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Q:
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Leopard Gecko Fecal Help
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In Relation To:
Leopard Gecko
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I have a leopard gecko that i have talked about here before. He has been extremely healthy except for one thing... his poop. Ever since i had him(about 4 months), he has always had a smelly poop with a little bit of wet urate around it. I asked the previous owner (who had him since december of 2014) and they said since the day they got him, his poop was like this. I asked around at petstores, vets, and rescues. From it i gethered this "check list" of causes:
Wrong Heating - My heating is optimal and is checked 6 times a day for obsurities
Parasites - My gecko has had this poop for almost 7 months and if parasites he would have other symptoms
Mealworm Only Diet - I have been feeding mealworms only for 3 months simply because it was impossible to go to the petstore every day. I also saw many breeders and even had a cet say it was ok to use as a diet
SO... does anyone know of any other reasons for the smelly poop? Also on the subject of tank cleaning... Here is my cleaning schedule:
Once a Week : Change substrate and scu=rub tank with warm water
Once a Month : Place tank in bathtub and clean out with antibacterial soap. (This normally takes 3 hours because half the time is getting rid of soap on tank)
Does anyone know any easier way to clean?? I heard of sing a listerine(alchohol free) and water mix? I need an DIY methid because no stores near me carry Wipe Out.
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Assisted Answer
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6/19/2014 12:20:15 AM
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Sonja K. Reptiles
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Are the mealworms gut loaded or just as is - the refrigerated variety?
Is there any variety to the diet or just the mealworms? I imagine for short term or as a back up mealworms may be okay, but I think that would be for all.
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Author Comment
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6/19/2014 12:23:19 AM
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ReptileKid125
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The mealworms are from the fridge they are vita bugs and are suppoedly "gut loaded" . I dust his food eith a daily supplement and only feed mealworms because A) i have noweher to store crickets and B) he never ate crickets even when given them exclusivley.
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Member Comment
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6/19/2014 12:27:57 AM
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Author Comment
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6/19/2014 12:32:37 AM
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ReptileKid125
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The stores near me do not sell dubias and i currently cannot keep a colony.
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Member Comment
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6/19/2014 2:50:04 AM
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shellboa
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Have you tried offering him a pinky mouse or other types of worms (most petcos carry wax worms and occasionally phoenix worms) I also recommend using a supplement in addition to what ever you have been using and more frequently (I prefer minerall)
Regarding the cleaning, I use the diluted Listerene and like it for in between deep clean cleaning. You might also look inot either the f-10 or nolvasan for deep cleaning. Neither is difficult to get (mail order) and rinse away easily.
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Author Comment
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6/19/2014 11:26:11 AM
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ReptileKid125
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Once again, the stores near me don't sell alot of food types. They say they have "a problem with the suplier" but i dont buy it. They havent had superworms in over 6 months, they also rarely have wax worm Either way, i really need to know if his poop is ok or not.
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Member Comment
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6/19/2014 11:40:54 AM
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Sonja K. Reptiles
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You may have to turn to online for food for him.
I would imagine having a fecal done at a vet would be the first thing to do - if for nothing else but to rule some things out. Do you have other geckos being fed the same and their poop is not the same?
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Author Comment
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6/19/2014 2:12:09 PM
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ReptileKid125
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No, i do not have any other geckos. I have done more researching online and found that his diet may be the reason for the poop. If he had a parasite or other ailment, he would have other symptoms. But i still need hekp on cleaning. What is a good "deep clean" method. My method as listed above can take 4 hours sometimes so i need to find a new one. I have already made a listerine water mix in a spray botttle for spot cleaning.
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Author Comment
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6/19/2014 2:12:10 PM
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ReptileKid125
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No, i do not have any other geckos. I have done more researching online and found that his diet may be the reason for the poop. If he had a parasite or other ailment, he would have other symptoms. But i still need hekp on cleaning. What is a good "deep clean" method. My method as listed above can take 4 hours sometimes so i need to find a new one. I have already made a listerine water mix in a spray botttle for spot cleaning.
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Assisted Answer
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6/19/2014 4:10:58 PM
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JentherophisGuttatus
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Hey, those mealworms may be "Vita-bugs," but the fact that they are labeled as gut loaded usually means that they were gut loaded when the pet store got them, but they may have been in the store for weeks, and thus won't be loaded anymore. You can feed the mealworms for 10-15 minutes just by sticking a piece of potato in a container with them. You can also look into keeping and growing your own mealworm colony; I do this, and it cuts the cost of gecko care down a lot. They're incredibly easy to keep and feed, too. Then again, that's just me with my "colony" of geckos. Some people feed their leopards strictly crickets, some feed theirs only mealworms, and some feed a mix of the two; leos can go their whole lives with nothing but mealworms, as long as they're the gut-loaded variety, and the gecko is given a dish of calcium powder as a supplement. A picture of the poop would be helpful; my breeder females can have some pretty rancid feces, which I attribute to the excess of calcium; most animals have stinky poop, anyway.
As for the cleaning: well, personally, I keep all of my leopards in plastic containers with newspaper as a substrate, and I use a cleaning spray called "Healthy Habitat," which is all-natural, perfectly safe, and made by the "Natural Chemisty" company.... ~ naturalchemistry.com/en/pet-home/products/detail/healthy-habitat ~ ...I pretty much remove the newspaper, and use paper towels and the Healthy Habitat to disinfect it. It's worked so far for all 7 lof the leopards I've kept, and can be used with pretty much any reptile.
Hope all that helps you. We can always talk via Private Messaging if you want; I love meeting new leopard people! 
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Author Comment
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6/19/2014 5:26:41 PM
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ReptileKid125
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I will take a photo the next time he poops. It will be a day because he just pooped this morning and I already cleaned it. I dust all of his food so could this excess calcium be the cause.
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Author Comment
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6/19/2014 5:26:41 PM
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ReptileKid125
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I will take a photo the next time he poops. It will be a day because he just pooped this morning and I already cleaned it. I dust all of his food so could this excess calcium be the cause.
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Member Comment
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6/19/2014 6:48:58 PM
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Member Comment
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6/19/2014 6:50:22 PM
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JentherophisGuttatus
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Oh, and one other thing: how old is he? I've found that age can sort of make a difference, too. But both of my breeder females tend to have that smelly, wet poop, so you might want to double-check that he, is in fact, a he.
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Author Comment
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6/19/2014 9:44:53 PM
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ReptileKid125
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I am not sure of his/her exact age. I got him from a neighbor, who bought him/her from petco in december. So i would say between 7-8 month old. I will check if it is a he or a she as soon as i get home. I dont think my leo could be gravid as the only time it has been with another leo is at the petstore over 6 months ago. On another note, i just bought the golden-brown original listerne as many have suggested. I made a 50 50 mixture with water. Should i use this to clean the tank only, or can i use it to clean hides to. Also, how do i rinse it. Do i just let it evaporate off, or do i rinse with clean water?
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Assisted Answer
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6/20/2014 7:22:51 AM
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indyana
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"If he had a parasite or other ailment, he would have other symptoms." - This is not true. Reptiles can have very heavy parasite loads and still show no outward symptoms at all.
This being said, my gecko's poop is quite stinky and wet until it has had time to dry out. If this is not the case with yours, I would find a vet who can test a fecal sample to rule out parasites.
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Member Comment
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6/20/2014 8:38:14 AM
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JentherophisGuttatus
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You've be surprised, actually; lizard mating happens within 24 hours most of the time. I'm not saying that he is a girl, I'm just saying that it's a possibility; I've had animals given to me that were mis-sexed before. Leos are pretty easy to sex, though.
I've never used listerine in cage cleaning before, but my guess would be that you rinse it after two or five minutes. If you're using it to clean his cage, I would assume that it's safe for his hideboxes, too.
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Member Comment
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6/20/2014 3:52:58 PM
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Sonja K. Reptiles
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For cleaning tanks, I like a diluted vinegar solution in a spray bottle.
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Accepted Answer
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6/20/2014 11:32:08 PM
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dreamsindirt
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I'd have a fecal float checked loose stools can be a sign of worms. I usually do my deep cleaning with bleach water that I rinse until it looses the bleach smell let air out for a day afterwards and then hydrogen peroxide if they are in quarantine (Hydrogen peroxide will take out stick tail coccida I have heard). Spot cleaning I just use water.
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