the bigger tank mate stealing the best food/light/ etc. The tank mate also probably was the cause for the missing toes. Keep feeding her like you are doing, every roach or worm is a step forward. Keep track if she gains weight, and make sure she is going to the bathroom normally. If it seems off, she might have parasites. If it seems normal, she probably only needs food and a little TLC 
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Ok, first, feed SLOWLY! Leos are very fragile, and if they eat too much after being very skinny too fast, it can kill them. Give the skinny guy a good warm soaking, and try to peel the stuck shed with a qtip. If at first you don't succeed.... You know how it goes. You can also try to use mineral oil in small amounts on the qtip to loosen the shed. Leos do not shed like dragons, they eat their shed, so if part of it got stuck on the toes, it cuts off circulation, and eventually they fall off. Wax worms are good in small doses. Try getting small crix and pulling the jumper legs off so they can't escape too fast. I had two leos for a long while, before I got into beardies. If you have any q's you can pm me if you would like.
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I have to agree with Big Daddy, that shed must be removed. I suspect this is the reason for the lost digits. I had one leo ( I have 10 now ), that had a retained shed. I offered her soaking baths, just covering the feet, and would gently roll what retained shed off I could at a time. Took about 2-3 days before the skin was totally removed.
I would also suggest getting a fecal exam, and having both leos sexed.. what you might be seeing are a male/female pair, and the female has lost weight due to egg laying. Roaches are a great way to get the weight up, so are meal worms.
Hope this helps out.
I would also suggest getting a fecal exam, and having both leos sexed.. what you might be seeing are a male/female pair, and the female has lost weight due to egg laying. Roaches are a great way to get the weight up, so are meal worms.
Hope this helps out.
These guys are not used to being handled at all. I don't want to stress her out. I will try the warm soak and qtips to help remove the shed. By feeding slowly, just how slowly do I feed? One bug a day or what? At this point I don't have the money to get a fecal done. I wasn't planning on taking these guys, my mom's friend gave them to her and she brought them to me. I believe that they are male/female but I can't really get ahold of the big one to sex it. I will post pics of the pair in a bit.
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Can you separate them ? That at least would help.. If they are male/female, the male can breed her to death...
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
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Well now we know why Toothpick is skinny... And missing those limbs... I think with care, Toothpick will be quite the looker in a month or so...
Nice.
Nice.
I know it makes me very sad to look at him. It makes me angry that the guy that had them didn't see anything wrong with him, espically since Tubby is very fat and healthy. I will be doing my best to save the little guy. He's already letting me pick him up, i think he reallizes that I'm trying to help him. I really hope he makes it, I'm already pretty attached to him.
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Corrine.. When I got my first 4 ( two of which survived to this day) all were skinny, 2 were just as skinny as Toothpick.
They were all infected with parasites. Got that cleared, but lost two as the help came too late.
I hope for your and Toothpicks sake that this isn't the case, but just one of Domination by the other male.
*big hugs*..
How much would a fecal cost, just out of curiosity ?
They were all infected with parasites. Got that cleared, but lost two as the help came too late.
I hope for your and Toothpicks sake that this isn't the case, but just one of Domination by the other male.
*big hugs*..
How much would a fecal cost, just out of curiosity ?
Not sure how much a fecal would cost, I'll have to make some calls today. Toothpick pooped last night. It was very watery, I'm assuming because I soaked him? He did eat a mealworm this morning and he seems to be perking up a little. Just taking it a day at a time. I'm only feeding him one bug at a time until I get a poop, I'll slowly increase that over the next couple weeks. I'm going to soak him again today and try to get rid of more of that shed. I'm also going to pick up some mineral oil.
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Daily soaking can indeed cause watery fecals... I fed all mine on roaches from Jan 08 til present... Before that, I was feeding crickets. That stopped as soon as I got in my first two dubia colonies. Now I have those fat and sassy ( as my vet calls em) dragons And leos... This fall I invested in a small meal worm colony, and will add to that in the near future, just for those leos.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
