African fat-tailed lizard sick

Question
QUESTION: Our African fat-tailed lizard hasn't been eating properly for over a month and not eating at all for a couple weeks. We've been force feeding it mealworms for 2 weeks. His tail is about pencil thin. He's about 2 yrs. old. In reading your answers to others, we are totally confused about proper lighting. We have a red heat bulb and recently the pet shop advised a fluorescent bulb. We are using a fish tank model fluoresent bulb. Now we read about the UVB/UBA. Is that in a fluorescent bulb? Or do we need 3 bulbs- UvB, fluorescent and heat? Is red or purple (black) heat bulb better? He may have mbd. His eyes aren't opening anymore.He still sheds and is active, however hasn't climbed high on wood branches in a couple days. What should we do? If he has MBD, is that curable? I read the one writer who said the vet recommended baby food mixed with Gatoraid and calcium. Do you recommend that? If so, what baby food. I have spend hours on line today to try to save the lizard and never dreamed I would ever force feed a lizard! Help a mom who is trying to save her son's lizard.

ANSWER:  First, I would get him to a good reptile veterinarian.  Have him checked for MBD and parasites.  Fishtank fluorescents just don't emit enough UVB, you need at least a Reptisun 10.0.  Frankly, I would consider a mercury vapor bulb for an animal with MBD, the UVB output is much stronger. that is unless the tank is small.  If the tank is smaller than a 40 gallon, stick to the Fluorescent.  What I need to know is what temps you are keeping him at and how are you measuring it, size of tank, substrate (what's on the bottom), to you keep a shallow dish of calcium available for him?  Humidity, doe he have a moist hide?  How often do you mist him?  has he perhaps retained a shed?
 If he doesn't have a vet, go to www.arav.org to find on near you.  He will diagnose the problem and have the best way to treat him, then we can perfect his habitat.
 Gerber "firsts" babyfood fruits would be a good choice as far as babyfood, I would also consider their sweet potato and butternut squash because those veggies are high in digestible calcium and are sweet tasting.

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QUESTION: follow up?: Our 10 gal. tank is 86 degrees w/a fishtank therm. and a 2nd stick on color guide therm. The bottom has a short-pile green mat carpet. We have calcium powder that we dip crickets or mealworms in but haven't heard about keeping it in a dish. Do we just dump the powder in a shallow bowl? We do spray H2O in tank a few x a day. I don't know what a moist hide is?? I give him water from a pipette w/calcium in it in case he's not currently drinking enough. I don't know what retained a shed means???
Please let me know these details. Thanks so much!

Answer
 Ok, your temp is fine if the thermometers are correct and unfortunately stick ons are very inaccurate, you are better of going to walmarts patio section and getting a digital thermometer with a probe, $10-12 bucks tops.  Substrate s good. Yup, a small shallow dish of calcium. they will lap it as they need it.  I'm going to give you a caresheet, now it's for a leo, but besides temperature, it's pretty much the same.  I chose this because the author shows you how to make a proper moist hide.  Most important is the vet visit and the proper UVB tube.

CARE FOR A LEOPARD GECKO
Leopards are pretty easy to care for but they do need
special care. Here are some of the basic needs of your
gecko.
HOUSING: The need to have at least a 20 gallon long tank for
one Leo. This needs to have a secure fitting screen top...they can be quite the escape artists!!! They need to have a humid hide box.You can make
this with something as simple as a small plastic dish with a
hole cut in one side and a small mesh bag filled with some
Sphagnum moss, coconut bark or Peat moss that you mist.
I made mine out of the small plastic Folgers coffee containers...I cut an opening in the lid..and put the moss in..they LOVE it. I use the terrarium moss in mine.
I use that on the warm side of the tank. Be sure to provide a cool hidebox on the other end. I also provide a mid temperature hide...which is in the middle of the tank.I use the critter caves which you can purchase. NOT the ones that have heat in them!!!!
Provide secure climbing areas for your gecko. Fake plants, rocks and branches are all fine to use. be sure there are no wires or sharp ends to any fake plants you use.

SUBSTRATE:(that's the stuff on the floor of your tank) News
paper, lizard carpet or paper towels work great and are easy
to clean and are much safer than any loose substrate. Sand or other loose substrate is not recommended as that they can be deadly to the leo when it is ingested(eaten, even by accident while eating their insects)...

TEMPERATURES: They need a warm area of 88-92 degrees and a
cooler area in the upper 70s, low 80s. At night their
temperature can drop to the low to mid 70's.
Never use a hot rock for a leopard gecko...or any reptile.
They can severely burn any reptile. You can use a heating
pad under the tank,under tank heater, or you can use a regular household
lightbulb in a dome fixture with a ceramic socket in it to
keep the warm area at the 88-90 degree area.At night, no white light. If room temperatures stay above 70 degrees, no extra night heat is needed. The undertank heater or heating pad should cover about 1/3 of the tank....be sure to raise the tank up about 1/4-1/2 inch off the stand when using an undertank heat source to prevent heat build up which can cause the glass to break and hot spots in the glass. Be sure to have a good layer of newspaper, carpeting or, even a thin flat rock(such as tile) on top the area that the undertank heat source is placed...if you use a thin rock or tile, it helps to distribute the heat very well.
You can use the special nighttime lights that are designed for reptiles. I like using a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat for nighttime heat.
DO NOT use black lights or party lights as they can cause eye damage!!!!
The wattage you use will vary based on room temperature and size of tank.
LIGHTING: Leopard geckos do not need UVB lighting but it does not hurt them to give them uvb. They should have some type of light during the day, be it a uvb tube, regular florescent light, reptile day light or regular household lightbulb. NO white lights at night!!!

FEEDING: Geckos should not be fed crickets or other insects that are bigger than the space between their eyes. Crickets and other food items such as silk worms, super, and an occasional treat of a wax worm, need to be dusted with a calcium supplement two times a week and also they should have a small dish of calcium in their tank. I use the lid of a milk jug for the little dish of calcium in their tank. For dusting the insects, Use a calcium with no added phosphorus. I use Rep Cal brand. The plain calcium for in the dish and I use the calcium with D3 to dust the insects.
Insects must be gut loaded(fed) for at least 48 hours prior to feeding your gecko. Remove any uneaten crix or superworms after 15-20 minutes..... Place a piece of cut potato in the tank so that if you have missed any uneaten insects, they will eat the potato instead of nibbling on your gecko!!!
You have to be sure to feed your crickets the right foods
before feeding them to your gecko. If your crickets/insects are not healthy and well fed, your gecko will not get the nutrition
he needs. You can gut load your crickets greens, veggies, cereals or specially designed commercial foods for crickets or the insects you are feeding.
Be sure to have a small dish of clean water for your gecko
at all times!!
You can offer them some baby food or fruits on occasion ...
Mine will even eat a small piece of watermelon now and then.
WATER: always provide a dish of drinking water. If you choose to mist your gecko to drink, its best to not get the tank too wet as that they do not do well with higher humidity. Sometimes its better to take your leo out of their tank to mist them to get them to drink!!! Above normal room humidity levels of 30-40% can cause breathing problems in the leos.
HANDLING: Some geckos enjoy being held...others prefer not to be handled at all. Be sure to be very gentle when holding your leo and NEVER grab them by the tail! Their tails are extremely fragile and will break.
I do suggest finding a vet that can treat reptiles BEFORE you actually need one!!! To find a vet that is able to care for reptiles:
http://www.anapsid.org/vets

For more information on leopard geckos:
http://www.thegeckospot.com/leocareindex2.html
http://www.drgecko.com