Leopard gecko rolls tongue while eating and pushed food out of his mouth. Ziggy, 6 months old. I have to hand feed him.

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Customer: leopard gecko rolls tongue while eating and pushed food out of his mouth
Veterinarian's Assistant: I'll do all I can to help. What is the leopard gecko's name and age?
Customer: ziggy, 6 months old
Veterinarian's Assistant: Is there anything else important you think the Veterinarian should know about Ziggy?
Customer: i have to hand feed him. he seems to not be able to judge the distance between himself and prey, and often misses.
Answered by PitRottMommy in 14 hours 7 years ago
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15 years experience in veterinary medicine, special interest in reptiles and arachnids.
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Hello, JACustomer. I have been a Veterinary Nurse for over 15 years and would be happy to help you today. I'm reviewing your question right now.

I am very sorry to see that you have not received a response to your initial question before now. I just came online and found that your question had not been addressed. How is your companion at this time? Can you share a video of the tongue rolling behavior?

Customer
I just fed him yesterday, so I’m not sure if he’ll eat right now but I can try.

Our conversation is not limited on time, so if he won't eat today if you can take one the next time he does eat and share it back that would work, as well.

Customer
The best way i can describe it is that he’ll get the cricket into his mouth, but not bite down hard enough to keep it in there while also pushing his tongue out of his mouth, often rolling it almost under his bot***** *****p.
Customer
This usually ends up pushing the cricket out of his mouth. I’ve found the best way to feed him is to hold the cricket’s head in tweezers and aid him in eating by slowly pushing it when he tries to gulp.
Customer
Since he can’t kill the cricket by biting down I also do this to decapitate it.

While you work on a video can you also give me additional information about he and his setup?

1) What is the ambient temp, cool spot and hot spot temps in the habitat?

2) What substrate is being used?

3) When did he last eat without being impaired?

4) What bulbs are being used for the habitat, if any?

5) How long have you had him?

6) What does his diet consist of?

7) What vitamin supplementation are you using, if any, and how often is it provided?
8) Has he had a veterinary examination yet to evaluate the new concern?

Customer
1) Ambient temp is around 75-80, and the hot spot, provided by a heating pad, is around 90.
2) i just have a carpet thing, i can’t remember what it’s called.
3) Probably in November, when he was 3 months old.
4) no bulbs, just a regular light for his day/night cycle.
5) since he was a hatchling, in August
6) solely of dusted & gut fed crickets. he won’t eat anything else.
7) no vitamin supplements, though i’ve considered calcium to makeup for his lack of eating.
8) no, i don’t know of any herp vets in my area.

What are the crickets being dusted in?

Customer
honestly they’re dusted by the people i’m buying them from, so i just assume it’s calcium.

I honestly believe that without proper vitamin supplementation your companion is likely showing the first signs of metabolic bone disease, which is why he's having issues catching and eating his prey. I would recommend that you move to dusting your own prey items in a supplement that can be used daily such as this one: https://www.amazon.com/Repashy-Calcium-Plus-All-Sizes/dp/B00CI6K6H6/ref=as_at/?creativeASIN=B00CI6K6H6&imprToken=vPhT7B7UTg2Xor3iIuKlow&slotNum=0&_encoding=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=B00CI6K6H6&pd_rd_r=RZS6GJ86SAJ2EE7P2NT1&pd_rd_w=UPXsj&pd_rd_wg=eJeXn&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=DPX4CGQB0YWBBK2YXZNF&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=781f4767-b4d4-466b-8c26-2639359664eb&pf_rd_i=desktop&linkCode=w61&tag=onlinegeckos-20&linkId=0326eff60240af77eace685cc1c40722 This supplement has the proper ratio of multivitamin, calcium and vitamin D3 that Ziggy needs. I would also give strong consideration to having your companion examined by a veterinarian that works with reptiles. You can find one here: http://www.anapsid.org/vets/ to ensure that nothing is wrong physically with Ziggy that might make it more difficult for him to catch his prey such as retained spectacles from a shed.

If you wind up with video, feel free to share back even after rating and I'll be happy to take a look:

I hope this information has been helpful. I will be standing by if you have other questions. Let me know if I can help further. Also, before signing off today, please take the time to use the star rating system at the top of the page to leave a rating for me (bottom of the page if using the app). A 5-star rating is appreciated as top notch answers are my focus. If you feel you have received anything less, please reply so that I may help until you’ve received the assistance you need. Until you issue a rating, the website will not compensate me for helping you. You will still be able to chat with me even after issuing a rating at no further charge on this thread.

I will also check in with you over the next few days to be sure you don’t need any additional assistance. If you would like to request me in the future for pet-related questions, you can do so by accessing this page: http://www.justanswer.com/pet/expert-pitrottmommy/?rpt=3800

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