leopard gecko stopped using her bk feet...

Question
We cleaned out her cage a few days ago and all of a sudden 2 days ago she stopped using her bk feet.. not really eating or drinkn now... we have had her almost a yr.. have not had any problems with her at all so this was out of the blue.. it doesnt seem to be one bk foot it seems to be both.. one will not work and the next time we look the other isnt working.. she is just dragging them behind her....If u have any advise i would appreciate it..

Answer
Hi Mandy,

The first thing I would question would be her vitamin/mineral supplementation schedule. Calcium deficiency is one of the common causes of back leg paralysis in captive reptiles. Young animals need to have their insects dusted with a calcium and vitamin D3 supplement about 2 or 3 times per week due to the demands of their growing skeleton while adult animals usually need 1 or 2 dustings per week. The vitamin D3 helps the body to effectively absorb the calcium.  A deficiency causes the bones to soften and weaken resulting in spinal fractures or softening and/or pressure on the spinal cord. Intestinal impaction with loose particle substrate such as sand can also  result in hind leg weakness. A vet would really be your best option to diagnose (through X-ray) and treat either of those possibilities. In the meantime, if you feel this may be calcium related, I would suggest mixing a small pinch of calcium/vitamin D3 powder into a small portion of chicken baby food. If you dab some of this on her snout most leopards respond by licking it off which will also get some nutrition into her. You will need to carefully soak her in a little tepid water to make sure she stays hydrated as well or drip water over her snout. Soaking may also help her with her bowel movements which can also be affected in these situations. Obviously you will have to handle her very carefully during this time to prevent further damage.  
If you are seeing some movement in her back feet then it sounds like there is hope for recovery. Good luck with her.