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This is your opportunity to ask us an animal related question. Submit your question along with your name, age and city of residence and we will post your question and our answer on this page. Your question can pertain to your pets health, proper care for a prospective new pet, animal handling and the like. Please keep in mind this page is not in any way a substitute for veterinary treatment and if your pet is sick, ill, injured or suspect a health problem, please take your pet to your local veterinarian right away. Also, keep in mind that The Creature Teacher is by no means an "expert" on all animals species, their care or handling. We in the willife education service continue to learn about all animals on a daily basis. So this page helps us as well as you.
When submitting a question, please be specific as possible. For example, please do not ask "My snake won't eat, what do I do?". I'll need more information such as what species of snake you have, what you normally feed it, if you feed your snake live or frozen mammals and how you feed it and how long has it gone without eating. The age of the snake, where you purchased it and what it's environment is like will all be of benefit as well.
Please fill out Advice Form at the bottom of this page.
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June 27, 2009 Kathleen writes: We have a Leopard Gecko that hasn't eaten in 6 days and is pacing in his tank. I'm not sure if it male or female and tonight I noticed he had laid an "egg" or something in the tank. It is about the size of my thumb and white and he stepped on it and some "goo" came out. He does look a little thinner than usual and I saved the "blob" in a ziplock baggie and but in the refrigerator in case a vet visit is necessary. He his 5 years old, live along in his tank and was a class pet before he came to us. Any advice or guidance you can me would be greatly appreciated. The Creature Teacher's Response: Thank you for sending the
information and the picture. (It was a very wise move to take a photo of it.) From what I can see in the picture, the white
blob is indeed an egg. I sent your photo on to a gecko breeder and he said that even if the gecko has not been bred, female
geckos can still lay eggs each year. The change in your house temperature stimulated the female to ovulate and produce eggs. Because the egg has sand stuck to it, I'm assuming
that you are using some sort of sand as a substrate in your gecko tank. I do not recommend using sand as geckos can ingest
small amounts when they scoop up food and move around which can get impacted in the geckos digestive tract. Try switching
to newspaper or reptile pad for bedding. It will be easier to clean as well. Here
are a couple of great web site on Leopard Gecko care: www.leopardgeckoguide.com and www.leopardgeckocare.net.
October 28, 2009 Michael,
from Boca Raton writes: Why don't pet stores provideuseful resources for pet owners as a guide to common issues that
could arise after making a purchase? By the way, a great resource and FREE information can be obtained from leopardgeckoexperts.com.
The Creature Teacher's response:
You bring up
a very good and valid question and I do not know exactly why some pet stores do not give out useful resources when you purchase
a pet although I'm sure some might. Maybe you should bring up the idea to your local pet store. Some possible reasons why
resources at time of purchase might not be common place are the following: 1) Too time
consuming due to the number of species a pet store carries and the number of resources available 2)
They assume that if someone has a medical problem with their pet they will call their local or family veterinarian for professional
advice 3) With the internet being so commonplace, most folks will "google"
a pet problem rather than taking up valuable time with a pet store, animal control, breeder and the like 4) Some pet store like Petco not only have Care Sheets and books available so parents and their children can
read up on a particular pet before they purchase a new pet but some pet stores like Petland even have counsulting services
where you can visit with a kitten or puppy and obtain "in person" advice before making a purchase.
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October 29, 2009 Tammy, Arp, TX writes: My name is Tammy. You did my son's birthday party about 1 1/2 years ago. My husband found this snake in his closet last night...I thought you may know the type of snake it is? Is it a Texas Rat Snake? Any suggestions on how to keep them out of our house?
The Creature Teacher's response: The snake
in the your photo looks like a young Texas Rat Snake. They are very common and widespread throughout Texas. This snake is
not venomous and most snakes in your yard or home will not cause any property damage. However, for the safety of your pets
and small children it is wise to rid your property of all snakes whenever possible. Here
are some suggestions as to rid your yard/house of snakes: 1) Get rid of cover/hiding
areas like tall grass, stacked up boards, logs, or anything they can crawl under like under your deck or home's foundation 2) Keep your yard free of shrubs, and brush & your lawn mowed as short as possible at all times. 3) Get rid of the food sources like mice and rats- these rodents go after pet food, birdseed, chicken feed,
etc so make sure all these things are stored in garbage cans or plastic containers with tight fitting lids. At night,
pick up any pet food bowls that are outside. Keep all sheds, garages and outdoor buildings tidy so rodents cannot nest inside
or outside these structures. 4) Seal off all open crevices and cracks leading into
your home- doors, basement windows, spaces around water pipes etc. (Expandable spray foam works great for water pipes) 4) Call a professional to come a collect them- like a herpetological club, Daryl Sprout from www.Snakeencounters.com or google "professional wildlife removal" or animal control in your area. Methods that, in the past, DO NOT work very well: 1) Roping off affected
area with hemp rope 2) spreading mothballs 3)
Flooding snake dens 4) Spreading gas or diesel around 5)
commercial products like "Snake-Away" or snake traps 6) Sulfur powder I hope these hints and ideas will help you in the future. Please contact me again to let us know of your success
or need for more ideas.
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May 2010 Natasha, Lake Cities, writes: I have a puppy
that is about 5 months old. She recently became very sick she has stopped eating entirely and barely drinks anything. Whenever
she pee's it is dark red blood and she also has been vomiting up some white foam looking stuff regularly and is becoming very
weak and puny. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help her without having to pay for a Veterinarians bill.
Thank you very much!
Creature Teacher's Response: My best advice at this point....take your puppy to the vet...NOW!! Dark red blood in urine, feces or vomit are very severe symptoms and needs an expert to assess the illness.Your puppy could have Parvo, internal parasites or a disease that could be contagious to humans. Don't wait, if you have to take it to an emergency clinic but do take it to the veterinarian!
MAY 2010 Jackie Writes: Do you know of a vet in the East Texas area for guinea pigs? We used a guy here in Kilgore,
but he is VERY expensive and not knowledgeable. We have spent $300 for lice and poor Rodney still has them. We got our piggy
from someone who didn't care for him. He had a URI which he has overcome and the lice. Thanks so much.
Creature Teacher's Response: I use Flint Veterinary Clinic in Flint (don't know
how close you are to there). Either Dr. Gainer or Dr. Dixon and they are both really super to work with and very knowledgeable.
Their number is 903/894-7278. (Receptionist is Tracy). They are located at 18421 FM 2493. Let me know how you like them....I
hope Rodney get over his lice--with a good vet, lice should be easy to treat and go away very quickly.
ANIMAL ADVICE REQUEST FORM
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March 21, 2010 Jamie from San Diego, CA writes: I have a 3 year old leopard gecko. He is not eating and is shedding about once a week. I have had to force
feed him. He is still going to the bathroom so I do not think he is impacted. It almost seems like he cannot see which is
why he won't eat the worms. Do you know what would cause loss of appetite and excessive shedding?
The Creature Teacher's response: Thanks for writing into us about your geckos
excessive shedding and loss of appetite. A photo would be most helpful so I could your geckos overall look (too skinny,
still plump tail, clear eyes?) but we'll have to proceed here without a photo. Most geckos from my experience do not lose
their appetite a great deal during shedding so I doubt the loss of appetite is caused from the shedding. It is more likely
due to health or husbandry issues. Sometimes geckos shed gets stuck on their feet and limbs so they look like the shed a lot
but really it just takes them a long time to shed one time. If this is not the case and your gecko is completely shedding
once a week a few things should be looked at. First, the temperature of your geckos enclosure. It should be somewhere around
88-92 degrees and they also need a cooler area of around 70 or low 80's. Do not use hot rocks or heating pads for this, make
sure to use an over head light at one end of the tank. Your gecko also likes it humid so try using a humid hide (misting can
create too humid of an environment.) Second, make sure you are dusting the crickets once to twice weekly before you fed them
so your gecko gets the proper calcium/phosphorous ratio in its diet. Sometimes geckos get tired of the same old thing so if
you are feeding only crickets try a wax worm or mealworm and see if he'll eat that. Third, Are you housing more than one gecko
together? If so, the larger gecko may be bullying or stressing out the smaller gecko (s) so try separating the ill gecko from
the healthy ones. Fourth, loose substrate is never a good idea because it gets swallowed by the gecko when they eat.
Either feed the gecko in a separate container with no substrate in at all or don't house the gecko on substrate that will
cause impaction. I've always had good outcome just using plain old newspaper. It's easier to change and the gecko can't swallow
it.
If the temperature, substrate, feeding and housing requirements are all being met than
I suggest a trip to the veterinarian. Check in your area of an exotic/reptile vet not a dog/cat vet. If you cannot find one
listed in the phone book try the internet or a reference from a small animal vet you've used in the past. Have them check
your gecko for internal parasites and any other underlying health issues. There are
great web sites for leopard gecko care including the following: www.thegeckospot.com I hope this helps out with your geckos health problems.
Please remember, when in doubt or an illness/injury looks life threatening or has lasted for a considerable amount of time,
just go straight to the veterinarian. |
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