Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

Ziglet · I've settled in... Joined: 04 Mar 2007 Posts: 30

hi, i have an emergency, i bought 4 leo geckos, 2 normal and 2 high yellow, but they have started to fit, severe twitching in all limbs and tail as if having a convulsion.

Does any one know what has caused this and how it can be prevented?

ziglet
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Regards

Lou

Ace · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 5:01 pm Post subject:

sounds like a calcium crash or in vet speak "acute hypocalceamia" its caused by not enough calcium in their bloodstream to maintain normal muscle movement. without this readily available calcium they cannot control muscular contractions and therefore fit. although this is caused by calcium like metabolic bone disease the symptoms are different and that's what throws a lot of people. of course there could be many other causes for this such as various protozoan parasites or even a temperature spike which can induce a stroke. however these are less likely that the first scenario. a calcium crash is a rapid killer so i would suggest an immediate trip to the vets. a product by vet ark called "zol-cal D" which is water soluble calcium which can be diluted in a little water and syringe fed to them or used undiluted in the same manner is a usual and effective treatment if caught early enough. without knowing the weights of these geckos i wouldn't want to suggest an amount (I'm not a vet anyway). the usual causes of a calcium crash are still not fully understood but generally speaking its most likely to happen in a female gecko that has just laid eggs or just about to lay eggs. it can happen in young geckos too as they are growing but the slower form of hypocalcaemia i mentioned earlier (MBD) is more likely in this case.

hope some of this may be of help.

cheers, will
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61 and counting

Cleef · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 5:04 pm Post subject:

edit: ace has a better idea than me I think, read above
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Steve P

Exalted Gecko · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:02 pm Post subject:

Yes where ever you get them from hasn't been offering enough calcium and general vits/mins dusted food. Ace has the right of it, you could certainly try offering something like wax worms covered in pure calcium and pure vitamin dust. They are likely to eat them and thus help alleviate the symptoms till you can get them to a vet.
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Kind Regards,

Chris