my leo needs help STAT!!!

lovemyleo · #1 (**permalink**) 06-05-2002, 03:31 AM

I need help! My cat got a hold of my leopard geko this morning, and his tail detached. Any advise as to what I should do? I have only had him for 2 months so I don't know a lot still yet. I got on a good web site and it told me to wash his tail of all debris, lay down paper towels in his cage so no more sand would get in his open wound!! How long will it take for the tail to begin to grow back? Is there meds. I can put on it? Please tell me all you know! Also, I read that you need to dust your crickets noone told me this, is this absolutely required? B/c I feed Spike every day with just regular crickets from the fish supply store. Please give me advise now!!! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif[/img]
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Shrub · #2 (**permalink**) 06-05-2002, 04:07 AM

More people will come along later but I think you have a good start with the paper towells..I am pretty sure Neosporin is safe to use but other may say otherwise..just make sure to feed him as much as he will eat in 15 minutes to make sure he regrows his fat supply in his tail..if hes an adult try a pinkie every 2-3 weeks to fatten him back up..make sure you get safety clips for your tank so this never happens again and make sure to leave your herp room door closed while you are away. Good luck!

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Boaguy · #3 (**permalink**) 06-05-2002, 04:12 AM

Yes neosporin is great just make sure there is PAIN RELEVER KIND
just use plain old original neosporin..
and it wouldent hurt to bring him to a vet to get his tail checked out to make sure it dont get infected.. you can find local reptile vets at arav.org
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XzyluM · #4 (**permalink**) 06-05-2002, 04:24 AM

If I had read this right, you are supposed to dust the crickets in some time of vitamin powder to give them certain vitamins and stuff they need.
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lovemyleo · #5 (**permalink**) 06-05-2002, 04:26 AM

thanx a lot. i just don't want him to die because it is really my husband's geko, and it is my cat that did this to him and I feel terrible. Usually, he will eat his crickets as soon as they are put in the tank but toda\y he hasnt. Do you think maybe it is because his tail detached? [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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Boaguy · #6 (**permalink**) 06-05-2002, 04:38 AM

If he isnt eating i would deffidently bring him to the vet
and since it was the cat who got him its prolly more prone to getting infected.

You should dust the crickets everyother feeding with calcium powder and once a week with vitemens
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txgirl266 · #7 (**permalink**) 06-05-2002, 05:46 AM

I would think that he prolly isn't eating due to the stress involvedfrom losing his tail with the whole cat thing! I would take him in to a vet who handles and who has knowledge of reptiles! I would think that the kitty was just trying to play with the leo and in a defensive measure he dropped his tail.....I would say that as long as it doesn't get infected than he will prolly be OK but if you are in doubt and he just isn't acting normal to you then I would definently take him in!
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Seany · #8 (**permalink**) 06-05-2002, 05:48 AM

Hi. Sorry to hear about your gecko. A quick word of advice.
Seeing how Leopard Geckos are nocternal and do not use UV lighting to help brake down calcium and d3, I very strongly recomend a complete suplement like "reptical" a vitamin calcium suplement. you just add a bit of the powder to the crickets in the bag, give them a little shake to coat them and dump them in.
Especialy now as the calcium is crucial to the tail growing back. without enough calcium, he may get to weak during the healing process.
Sean
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Bry · #9 (**permalink**) 06-05-2002, 06:41 AM

I don't know how long it takes to grow back. Don't stress too much over the tail detachment. Geckos have detachable tails for this reason, so their bodies are prepared to deal w/ something like this should it ever happen. He probably isn't eating due to the stress, but like I said he's a gecko, he'll get over it. But, you can help him by dusting crickets w/ calcium 5-6 days a week and vitamins 1-2 days out of the week. They don't usually need so much, but they just lost a big source of stored nutrients with their tail, so you'll need to help them with this until the tail grows back. Otherwise, I'd go w/ the supplementing schedule that Boaguy mentioned earlier. Don't stress too much, he should start eating again soon. If not, then take him to the vet and see what they can do.

Bry
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faze · #10 (**permalink**) 06-05-2002, 07:16 AM

i have to agree with eveyrone here but watch out for infection i had a leo i rescued from a pet store a while back and a crustomer tore off his tail and led to infection which led to even more problems thankfully the pet store gave him to me and i got him medicated well ...basicly try to keep it clean so as to not cause a infection if he starts to get infected get him to a vet asap. he probably dropped his tail due to the fact he was scared they drop them to keep the enamys attention while they make a run for it (ie: wiggling tail) so hopefully he didnt even touch him [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] good luck!
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gecko_paws · #11 (**permalink**) 06-12-2002, 06:05 PM

My female leopard gecko lost her tail at about 5 months for no apparent reason. All I did was clean the wound and make sure it didn't become infected. Another thing I did was put only as much crickets as she'll eat in 15 minutes and never let them stay overnight because they tend to bite and smell the open wound and might cause harm to the leopard gecko. I usually don't dust my crickets, I gut load them with a calcuim supplement. Your leopard gecko is probably going to have a big appetite for a while until it gets it's tail back. Mine's did anyway. It took my leopard gecko about 2 months to get it's tail back.

Now it's this big huge bulbous thing that hangs off the back of my leopard gecko. Cool huh?
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geckoqueen · #12 (**permalink**) 06-19-2002, 07:11 PM

NEVER use Neosporin on a reptile. If I remember correctly, Neomycin is toxic to reptiles. I made that mistake years ago and the vet really let into me. I don't remember which antibiotic ointments are okay, but I would suggest you consult with a vet before ever applying anything to a reptile. Just my .02.

I hope the gecko is eating better. My leopards haven't lost their tails yet since I got them (knock on wood), but I keep all of my reptiles and arachnids in a separate room away from my cats. As much as I love my cats, I don't trust them as far as I can throw them. I accidently left two cats in the room for a few hours last month. They collapsed the lid on my baby rosy boa's cage. She was missing too. Fortunately I found her nearby in a bag of bedding without any teeth marks. I think that is because one of the cats was my Scottish fold, not known for his brilliance. I'm just glad they didn't get into the ackie's cage as they are my sister's lizards that she keeps at my place. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]

eddie · #13 (**permalink**) 06-19-2002, 07:30 PM

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> NEVER use Neosporin on a reptile. If I remember correctly, Neomycin is toxic to reptiles.</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

No it's not!
Neosporin has been used on reptiles for a # of years with NO ILL EFFECTS!

It was prolly neosporin with pain relief that you used , now it IS bad for reptiles.
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