Expert: Hannah Mulligan - 10/19/2006

Question
Dear sir/Madame,

First of all I apologize for the lengthy email, but I am trying to give as much details as possible about our pet geckos.  I am trying to find out some info about what could be wrong with our leopard gecko. Let me start from the beginning.  We got the geckos in March 2006.  They were babies and they were doing fine.  Last August we had to leave town for a month and a friend agreed to take care of them So we took them (in their own cage) to the friend’s house.  When we came back at the end of August we noticed they are very lethargic and do not look right.  The friend had fed them only wax worms, not crickets or anything else.  Even though they claim they dust them, but we have our doubts.   They did not seem hungry, so we figured maybe it is the change of environment.  After awhile we notice they are not eating at all.  They were sick and specially one of them was looking rather grim.  The other stated eating after a couple of weeks on her own.

Last month one of our geckos died and the symptoms were as follows:  
•   She had no appetite and refused to eat for a long time.
•   She was lethargic and started getting swollen feet one after the other and eventually it was very difficult to walk, but she would lick the solution we rubbed around her mouth and it was not hard to force feed her.
•   We were force feeding her the Flukers reptile food with a syringe.
•   She would not go to the bathroom, hence we could not do a fecal test.
•   She was however still fat and could slowly move.
•   We took her to a reptile vet (Or he claims he is one) that I found on the web site http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ and was nearest to us in Pleasanton, Ca.  Unfortunately, the vet was very rough and was very roughly handling her.  I just could tell that she was getting much stressed.  Even when he tried to force feed her some medicine she would not open her mouth.  So he forced it open after much struggle, which caused her much more stress.  
•   The vet told me he had no idea why the feet and joints are so swollen, but he gave her a shot of antibiotics or something like that.  
•   The poor gecko was nearly passed out and looked very very stressed out and died within 2 hours.


Our second gecko seemed to be doing fine until a week or so ago.  We noticed one of her feet is very swollen and the last few days the other leg is starting to swell up.  Actually, not the feet but the whole leg has swelled up.  She however eats well and moves around fine, but starting to limp on that swollen leg.  We have not seen anything else different in her, but I do not want her to die like the other.  Have you seen anything like it?  And if so can you give me any advice as what to do.  I am not sure if the vets around us have seen enough of these to be able to tell.  Also do you know a good vet around the bay area that I can trust and take her to?  

I appreciate all you time and assistance in advance and would be grateful for any response since my little boy is seriously upset about the loss of his pet.
Sincerely,

Nancy M.


Answer
I am sorry to hear about your gecko! I am assuming it is a leopard gecko, as they are the most common. It seems the vet had no idea what he was doing and overdosed her or something like that. Its possible that she had MBD, a condition caused from a lack of calcium. Were her joints deformed, or her jaw very flexible and almost rubbery? I am afraid I can not give any more insight as to what the problem is unless I have a picture of some kind. However, more importantly, I suggest you post around on herp forums to find a good vet. I am sorry I cannot be of more help.
-Hannah