Juv. Panther gecko soft and twisted legs.

Question
QUESTION: I rescued a panther gecko two days ago. He was/is really thin and uncoordinated.  He legs were all curled up for want of a better description.  I immediately gave him a meal (tiny cricket) and this seemed to help.  I understand about the calcium and vit - D, but I have never owned a lizard before never mind nursed one back to health.  He seems to be improving, he is stronger  and is starting to lick.  How much should I feed him and how often, he is not quick enough to catch crickets yet and will his legs go back to normal?  He is about 2 1/2 inches long, I am feeding crickets.  I am heating using a heat lamp and temp. is as recommended.  I am unsure as to his age.  I would be grateful for any help and advice.

ANSWER: Hello Claire, this gecko seems to have MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease) Which is similar to Osteoporosis in humans. It is a calcium deficiency and will cause soft bones, nobs in the bones, and the twisted legs. It can cause the legs or toes to face wrong ways or just contort awkwardly.  It can be fatal if not caught early enough so a vet is the best for him right now. Be sure he has UVB rays and you need to supply him with the calcium and other supplements for him to get better. This is a common disease and kills too many captive reptile that were not taken care of correctly. Food is good, be sure the food items are no bigger then the space between his eyes. He needs to be fed everyday and as many crickets as he can eat in a 10 minute period. Just keep putting them in there 2 at a time until he is no longer going after them. If he can not catch the crickets then you can pull their back legs off to make them slower or stick them in the freezer (in a container of course) for a few minutes. This will put the crickets into a hibernation type of state and they will be sluggish and slow. Be sure to buy some gut load (cricket food) it is packed with calcium and is usually in a powder form. Feed it to the crickets and they will be much healthier for the gecko.

I am not an expert on MBD and have had no medical training so I am not sure if it can be corrected without veterinarian care or not but I wouldnt chance it. Because it is a calcium defficiency I would supplement his food with a calcium powder or look for "liquid calcium" its sold in most pet stores as well and usually the instructions say "use one drop" so I wouldnt go over that amount. Dont over do the calcium as it can also be dangerous to have too much.

I hope its nothing serious and if there is anything else I can help you with let me know. Good luck to you and your gecko.

http://www.herpvetconnections.com



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QUESTION: Thank you I understood everything you wrote.  I am having problems finding a lizard friendly vet but all the advice I recived from them today fits yours.  My big concern is that he is not strong enough to catch the crickets so I did as you suggested but his co-ordination is so bad that he could only circle it and couldn't get close.  I left it like that for a good while but he just couldn't get it.  When I moved it to him I think he got scared, being just a young one, moved away, and the whole thing started again.  I know he needs to eat especially in his condition.  Any suggestions.

Answer
Your welcome Claire, and yes I do have another idea on how to get him to start eating. This may sound gross but it works and there is another option so dont get scared yet. Get some crickets and blend them up into a mush use a plastic syringe like the ones used for giving babies medicine. Fill it with the crickets and gently set it in his mouth and very slowly and gently "bottle" feed him that way. If you cant find a plastic syringe or dont want to use one for whatever reason you could just put the mush on your finger and hand feed him that way.

-other option if blending crickets doesn't sound fun. Baby food, yep that mushy stuff you give to babies. It has to be Chicken kind no vegetable chicken or potato chicken or even chicken gravy and chicken. If possible JUST chicken. If there is no just chicken then look for sweet potato and chicken. If there is none of that try to get whatever you can with chicken and the least amount of added ingredients and all natural none of the "onion powder" or "cornstarch". Do the same with the baby food either on your finger or in the syringe. The chicken is ok for him and will help put nutrients back in his diet. This is a vet recommended way of feeding not eating reptiles so its ok. I have used this before on one of my geckos who had refused to eat because of stress from a tail loss.

You could also try to hand feed as you said and even though he is scared keep trying very slowly and gently.

Good luck, and I really hope he gets through this. Let me know how it goes.
Yexalen