My leopard gecko has a belly bulge and skinny tail. Is it constipation or parasites?

Thanks for reaching out about Rem. Continue to provide 5-10 minute warm water soaks, a few times daily to stimulate defecation. Intestinal infections, parasites, ingested foreign bodies (substrate, bark, etc) or metabolic disorders can all lead to bloat and anorexia. If this continues a veterinary visit is recommended to assess and assist with a diagnostic/treatment plan. Good luck.

Thanks for reaching out about Pinky but the picture is un-recognizable and out of focus. A distended stomach is a possible obstruction, maybe from the chewed paper towels. If distended for a month, a veterinary visit is highly recommended. Try offering a shallow warm water soak, which might encourage defecation. Still, see a veterianrian. Good luck.

This could be his organs or an impaction/constipation. Without an exam, it is difficult to determine which it is. Soak Macko in a warm 50/50 solution of water and unflavored PediaLyte for 20-30 minutes. Massage his abdomen, front to back, during the soak to stimulate defecation. Do this every other day. In between, confirm proper environmental parameters in the enclosure. Low temps will affect appetite and digestion in reptiles. Offer appropriately sized prey, no bigger than the space between the eyes. You can feed a mic of crickets, mealworms, dubia roaches and phoenix worms. Gut load all prey for 24 hours prior to offering to maximize nutritional value. This can be done by feeding them high protein baby cereal, tropical fish flaked and fresh greens. Dust with a multivitamin and a calcium/D3 supplement. Pick up some Fluker's Repta Boost from the local Petco. Look in the reptiles section. You can use this to get some nutrition and calories into Macko. If he doesn't begin putting on weight though, you will need to have him examined by your veterinarian. Submit a stool sample to diagnose intestinal parasites or bacterial overgrowth. You can review leopard gecko care at this link: http://www.anapsid.org/leopardgek.html

These signs could be caused by a fecal impaction, which is a fairly common problem in leopard geckos. There are different ways to resolve it. You can try to increase the temperature inside the cage (up to 97F°) to increase metabolism or you can try to give her a luke warm water bath twice daily or give her 1-2 drops of mineral/olive oil once daily for 3 days to provide laxative effect and lubrication. If the signs do not resolve a check up would be then necessary. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Give her a 15-20 minute soak in a warm 50/50 solution of water and unflavored PediaLyte daily. During the soak, gently massage her abdomen front to back to stimulate defecation. The soak will warm her up, hydrate her and get her GI tract moving. This should help with defecation. Make sure she is eating an appropriate Crestie diet (Pangea, Repashy, etc). She can eat prey/insects, but if she eats too much, she may get a bit constipated.

Thanks for reaching out about Gilbert. First, a fecal examination should be performed to determine if any parasites are still a concern. There are multiple types of parasites, requiring a wide variety of medications. What are the possibilities of sand impaction? Continue to syringe feed but offer small amounts to allow digestion. A veterinary re-visit is needed. Good luck.

As long as it is just the tail, there is no cause for concern there. If her limbs start to swell, then she may have a more serious issue. Delta may have been able to use her tail reserves while she wasn't eating, but now she should fatten up her tail again as long as she continues to eat. Try to determine why she became impacted and treat that. If you need to change the substrate or diet, do so. Adjust the cage temperature as well. Low temps can affect digestion in reptiles. Soak her in a warm 50/50 solution of water and unflavored PediaLyte for 20-30 minutes. Gently massage her abdomen, front to back, during the soak to stimulate defecation.