Leopard Gecko sickly

Question
Hi,  We have a one year old leopard gecko female. She has been losing weight and is refusing to eat on her own.  She used to eat crickets and meal worms and her tail was really quite large and juicy, now she is skin and bones.  Her hind quarters are indented in and he tail is no larger than a piece of lead in a pencil.  I try and hydrate her every evening with a warm bath for as long as she will stay in there, usually about 15-30 minutes.  I feed her water and chicken/broth baby food from a syringe every night.  Her tank is about 72-75 degrees, if the thermometer is working properly.  She has a heating pad on one side under her water pool and a heat lamp over her piece of drift wood.  She does not bask any longer.  She seems to sit near her water pool on the heating pad area.  I really do not know what else to do for her other than to try and find a vet in the area.  Any other suggestions that I may need to do before attempting to find a vet?

Thanks
Pennie


Answer
Hi Pennie, I have provided a couple links to help you locate a vet in your area that will see reptiles, as well as a comprehensive care site on leos. I would strongly encourage you to have a faecal test done on her, which would not be overly expensive. Even captive bred leos are prone to a number of intestinal parasites resulting in weight loss and inappetance.
I also wanted to go over some husbandry topics. There seems to be a problem with the measurement or the provision of heat or both. The temp. of 72 -75F that you gave is far too low for her metabolism to function properly *but* you have two heat sources so I also suspect the functioning or placement of your thermometer may be wrong. Leos need an area of the tank to reach 85 - 90 F, they also need a cooler end in the 70'sF to move to. That is the temperature gradient they require to regulate their own body temperature. Normally, an undertank heater or a basking bulb on one end of the enclosure should be sufficient. You really should not require both and run the risk of over heating the enclosure and losing the  proper temp. gradient. Place your thermometer right on the substrate where your leo will be to get the right reading. The stick-on type strip thermometers are too far away from the heat source for an accurate measurement and are also influenced by the glass temperature. I tend to favour undertank heaters,for leos. They are safer and use less wattage then a bulb. Leos are also nocturnal, so basking under a light (especially a bright one) is really not natural behaviour for them. Give her a hide shelter in both the cool and warm end of the tank. I would also move the water bowl to the cool end. Warm water invites bacterial growth.
You are obviously investing a lot of time and effort in her care and she is still a very young animal, I hope the vet is able to help you with her recovery. Good luck.  


http://www.arav.org/Directory.htm

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

http://www.drgecko.com/index.html