Baby Leopard Gecko with Diarrhea

Question
QUESTION: Tracie,

Less than 48 hours ago, I bought a very skinny juvenile leopard gecko from a pet store.  His/her spine is showing and so I thought maybe there was just too much competition in the pet store tank.  The first night, I could not get the gecko to eat and it was lethargic.  The following morning, I saw a mostly undigested meal worm in the tank that looked much too big for this little guy/gal.  There were also spots of diarrhea and the tank.  After passing that meal worm, the gecko seemed more active then the day before and ate 3 or more pin crickets, and later that day, happily snarfed a wax worm.  While I know they aren't the best to be feeding my gecko, I wanted to bulk it up just a bit.  I woke up this morning to find more diarrhea on the paper towels.  Should I be concerned yet?

ANSWER: Hello Heather,

The gecko will most likely have a little bit of relocation stress going to a new home.  
What type of substrate was he on in the store, sand?  He could be impacted if he was kept on sand.
The best sources for them are mealworms, waxworms, & appropriately sized crickets. They can have smaller superworms, & dubias/roaches too.  
He also might have parasites if he was kept in a dirty tank.  
What you could do is to get some chicken, turkey or beef baby food to feed to him through a plastic dropper or syringe by dripping it onto the end of his nose.
Do you have any pictures of him?
Do you have an undertank heater being used 24/7 to help with digestion, along with an overhead basking bulb on the warm side on for part of the day too?
He does need a hot spot of around 88-90 with a cooler end of around 78-80 or so.

Let me know how he is doing.
Tracie

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


Latte_Close_Up   QUESTION: Tracie,

Thank you so much!  I do have a close up picture.  Please see the attached.  If you need any other pictures, please do not hesitate to ask me.  My gecko (Latte) is currently on paper towels, soon to be transferred over to reptile carpet, and was also on carpet in the store.  Latte has been resting on the under-tank heating pad since I got him/her and has not moved to the cool side of the tank.  I think that helped him/her pass that meal worm.  I currently have a heating lamp on during the day as well, and turn it off at night to simulate the cooler evenings.  Right now, the warm end of the tank is 88 degrees F.  This is only my second leopard gecko, and so I was really worried about parasites or whatever else this might be.  My other gecko, Lola, did not have these problems.  Speaking of Lola, she did not eat her shed skin last week, for the first time.  Is this okay?  Thank you so much for your help.  I've been so worried in this short amount of time since I brought Latte home.  Thank so so so much for your time and assistance!

Also, don't worry!  They will be kept in separate tanks until they are the same size and depending on gender!

-Heather

Answer
Hello Heather,

Wow, Latte is thin!  He is very pretty however.  
How is he doing today?  Yes, the undertank heater will help with digestion greatly for him.  
Ok, that temperature is fine right now.  Do you use a digital probe or a temp gun to measure with?  

Yes, sometimes, they don't eat their shed skin, but other times, they do.  I believe it depends upon whether or not they instinctively know if they need extra calcium or vitamins.  

Please keep me posted on Latte.  Try using some baby food for him, if he does not have enough of an appetite.  
Thanks for sending the picture over!

Tracie