I have previously posted on here about my hatchling gecko I bought from a local store (small pet store, not a chain - still bad I know) In February and I was worried about his weight and a possible URI.
I went to the vet and was prescribed to give him shots, I have not be able to fully administer them because he absolutely freaks out and it is near impossible to get him poked since he is SO small and sadly skinny. I was able to give him shots 4 times in 72 hour increments. Reason why I worried about a URI was he made a clicking noise each breath he would exhale after eating food, not a licking noise. This issue is now gone, but another has arose.
I noticed a while back he had swelling at his cloaca, I was concerned and moved him to a hospital tank set up with paper towels to monitor his poops. Swelling got worse and I noticed a tiny black spec around the vent almost like a scab or what I was thinking a prolapse but I never saw anything sticking out, I started soaking him for 15 minutes each day until he eventually pooped and white material around the vent was chunking off (I kept soaking). He pooped the next day and the white stuff was gone, I am pretty sure he had an impacted urate. His cloaca is still swollen, not red, and he is passing poops and urates daily or every other day, I am watching him poop most times. My issue is that he has the swelling, but he is still extremely skinny, skinnier than he ever has been and it scares me. His skull is sunken in, his spine shows, etc. BUT he eats, I make sure he is eating everyday.
I am worried he somehow has a parasite? I am going to call the store I got him from and ask about it. In the 2 and a half months I’ve had him I’ve gone through so many issues that I haven’t experienced before in other reptiles (store bought reptiles are not good, I understand). I will note he has never eaten an insect for me, and hasn’t been exposed to any other reptile since I’ve owned him.
Regarding the cloacal swelling, I feel that I will be prescribed another round of antibiotics by my vet but it is next to impossible to inject him, he now freaks out when I attempt to, jumps, and tries to bite at the injection site. I feel so bad that I am traumatizing this little baby, he is now so weird about touch so I barely interact with him unless I feed him to limit stress.
I have a picture of a poop, sadly it landed right in a puddle of water so it’s extra watery looking. I also am not sure if it’s a shed poop either because it has a grey tinge, it’s been hard for me to find gecko poop pics.
Any advice would be appreciated. I feel so bad for my little Lenny, my other gecko is thriving and doing well and I hate seeing him being so skinny:(