african fat tailed leopard gecko

Question
QUESTION: My son got Lizzie from my aunt after our cousin was killed in a wreck so she is pretty special to us. I'm not completely sure how old she is, I'm guessing around 8 years. We are sure she is female. We looked up care for her and have all of the things we read she should have. She mainly eats super meal worms and crickets from Pet Smart.

The problem that is concerning me is that the fat part of her tail has shrunk. She recently shedded. Normally she gets all of the shed off of herself but this time she still has some on her feet and nearly all of it on her tail. It's flaking off but it's just not normal for her to leave it there. I have read that they live around 10 years and she really could be 10 or more.

I was hoping you could tell me if this sounds serious to you and what I should do. We are so afraid of losing her but the the vet is so expencive so we would like to avoid that if possible. We adore her so if we have to see the vet we will find a way.

Thank you for any help you can offer.

ANSWER: Hello DesiRae,

Oh i am very sorry about your cousin being killed, that is terrible.  I am sure that Lizzie is very special to you.  Wow, she is 8 years old huh, that is pretty good.
Do you have a moist humid hide/cave for her to help with shed?  They need some humidity to help reduce the chances of retaining shed.

What are the temperatures in the tank?  Can you post a picture of her for me?  Maybe post a picture of the tank, too?  
Is she eating anything right now?  
It just sounds like she is retaining the shed because she doesn't have enough humidity in the tank.  

Let me know how she is doing.

Tracie

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Lizzie   QUESTION: Thank you so much.

Yes we have a moist cave for her as well as a log hide. I'll post some pictures for her and her tank.

The temperatures in her tank rang from 78 to 90 most of the time. We do watch it though because it once got up to 99. We try to keep it as close to 85 as possible.

She has not been eating anything much lately but she has been drinking her water. She was just kind of laying there today but I guess being nocturnal that would be normal. She did get up and move a bit this evening but didn't want to eat.

Her shed seems to be coming off on it's own now. She was doing something odd this afternoon. She was in the corner of her tank with her head up on the glass almost like doing a back bend if you know what I mean. I know I'm not so good at explaining this. The main thing is she is just acting so differently and her tail is so thin where it used to be much fatter.

ANSWER: Hello DesiRae,

I can tell that the tail is thinner than what it should be.  I wonder if it is relocation stress perhaps.  If she is not eating much lately, I would get some chicken or turkey baby food or even beef baby food & try to get 1-2 mls into her at least several times a week to help get some weight on her.  Don't forget to add a little bit of calcium to the food also.  Lizzie is a pretty girl.
Great her shed is starting to come off.  Any extra stress may have prolonged the shed a little bit.  So, she was rubbing her head on the glass trying to get the shed skin off huh?  They can do some crazy things sometimes!
I hope that she will be ok.  

Let me know how she is doing.
Tracie

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QUESTION: Thank you so much Tracie!  I really thought she was dieing but after trying what you suggested for just 1 day she is almost completely back to normal! She is eating and moving around again as well as responding to us. She looks better too, he tail is still a bit thin but I would think that could take a few days.

I don't know what it was but she seems fine now. I was thinking, it might be strange but my son was away for a week and has now returned. I don't know if gecko's act the way some other pets do when their people are away but she's great now.

Thank you again!!

Answer
Hello DesiRae,

That is really great that Lizzie is so much better now, even though her tail is thin.  I think that you should be able to get some weight back on her pretty easily.
Hm, so you think perhaps she missed your son?  Yes, they do tend to become attached to one person more than another sometimes.  That is so very sweet!  :-))

Let me know if you need anything else!

Tracie