AboutMick Expertise NO PRIVATE QUESTIONS! READ MY INSTRUCTIONS IN FULL WHEN YOU SELECT TO ASK ME A QUESTION! I WILL NOT BE ADVISING PEOPLE ON HOW TO TREAT EMERGENCY HEALTH PROBLEMS ANYMORE, WHERE YOU SHOULD OBVIOUSLY SEE A VET, EXCEPT FOR IMMEDIATE NECESSARY LIFE SAVING PROCEDURES OR TEMPORARY MEASURES UNTIL YOU SEE A VET. I AM NOT HERE TO HELP YOU AVOID A VET BILL!. I can answer questions related to various aspects of reptile husbandry, field ID (esp. in Texas and the SW), legal aspects, and intermediate level medical care on most species. I am a co-founder of Wichita Falls Reptile Rescue (TX), founding member of The Society for Horned Lizard Preservation, a member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Assoc, and a subscriber to the International Veterinary Information Service. I do most of my own veterinary care in-house. I am most experienced in Chelonia (turtles&torts) with box turtles and common smaller tortoises; and in Squamata (lizards & snakes) with everything from Anoles, Geckos, Beardies, and Monitors, to venomous snakes. I am most known for my expertise with horned lizards (Phrynosoma). With snakes, my primary expertise is in Crotalids (rattlesnakes), but I can answer a broad range of questions about various species. I am not aware of any reptile related question, in general, that I would not be able to provide some reasonable answer for. I have a direct style and may tell you something you did not want to hear; but the welfare of the animal comes first with me, and I will always reflect that position in my answer.
Experience
I am a non-academic herpetologist with 24 years experience with reptiles. I am a reptile rescuer and subscriber to the International Veterinary Information Service. I have medical and scientific resources available, and have had to learn herp medical care over the years. I am not a vet, but I read from the same materials and have had to correct a few in the past. The average vet is not well versed with reptile anatomy and physiology.
I have a yahoogroup dedicated to the conservation and husbandry of Horned Lizards. My specific area of expertise is in Chelonians ( primary- Box Turtles ), Phrynosoma ( Horned Lizards ), and Crotalids ( primary- Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes ); though I have some experience also with aquatic turtles, tortoises, monitors, many other smaller lizards, and colubrid snakes.
I am currently the caretaker of 14 Horned Lizards, 17 Box Turtles, 3 Red Eared Sliders, 1 Green Iguana, 2 Texas Spiny Lizards, 1 Bullsnake, 2 Checkered Gartersnakes, 2 Eastern Ratsnakes, 1 Albino Great Plains Ratsnake, 2 Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes, 1 Leopard Gecko, 2 River Cooters, 3 Fox Squirrels, 5 Pocket mice, and 1 Budgie. Previously: Leopard Geckos, Golden Gecko, African White-Spotted Wall Gecko, Mediterranean Geckos, Bahama Anoles, Ca. Kingsnake, Brazilian Rainbow Boa, Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes, Russian Tortoise, Savannah Monitor, and Eastern Cotton-tail rabbits.
Organizations
Co-Founder: Wichita Falls Reptile Rescue http://wichitafallsreptilerescue.webs.com Founder: Horned Lizards YahooGroup http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hornedlizards Member: National Wildlife Rehabilitators Assoc.
Founding Member: The Society for Horned Lizard Preservation
Publications The Horned Lizard Husbandry Manual - self published 40 pages of care information on genus Phrynosoma.
Wikipedia entry "Horned Lizards" - contributed to a majority of the content.
Education/Credentials 24 years of field and captive experience. In my book, that beats a PhD any day of the week. I was hands-on with venomous snakes before some of the formally educated "experts" in the herpetology field even knew what their undergraduate degree plan would be.
Past/Present Clients I was requested to provide my care manual on the Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos), for the Montreal zoo. My manual is also used by the Ft. Worth and Nashville zoos.
Question My Leopard gecko is about a year old and male . For a while he was shedding alot more than usual , but I thought it was just because he was maturing. But for about a week or two he hasn't been eating. When ever I give him something to eat like a wax worm or cricket he always turns the other way. What we thought may have been the problem was that maybe he wasn't warm enough. Our heat lamp had burnt out , so we got a heating pad. Just this week we bought another heating lamp but he still isn't eating. Then I thought maybe I was feeding him too many wax worms , because apparently they are very fatty and can hurt a leo's liver. Though I'm not sure , his tail still looks plump enough but he looks like his belly is getting a bit skinnier. What has bothered me , that might be the problem , is his droppings. His droppings sometimes are yellow or I can see an undigested worm in it. Could he have swallowed some sand? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! IM SO UPSET! I don't want him to die! I love him so much , he's my first reptile I've ever had , and he was a graduation present. Please help me. I don't want to loose him.
I swear. With all the "I love my pet, please do something!" and your first reaction is to come to a website and wait on an answer rather than go to a vet!?
Sounds like he is having renal failure. That's what the excessive shedding and problems with the stool/urates often means. You might have also exposed him tot he wrong kind of lighting that is harming him, or he got an excessive dose of vitamin A and his skin is sloughing off. It could also be MBD. At any rate, this animal is in critical condition, and in renal failure I am quite sure, and it WILL NOT SURVIVE WITHOUT THE INTERVENTION OF A VETERINARIAN!
