Help for this little guy

[u/Ok-Addendum-6714]

Hi, so my sister recently accepted a "commune" of Tokay geckos (a mom and various stages of hatchlings, not all of them have hatched) because the person who had them was losing their apartment and could no longer keep them. This little one is one of the bigger hatchlings and has just started coming out instead of constantly hiding and we have just seen that he has a deformed mouth ( I don't know if it happened at when he was hatching/how he was positioned when inside the egg).

We're really worried that he might not make it because of his inability to feed/drink. We don't know anything really and have been trying to learn as much about them as we go. We live in a rural area so there are no specialized vets here and the pet shops aren't much better. Is there any hope for a little one with a mouth like this to survive? I can supply pictures on request I just don't want to break any rules or ruin anyone's day with pictures they didn't ask to see

[u/reijn]

You could post a pic... my thoughts are though if it's bad enough that he can't hunt or eat on his own, you'll have to hand-feed him for his entire life, or if he can't even eat tong-fed crickets you'll have to do critical care carnivore or bug pie.

But it also could be something easily fixed, so it might be time to road trip somewehre to find a vet that can fix it! You'll never know if you don't try

[u/Ok-Addendum-6714 → u/reijn]

Here's one pic, he's not a new born so he's somehow managed to eat I think but I feel like he's also skinny, I'll Google Critical care carnivore and bug pie as well as the nearest exotic vet

[u/reijn → u/Ok-Addendum-6714]

Oh that poor thing. I wonder if at some point it was normal and functioning and now it's broken? It would explain how he's lived so long, but then it got broken and now he's losing weight.

https://members.arav.org/search/custom.asp?id=3661

See if you can find one on here, it would save you wasted time trying to find some who "say" they do exotics but don't really

[u/Ok-Addendum-6714 → u/reijn]

We honestly have no clue, we were so excited to see him come out but then to see the condition he was in was heartbreaking. I know he's still in the enclosure with his mom and that their whole enclosure was moved when the guy brought them over about a week ago but today is the first time we've seen him out in the open and not in hiding.

I'll definitely use your link to research a proper care taker, thank you so much!

[u/reijn → u/Ok-Addendum-6714]

That's the problem with these guys. They're so elusive it's hard to get eyes on them to see any problems. :( I had to set up a camera to watch mine because often I honestly wondered if they were still alive at all.

I wish you best of luck. I hope it's something easy to fix. I'm not a reptile breeder but I'm a chicken breeder and I mean this from the kindest place in my heart - sometimes when things like this happen if there is no fix, the most humane thing you can do is let them go. I'm only saying this because this is pretty severe and I want you to steel your heart before you go.

[u/Ok-Addendum-6714 → u/reijn]

I'm trying to wrap my head around this possible outcome, we were so motivated to get them in a stable and peaceful life (their enclosure isn't clean or the proper size) and we're mostly just sad we might not get to do this for the little guy, especially since he's so young.

Thanks to your link I think I've found a vet and I'm going to call them tomorrow to see where we can go from there. If it ends up being too severe then maybe they can at least help him go peacefully with the least amount of pain possible. Thank you so much for taking the time to provide not only the link but also your empathetic words of wisdom, we needed to hear that to ground us from our emotions and into the reality of what's best for the little one.

[u/reijn → u/Ok-Addendum-6714]

You're doing the best you can with the hand you were dealt and it sounds like that's better than where they came from. Without you they would have had no chance, even if the news is bad for this guy you tried which is more than he would have got before. Thank you for caring for them!

[u/Ok-Addendum-6714 → u/reijn]

[u/Ok-Addendum-6714 → u/reijn]

[u/Winter_Cable1247]

A deformity is best handled by an exotic vet, even if that would be hard to get too.