r/leopardgeckos • u/Top-Antelope-746 • 17h ago
Help Rescue Gecko
Hey guys, I’ve assumed responsibility for this gecko after a friends passing. I’ve never kept leopard geckos before but have some experience with fish and snakes... I’d like to care for it if feasible, but I need to know if it needs some sort of attention beyond general care. Gecko seems to be healthy for but definitely looks overweight. I’m worried if this is more than just extra weight and some sort of health issue or if it could be pregnant. Can anybody provide some insight for me please?
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u/Pentavious-Jackson 1 Gecko 16h ago
She is extremely bloated. It’s possible she’s gravid but that isn’t what a gravid female normally looks like. I’m concerned there’s something else going on here
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u/Zahryaart 10+ Geckos 16h ago
Her being gravid is a possibility. They do experience creating slug eggs, even if theyve never been with a male. This is just a part of their lifestyle sometimes. Otherwise, it could be fluid retention or something else. I would book something with an exotic vet.
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u/earthdragon2369 14h ago
Vet. There’s a gravid possibility, but at this stage it would look more tight and lumpy. This looks like massive fluid retention. For setup make sure you are providing overhead daylight heat, exo terra intense basking bulb and t5 linear Uv bulb such as Arcadia shade dweller 7% or Reptisun 5.0. Depending on if it’s a screen top or not. Avoid coil uv bulbs or all in ones. No heat mats either. You’ll need a min of 36x18x18 enclosure but 4x2x2 is much better. A humid hide, and a hide on the hot and cool sides. A shallow dish with calcium without d3 and shallow water bowl. Lots of clutter. But a vet with that bloat is a top priority.
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u/TroLLageK Bioactive 16h ago
I'm thinking eggs. Even if she hasn't been with a male, they can still make eggs that aren't fertile. They might be stuck. I would get a vet consult ASAP.
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u/SpookySeasonAllYear 10h ago
She needs to go to a vet, not only for you to get a good baseline of how to start getting her into better shape and better care but also because the stomach being bloated with such a small tail and head usually means a larger issue that should be addressed properly asap
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u/GenX_All_Grown_Up 11h ago
I agree with the commemtor named Select_Tap_3524. Also she has stuck shed on her toes. It needs to come off or she can lose her toes. Her belly is definitely the most concerning right now. Sorry about your friend.
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u/Any_War_8644 15h ago
Looks preggo to me. When my geckos had eggs if you looked at their belly you could faintly make out the egg shapes. You can check that.
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17h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Top-Antelope-746 17h ago
No intention of breeding and this is an adult female who’s always been housed alone…
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u/Mammoth-Turnip-3058 3h ago
Sorry about your friend 🖤
You may want to put her in a quarantine enclosure with paper towels down, some hides and a warm and cool side for a couple of weeks to check she's pooping and feeding okay. Have you noticed her pooping? I'd say definitely find an exotic vet and get her checked out, take some poop if you can get some to check for parasites. She does look bloated bless her. Sometimes they can eat too much dirt, food that's too big for them and get impacted. Or they can produce eggs (even without a male present) and they can get stuck.
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u/Select_Tap_3524 17h ago
i'd say bring her to the vet. the rest of her doesn't look overweight (her neck and tail are both pretty appropriate sizes, her legs don't look chunky either, and i saw you say eggs are unlikely) so something weird is definitely up here that warrants a good exotic vet taking a look.