my geko is not eating

Question
QUESTION: hello,
my gecko is almost 6 months old and when i got her she used to eat 5 worms every two days.  then, a bump on one side of her mouth appeared and she stopped eating. she has lost a lot of weight and she is shading a lot, the skin from the eyes is really hard to take off, i have helped her to take off some but I'm afraid to hurt her.  i have started a liquid diet, some baby food( pumpkin ) with ensure and she is eating and drinking water, but she is so weak. is there something else i can do to help her more?

thank you so much!

eliana

ANSWER: Hello Eliana,

Good that you have already begun giving baby food, that will help her get some nutrition into her.  Are you adding a pinch of calcium in with the food, too?
What are the temperatures in her tank & what type of thermometer are you using to measure the temperatures?
Do you use an undertank heater in combination with a low wattage basking bulb?  She needs a basking temperature of around 88-90 with a cooler end of around 78-80 or so.  Do you have a moist humid hide/cave on her warm side, with some moss in there to help with humidity?  
The bump almost sounds like mouth rot or some type of infection.  Could a cricket or worm have bitten her?
Is her shedding not very good, or just her eyes?  Does she have an eye infection?  Is there any discharge from the eyes?  You can get some sterile saline solution to rinse the eyes out daily & try to bathe her to help with retained shedding as well.  If you feel that her eyes are getting infected you can consider getting some antibiotic eye ointment.  
I have an antibiotic eye ointment called Terramycin that I sell on my oneline reptile supply site, that is frequently used for eye infection in reptiles & chelonians.  If you want to take a look here is my site:
http://www.bug-de-lite.com/


Let me know how she is doing.

Tracie


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hello Tracy!
thank you for your answer. yesterday after reading some of the e-mails you have answered to other people i realized i need to have the temperature of the tank on 90, it was on 80. on the tank i have two thermometers that stick to the glass. one for the humidity it is right now on 40. is this ok? i already turn on the red lamp and I'm monitoring pata( this is my gecko's name) and keeping one side cool for her to go from one side to another.  the skin has almost come off her, but still thick around her eyes, i don't think she has an infection because is no discharge only thick skin.  can you tell me how do i bath her? i keep spraying her with water is this o.k? today i picked her up and very gently tried to removed it..it didn't come off. I'm afraid i can hurt her or worse damage an eye. i didn't know pata needs a moist humid hide/cave, can you please tell how do i do this?. she is only eating baby food and ensure, today i will stop at the pet store and buy minerals and vitamins...how long do you think i should keep feeding her food?
thank you so much for the information you are very kind and helpful!:)
eliana

Answer
Hello Eliana,

Well, those stick on type of thermometers are only good at measuring the ambient temperatures & humidity.  I recommend getting a digital probe to measure the warm end or basking area just to make sure it is not getting too hot.  The probe is placed on or around the basking area where the basking light shines down & she sits most to get an idea of the temperatures.
You can mist her yes.  Bathing is tricky, they tend not to like baths, but it may help.  Be very careful when trying to remove any shed skin from the eyes, so as not to tear the eye lid or the cornea area, etc.  
Yes, a moist humid hide/cave is extremely beneficial & she does need that to help with shed.  Just get a cave or a hide & some spaghmum moss to put in there & keep that moistened daily.  Place that on top of the undertank heater & on the warm side of the tank to help release moisture into the air.
Well, you will need to feed her until her appetite comes back.  You can slowly decrease the amount of baby food & ensure you are feeding her to see if her natural appetite comes back.  The calcium should be given 4-5 times per week & the vitamins once or twice a week until she is an adult then you can back down a little on those.
Pata is a great name.  :-))

Let me know how she is doing.

Tracie