2 year old leopard gecko wont eat

Question
QUESTION: My son has a 2 year old leopard gecko that has been losing weight for about a month.  It had a terrible shed, taking almost a month to do so, even with daily warm baths.  I do not see discharge from the eyes or mouth, but it's head now looks misshapen and it doesn't open it's eyes very much.  I have tried serving it large and small crickets and meal worms with no luck.  It seems somewhat interested in the meal worms, but only gets near them and then closes it's eyes again.  I fear we are running out of time.  There is another leopard gecko (same age) in the 20 gallon tank that is doing just fine.  Using calcium sand, calcium dusting the crickets, lighting and temperature seem to be to specifications.  Any ideas?  Thank you!

ANSWER: Hello Robin,

I think the main thing that could be going on is that he could be impacted from the calcium based sand.  I wish that stuff never would have been invented, it is so dangerous. It can be fatal.  The calcium based sand hardens like cement when it gets wet & it makes it extremely difficult to pass through the system.  Has he gone to the bathroom lately?  
You said the other gecko seems to be doing fine?
Sometimes one ingests it & another one doesn't, there is no reasoning behind it, just different reptiles do different things.  Do they get along?  
Are they a male & a female, two females, or two males?

What you will need to do is get some chicken, turkey or beef babyfood, mix some powdered calcium & vitamins in with it along with some water or pedialyte & either using a plastic syringe or a plastic dropper drip it onto his nose to get him to eat.  If he will not open his mouth, then you will need to get a swab & get his mouth open to get some food into him.  Maybe add a drop of mineral or olive oil in the case he is impacted.   

Just as a precaution, I would change out the sand & put in paper towels, carpet, ceramic tiles, or non adhesive shelf liner.  
What are the temperatures in the tank & do you use an undertank heater along with a basking bulb on one end of the tank?

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Thank you for your quick response, Tracie.  Interestingly, we just put the calcium sand into the tank one week ago.  Prior to that we used play sand for approx. 4 months and I thought this might have contributed to the poor shed and eating.  I don't know if he's gone to the bathroom lately as there are 2 in the tank; the other is a female.  I noticed a week ago he had poop "hanging on" for awhile and had a difficult time getting rid of it all.  The temp is 85 on the warm side, but I am going to go move the gauge down near the sand as I think it is too high in the tank.  We have an undertank heater, but have placed in on the lower side of the tank, not the bottom.  Yes, the basking lamp is on the same end, water dish on cool end, two hides.  I will try the babyfood method as you describe and will let you know how it turns out.  Thanks again!

Answer
Hello Robin,

Yes, the sand dries things out quite a bit.
Since you have a moist hide/cave being used, it needs to be set on top of the undertank heater to help with humidity in the hide/cave.
Ok, you will need to move the undertank heater underneath so that they have heat from underneath.  Make sure it is on low.  There needs to something in between the bottom of the tank & the heater.  Paper towels are good, felt is really great, also.  You can get different colors, too.  
I hope the babyfood will help him out.  That will give him some extra moisture that could help get things moving through him a little better.  If he gets a little more calcium in him, that could help too in case he is calcium deficient possibly.

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie