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The first step in correcting any health issue with your gecko is prevention.
- Purchase a healthy gecko
When you select your gecko make sure it looks healthy and it freely moves around (especially juveniles which will be quite jumpy).
When held, it should be 'observant', looking around attentively.
Also, look at the tail.
Unless very young, leopard and AFT geckos should have fat, healthy tails. Crested geckos may be missing their tails but this is not a problem with health.
If there are signs of shed on the tail, face, toes, there may be issues with the animal being kept in a low humidity environment.
Some issues may be more visible and must be avoided such as open sores, discolored skin areas, recent tail loss, or discharge from the nose or eyes.
Finally, ask the retail store or breeder if the animal is healthy and what type of return policy they provide.
- Keeping a Healthy Gecko Healthy
Again, the first step to a healthy gecko is prevention.
When handling your geckos and anything the gecko may come in contact with, always wash your hands afterward. This will prevent pathogens from spreading to other geckos and to YOU.
Water should be changed daily or every other day.
Water and food dishes should be cleaned once every week or two. The enclosure should also be cleaned frequently.
The humid/lay hides should be removed, cleaned, and the contents replaced at least a 2-4 times a year.
Feces should be removed at least weekly (uneaten crickets will actually feed on the feces and pass any disease back to the gecko).
Of course, if you are working with an unhealthy animal, all these steps should be performed more frequently.
Stress is a factor that can help bring down a gecko's immune systems. Stress can come about from any of the following:
dirty enclosure, inadequate temperatures (or humidity), over crowding, bullying by other animals, over breeding.
- A Sick Gecko
If your gecko is not acting or eating as normal, it may be sick. Taking the gecko to a qualified vet is the best timely action. Also, there are several
items you should pay attention to. First, quarantine (isolate) your animal if you have more than one gecko. Diseases can quickly spread through your collection!
Always wash your hands immediately after handling the gecko or anything it might come in contact with.
Replace all water/feed dishes daily with a clean dish. Wash the used dishes with an anti-bacterial soap and then thoroughly rinse.
Remove all feces daily.
Finally, your sick gecko must keep up its feeding to maintain hydration and nutrients. See below for tips to use when the gecko begins refusing food.
Realize that if the sick animal is young, it will have less ability to fight off the disease than an adult that will have built fat reserves.
- Shedding Issues
If the enclosure's humidity is low, and the hide is not kept moist, shed issues may exist. Watch for unshed skin around feed and toes, the face, and the tail.
Unshed skin can cause a loss of a toe, tip of the tail, or even infections if not addressed quickly.
If unshed skin is found on the gecko several days after starting the shed, take the following action. Soak the animal in room temperature water for about 15 minutes (this will be warmer for leopards than cresteds). This may take a few attempts.
Never try to pull the skin off as more damage can be done than letting it come off itself.
Finally, if unshed skin still remains after several baths, a moistened q-tip can be used to gently 'rub' the area.
- Infections
Infections can occur on the skin or around the eyes or mouth. Infections usually result from two separate issues, an abrasion or open wound caused by fighting or a bad shed/an unclean enclosure.
Immediately, clean the enclosure and sterilize the dishes and hide. Paper towel should be used as the substrate to allow for frequent changes.
If the infection does not improve within a day or two, or if the infection is significant when found, the animal should be taken to a vet where it may be treated with Neosporin or a culture may be taken.
- Loss of appetite
As mentioned in the Husbandry section, it is very common for a new gecko to refuse eating for the first few days in their new home. Monitor the new geckos' intake and, well, 'output'. Please see below if the poop does not look normal.
Geckos that have been kept for some time also reduce their feeding during certain times.
Determine if one of the following apply- winter months (temperatures have dropped), the animal is in shed (a day or two either prior or after), a female is ready to lay eggs.
Also, additional enclosure mates might be bullying the gecko in which case, it should be removed to its own enclosure.
If the gecko is not eating and it is not due to one of the above reasons, there may be an issue. Leopard or African Fat Tail geckos with healthy tails can go a significant period of time without food. However, this issue should be addressed as
soon as there a problem is determined to exist.
An alternative food source could be offered such as waxworms.
Also, manual feeding with a reptile syringe can be attempted.
As this is a difficult process even for the experienced keeper, it should only be done as a last resort.
It is better to feed several very small amounts than a few larger feedings. A type of slurry (mix of liquefied insects or CGD) can be used.
Begin by dabbing the thick liquid food on the gecko's nose. If this is not readily taken, feedings with the lizard syringe directed toward the side of the gecko's mouth may be necessary.
Again, this is a very difficult procedure and consultation with an expert should be made before attempting as damage can be done to the leopard's jaw if done incorrectly.
If the gecko does not resume its feeding, a vet should be consulted as there may be a disease issue.
- Smelly, Watery Poop
While new geckos may have loose feces the first or second time (and should always be monitored until solid feces is noticed), a long term established gecko that has stool that is runny, smelly, or is grey/green in color is very likely to have some type of disease.
The gecko will lose their appetite, will become less active, and may stay in their hides more often.
The gecko should be quarantined from other animals and a fresh sample should be collected and taken to a vet for analysis.
- Impaction
One of the dangers in keeping geckos over any substrate other than a bare tank or paper towel is the potential for the gecko to ingest substrate material that then becomes lodged in their stomach or digestive track.
This may also occur if too large of food is offered the gecko. When this first happens, the gecko may even pass some of the food or substrate in its feces.
To prevent this condition, only feed geckos foods no larger than the width of the gecko's head.
Also, leopard geckos sometimes take in small amounts of sand or substrate to provide its system with trace elements of nutrients such as calcium. A small dish of calcium in the leopard gecko's enclosure should minimize this.
If the gecko is impacted, it should be taken to the vet immediately as impaction will quickly result in the animal's death.
- Egg Bound
Egg binding occurs when females fail to pass one or both of their eggs. There are several reasons why this may happen, some relating to the female herself but others controllable by the keeper.
Make sure you always provide a moist content in a humid/lay box. Also, providing a calcium dish in the enclosure, especially while the female is in the lay season. This will help avoid calcium deficiencies.
An important method used to determine if the female might be egg bound, besides observation is thorough, accurate record keeping.
Anticipation of a female's egg laying schedule should result in heightened awareness of potential problems.
As this is a serious problem, the animal much be taken to a vet for observation. Intervention by the keeper is not recommended.
- MBD- Metabolic Bone Disease
MBD is caused by a deficiency in calcium and results in weakened or deformed bones. Animals will show signs of leg shaking while they walk or, in advanced cases, the inability to walk.
Another sign of MBD could be a deformation of the animal's jaw. If detected early enough, the effects of MBD can be stopped and even reversed.
Intermediate and advanced stages of MBD are, unfortunately, non-reversible
To avoid MBD, a schedule should be developed and practiced to provide the appropriate vitamins through dusting insects, including a dish of supplements in their enclosures for leopards and AFTs,
or feeding a completely balanced meal like CGD (crested gecko diet) for crested geckos.
- Floppy Tail
Floppy tail is most noticeable in crested geckos that tend to hand up-side-down on plants or the side of a glass aquarium allowing the tail to flop to one side or the other, or at a 90 degree angle to the body. There may also be a curve or kink at the tail base.
It is unknown today whether this is a generic flaw, calcium deficiency, or injury related. A gecko with a floppy tail should alert the keeper to a review of their vitamin and supplement use.
- Prolapse
Most often associated with situations when the male's reproductive organs (called hemipenes) stay outside the body, usually following mating, prolapse can be fatal if not quickly treated.
By soaking the area in a sugar and water solution, the tissues may retract back through the vent. If this does not resolve itself, the animal should be taken to a vet.
- Respiratory infections
Another health issue that is seen in leopard geckos is respiratory infection.
This can be caused by a prolonged exposure to too cool temperatures and too high humidity.
If the temperatures are too cool (less than 75 F or so), the gecko becomes more susceptible, raising the likelihood that they will get a respiratory infection.
Leopards that have the infection will show signs of listlessness, panting, possible weight loss, nasal discharge, and holding their mouth slightly open.
When diagnosed, it is important to raise the enclosure temperature to the mid 80s F.
- Cryptosporidium
Some of the first signs of the parasite infection Cryptosporidium are coughing and regurgitation of recently eaten food. Other symptoms such as weight loss, anorexia, lethargy, and diarrhea follow quickly.
A fresh fecal specimen can be provided to a vet for confirmation. Unfortunately, there is little that can be done to correct this.
It has been discussed that treatment with the medication paromomycin may reduce the parasites. The best course of action, similar to any disease, is quarantine for the animal.
An article that addresses preventative methods can be found at this link
- Entamoeba invadens
A problem that occurs occasionally in crested geckos is sudden appetite and weight lose.
This is very different than a crested gecko refusing to eat for 3 or 4 days. This is accompanied with significant weight loss in a very short time period.
Randy May, at Savage Digital has created an excellent document on Entamoeba invadens.
Article reproduced with permission from Mr. Randy May
Warning- a bit graphic
- Coccidia
Here is a link to an article specific to bearded dragons.
There are some excellent points dealing with managing sick animals in general as well as specific information on coccidia.
- Additional Articles
next topic- Color Morphs
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Copyright Walter Kern, Supreme Gecko ©2007
All images and text Copyright Supreme Gecko ©2007 unless otherwise noted
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