Hey guys,

I got my leo about 2 months ago. He was just a tiny little guy at the time, but as soon as I saw him I loved him to pieces.

I originally had him on the exo-terra bark style substrate as the employee at the pet store told me to keep him on that for a month and then switch to exo-terra sand.

About 2 weeks ago I went into the store, bought sand and switched him over to it.

He seemed to enjoy it, he would drag his belly in it, and lay in it underneath this piece of drift wood through-out the day.

On friday, I noticed his latest poops where undigested crickets. This is the first time I have seen this and I became slightly concerned. I fed him on saturday morning, 5 crickets, and all 5 remain as of sunday night.

I noticed his tail was considerably smaller and he was becoming very lazy.
I didn't waste any time, called the emergency vet center tonight and took him straight there.
The lady at the vet said that he had possible impaction, however I may have caught it early enough to save my little friend.
She gave me some medicine to feed him, as well as some sort foods to feed him to help break down the sand he has ingested and help him through it.
I brought him home and while my girlfriend was feeding him the medicine I changed out the sand for newspaper.
We gave him a warm-water bath for about 15 minutes, I cuddled him and then placed him back into his newly set up cage.
He went straight to his hiding rock and went to sleep, im not surprised as he has had such a busy night.

I really hope he pulls through, I've become so attached to him.

Im really scared though.
Just thought I would share this with fellow leo owners.

That's so sad! I sure hope he pulls through!
I'm not a leo owner, but I've read a lot of posts here that warn against using sand for exactly that reason. (There are always posts on really bad advice from pet stores too).
Your post covers both warnings VERY well. Thanks for the reminder and I wish you all the best for your little leo.

Welcome to HC by the way!

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Andrea

I know its late and I should be sleeping, but I cant sleep.

I am up watching him, hes been sleeping for the most part, but he came out for some calcium I set in a dish for him, ate some and went back to sleep.

At least hes getting up and walking around, I will bathe him again in warm water in the morning and try to feed him some of the special diet food the pet store gave me.

I'll keep ya'll posted on his condition.

If the leo is defecating, he will be ok. Getting him off the sand was the best thing you could do. As he eats and isn't ingesting sand, whatever is still inside should pass through his system.

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Well, slightly good news.

The past two mornings I have woken up I have found him out from underneath his hiding rock, and resting on the ground where the heating pad is.

Also, the past two mornings, I have found little poops he has been leaving behind. Not the most tasteful of topics, but they have a small bit of calcium, and then a clump of sand. I have been feeding him this mushy food (its like cat food) cause he won't eat crickets right now. Hopefully this means hes passing the sand out of his body.

I'll keep my fingers crossed, and keep praying for the little guy.

It's sounding good for the little guy ~ you did right by getting the sand out of there, it sounds like! Let us know how it's going, good luck!

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Alex Hitch Hitchens: "Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away."

yes, sand out this minute. simple paper towels or tile works great for them.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

It's a good thing you were monitoring him so closely to catch the problem quickly. I hope he continues to improve.

GOOD NEWS!!!


Gex is back to actively chasing down and eating crickets, hes been running around, and you can tell just by looking at him hes perkier, and feeling better.

I believe that little trooper pulled through. I don't think I could be happier at the moment.

Just felt like giving you guys an update on his condition

Glad to hear it! Congratulations
Thanks for the feedback; it's nice to get it. YAY a success story!!!
Pictures???

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Andrea