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I'm panicking. Any leo advice/support?

589 views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Fatally_Blonde 
#1 ·
Long story short, my lovely 7-year-old Leo got sick at the start of September. He ended up with quite sore eyes that he wouldn't open for long, and a lymph node infection.

He had antibiotics and painkillers every other day throughout September. He was 90g when we went to the vet on 1st Sept. He did not enjoy antibiotics (he's had them once before and hated them just as much that time).

He's been off antibiotics since the start of October. He's much more active now, and his eyes are open all the time again. His infection appears to have completely cleared up. He hasn't eaten since the start of this, though.

Two weeks ago, he was 88g. Yesterday he was 86g. He's not interested in anything...he ignores crickets, waxworms, mealworms. I've tried critical care, about 20ml twice, but he hates that too.

At the start of the week, I bought a red basking light incase the air temp was getting a bit low on his hot side. Floor temp is around 32 degrees. I'm not sure he likes the light...he tends to spend longer on his cold side if it's on, he even slept in his cold house last night.

I've got turkey babyfood but I can see him turning his nose up at that.

The vet isn't keen on admitting him, because she thinks he is happier with me. He's usually very tame and friendly, and she thinks being at the vets may stress him out a lot.

Any advice on what I can do? I'm so worried about him.
 
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#2 ·
I think your vet is right, the stress is allot for him to take on, and being forced to take meds isn't nice for such a tiny creature, just make sure he has access to food (force feeding should be absolute last resort), and give him some time :) i'm sure he'll get his confidence back eventually

if the red lamp has changed his behaviour and he's not eating so much, then I would leave it off, i don't expect he needs it, esp as he is using his cool hide allot
 
#3 · (Edited)
Stress does make them loose their appetites. Fortunately, a healthy adult should have a nice fat tail, which they will draw off of during times where they are not eating. It's very scary, but nature equipped these guys with a perfect mechanism for going quite long periods of time without eating. I would continue following the vets advice, but don't worry too much if he takes a while to recover an be interested in eating again.

My leo got a sand impaction many years ago as a juvenile. He lost a great deal of weight and his tail got very thin during the treatment and healing process. If I remember correctly, it took him about 6 weeks before he wanted to start eating again AFTER 6 or so weeks of not eating because of the impaction (there was a small amount of some kind of liquid nutrition the vet gave to be syringe fed with the medication used to clear the impaction). He did not eat anything solid for over 12 weeks. It did stunt his growth so he is small for an adult male, but he is now 19 y/o, so the period of illness, stress and being very thin did not impact his life as a whole negatively! I would imagine a healthy adult would recover fully and have absolutely no lasting effects from this.
 
#4 ·
Was he given any sort of probiotic (or something like that)? I've read a few times now that antibiotics can lessen their appetite, and probiotics either during or after treatment can help with that. I believe it's avipro that's advised for reptiles, might be worth talking to your vet about.
 
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#5 ·
I had a leo that had to be treated with antibiotics and subsequently went off his food. He had recovered from the original problem but nothing I tried would make him start eating. Unfortunately I eventually lost him. The second time I had to go through this, I left the leo well alone - no handling, nothing. I offered food every few days in a bowl and removed it if she wasn't interested (following morning). after a couple of weeks she decided she was hungry and started eating with no intervention.

I am not saying this would be the same with every other leo, but defo worth considering that sometimes, less is more. Offering avipro or similar in the water is definitely a good idea though.
 
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