In an Odd Situation, I could use some advice here.

[brittany1289]

So, two weeks ago I woke up and looked in my crested gecko cage in the morning to spray them (I have two 3-4 year olds that I believe are females) and one of them was laying on the bottom of the cage looking really pale and kind of off. I touched it and it rolled over and was choking on some of the bark type bedding I had in the cage (weird because I have used this for 4 years of having them and it has never been a problem). There was a bunch of it lodged in its mouth and it looked like it was struggling. I picked it up and it wasnt trying to get away, which it would normally do. I tried to get all the debris out of its mouth but it was down in there so I brought it to the Animal Emergency Room in Milwaukee. They got everything out and he was still pretty weak from the whole ordeal so I have been hand feeding it and watering it and it has been improving. For the first week of recovery, it would not climb at all, it would just stay at the bottom not moving much, but ate when I fed it with a small syringe. Then it gradually I started seeing it at different parts of the cage floor and now it sometimes climbs on its fake branches but is still not sticking on the walls.

Over these 2 weeks of recovery its mouth was kind of droopy and I assumed that it was because it was sore or weak. Now, the past few days it has been constantly open. I took it out and looked, and in the right corner of its mouth there is a growth or something. I am thinking it could be an infection, scar tissue, or the bone sticking out from the Vet over-extending its jaw in removing the foreign bodies from its mouth. At first I thought it was dried up food, but when I tried to poke at it with tweezers, it didnt do much. I called the Animal Emergency Center and they werent much help unless I wanted to bring him in for another $100+ visit.

The thing is, I want to do the best for it because its my pet and I care about it a lot, but I cannot afford for anything extensive that will probably not help much. I don't know if its in pain, or what.

A side note: These geckos are just pets, I do not breed them or anything like that. I noticed on the day it was choking that there were 2 eggs in the cage (how I found out they were females)which had never happened before either. Could this have had something to do with it eating the bedding which had also never happened before??

I guess I have a couple questions for all you crested gecko lovers/owners..

1. Has any of yours ever eaten the bedding of the cage like this?
2. Do you have any advise for me in this situation?
3. Do you have any idea on what the problem is based on the photos attached? I took the pictures from the side with the growth, infection, or bone sticking out. It may be hard to see, but I could upload a better photo once I get my camera cord back next week.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Brittany & Maverick (name given prior to knowing it was a female gecko!)

[samanthajane13]

First of all, Welcome to Ciliatus...and your new addiction!!

Okay-now down to business...

1-NEVER put more than one gecko together in a tank unless you plan to breed!!  Besides having fighting between males, even females are known to bully each other, often to the detriment of of the smaller gecko.  On rare occasions, one will die.

PLEASE separate them!!  We don't like to hear of injury or starvation due to bullying!!  Even geckos are able to feel pain!!  They suffer when their needs aren't being met!

2-90% of us use paper toweling as a substrate rather than any kind of loose bedding...just for the reason you've found.  They ingest it!!

3-Your non-sticking gecko may need a bath to help it shed!  The best way to help is what we call a "gecko sauna".

You get a plastic container with a fitting lid, place a lukewarm, damp paper towel in the bottom, and fill it up with maybe 1/4 of an inch of lukewarm water.  Just enough for it to be soggy. 

Place your gecko inside for about 15 minutes.  When you take it out, take a look at the bottom of it's feet, and you may find them shedding.

4-how is the humidity in their tank??  A light misting twice a day will help then shed naturally, keeping non-sticky gecko's feet sticky again!!

5-Feed Repashy Crested Gecko Diet exclusively-except for occasional crickets, roaches, or soft-bodied worms like wax worms or phoenix worms.  Don't feed meal or super worms.  They lack nutrition, and are hard for them to digest.

6-You can find a regular reptile vet in YOUR area at the following sites-

www.herpvetconnection.com

http://www.arav.org

NOT ALL vets are created equal when it comes to reptiles!!  And a regular visit is MUCH less expensive than an ER visit!!

7-The gallery function of Ciliatus has had problems.  We recommend that you load your pictures to PhotoBucket.com and post the [IMG] link here.

8-The mouth problem could be many things, including mouth rot.  Best to let a vet check it out!

9-The eggs...that means that your "little girl" is growing up!!  Just like humans go through puberty and menstruation, geckos lay eggs even when they haven't mated.  That's an even better reason to separate them!!

Good luck with your little ones!!  They will be in my prayers!!

[brittany1289]

I know its not a shedding problem because she has shed twice since the incident, and both times I have had to help get the skin off. It is not a problem that its feet arent "sticky." Currently it is on its branch and when I take it out its feet are definitely "sticky". Now I do have them on paper towels. They are the same size and I have never witnessed or heard them "bullying" each other, and they are in a large enough cage for two geckos according to different crested gecko books I have read. Many days I see them "hanging out" together on the glass. And neither are short on food, they both have big appetites. But I will try separating them since I do have an extra tank on hand. I spray them at least twice a day, so humidity is not a problem.

I guess my only choice in this situation is to take her to the vet to figure out what the problem with the mouth is.

Thanks.

[samanthajane13]

Any time, hon!!

We're all here to learn from each other and help each other out!!

 

[Heather]

What is their normal diet? as mentioned it should be primarily CGD if the jaw is soft it can be a calcium problem. it takes a lot of extra calcium to produce eggs, so if the diet isn't balanced that could be contributing.

Also the gecko sauna has been known to help with impaction so I also recommend giving it a try.

Maverick may not be sticking because she's not recovered enough. As for humidity I find that having the terrarium too wet is just as problematic for shedding as not wet enough. I  provide a shallow water dish for backup hydration and mist once a day, in the evening when the geckos are more likely to be out and about so that they are more likely to drink the droplets.
At this juncture I see the "not sticking" as the least of your problems.

At least until recovery separate your girls, put them both on paper towel so that you can monitor how things are going with digestion. The enclosures should dry out between each misting (also easier to see with paper towel).
good luck!

[brittany1289]

The jaw is a result of the emergency room vet over extending its jaw and breaking it while removing the bedding from its mouth.

[crazytanak]

i use reptile "felt" for the substrate in cages for the tiny little geckos, once they get about 10 grams or so i use what is called plantation soil. Its sold by exo terra. it comes in a dry brick, then you soak it and it expands.

it is a great substrate for people who like the natural stuff (like me) but it is also very fine, kinda like potting soil, so if they do ingest some of it, it is very easy for the gecko to pass it.