Leopard Gecko concerns

Question

Kobi  
Kobi's Eye   QUESTION: Hi, I have an almost 1 year old male leopard gecko named Kobi. I have two main concerns about him, and I was just looking for an opinion on what I should do. So first of all, he is kind of thin. He usually eats every other night and eats 2-6 mealworms and 2-6 waxworms. I know you should not feed waxworms regularly but I am trying to fatten him up, and he sometimes has trouble eating mealworms because they are slippery. I usually feed him as many mealworms as he can eat, and then when he starts not being able to grab them I start using waxworms. He can't catch crickets, and I can't figure out how to tear the back legs off of them, so that is not really a good option. I just don't know why he is getting thin. Ok, secondly, I am a little concerned about his eye. He seems to not be able to see out of it too well, and parts of it are slightly cloudy. It also has a little tear in the upper eyelid. The other eye is perfectly fine. This is not a big concern, and it doesn't seem to be getting worse, I was just wondering what this could be. That's all, thanks!

ANSWER: Hello Cameron,

Kobi is very pretty!  
He doesn't look too bad though & his appetite seems good up until now anyway.  
If he is losing weight, he may have worms or parasites which can cause weight loss.  
You could get a fecal done to see if that might be the culprit.  
You can try feeding him some baby food too, if he is not eating very well, too.  
The crickets are easy to get the back legs off.  Just gently apply pressure to the
top portion of the back leg & usually the legs just come off.  Or you could put the
crickets into the fridge for a few minutes to slow them down.  
Are you coating the feeders with calcium several times a week as well?
Did he have retained skin over his eye or his eye caps retained at some point in time?
Do you have a warm moist hide/cave in his tank for him to help with shedding?
What are his temperatures in the tank on the warm side?  Do you use an undertank heater
along with a low wattage basking light?

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Is there a different way to test for parasites or worms? Im not sure my mom would be up for taking Kobi to a vet. I have not been coating the feeders because for about a month around September, we couldnt get him to eat at all, and when he started eating again I was just focused on getting food in him, and I kind of forgot about dusting them. I will start doing that again. (BTW, he didnt lose any weight when he wasnt eating in September) I do use an undertank heater and and a basking light during the day, and at night I just use the under tank heater. I don't think he has ever had unshedded skin stuck in his eye.

ANSWER: Hello Cameron,

There really isn't another way to test for parasites or worms other than buying your own fecal do it yourself kit for home use, along with a microscope.  Then you can learn about that & do your own fecals.
How is his eye?
The dusting for calcium is important unless he takes in a good amount of calcium from a dish in his tank.  
Has he eaten in the last few days I hope?  
Is his weight holding up still?  If he is not losing weight, then hopefully it is not worms or parasites.  As a preventative, you could deworm him to see if that may help out.  If you decide to do that, I can help with dosing on the Panacur or Beaphar dewormer if you are in the UK.

Let me know how he is doing.
Tracie

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

QUESTION: His eye is fine, and I will start dusting the feeders. He is still eating normal and weight is staying the same. I got some crickets and I am going to try to feed them to him. What is deworming?

Answer
Hello Cameron,

That is great his eye is doing better.
At least his weight is staying the same & he is not losing any weight.  
I hope that he likes his crickets!  
Deworming is just giving him medication to help kill/rid the worms.  

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie