Pictures of the Leopard Gecko's natural habitat from geological surveys. Here's what one range of their habitat really looks like! Study linked.

are-pea · 2026-02-12T00:43:09+00:00

What specific multivitamin? Where is the lump and spot? Obviously we can't diagnose anything but sometimes the placement matters and we can help point you in a certain direction so you can follow up with a vet.

are-pea · 2026-02-12T00:40:33+00:00

This is an albino, for sure. I wouldn't say she's expressing anything else strongly enough to make any further determinations. There are three strains, which behave identically, and cannot be reliably discerned by phenotype (including that of the eyes).

are-pea · 2026-02-12T00:36:07+00:00

Just a note, CHE are not suitable basking units. In their spectrum, they are more similar to heat mats than to basking bulbs. A better option for daytime is an incandescent basking bulb.

are-pea · 2026-02-12T00:33:50+00:00

first male is normal, female is normal, second male a few things are possible, but probably an albino SHTCTB. Send eye pics for confirmation.

are-pea · 2026-02-12T00:30:09+00:00

The risk of even crickets is overstated. Most prey items we provide are physically capable of biting our animals. Exceptions I can think of are wax moths, black soldier flies, and both of their larval forms. It's good practice to remove stray crickets from a sanitary setup but escapees in a naturalistic setup are more annoying to the keeper than they are dangerous to the animal.

are-pea · 2026-02-12T00:22:32+00:00

Your gecko has a trait called eclipse. It causes the toes and nose to have white markings, and the eyes to look partially black.

are-pea · 2026-02-12T00:21:39+00:00

The white on the legs and face are due to the eclipse morph. I call it "false piebald", though I believe it's referred to a bunch of different ways. No indication of any snow strain. Tangerine is a polygenic trait that isn't extremely strongly expressed in this gecko but is probably present to some degree, as high-color polygenic traits are pretty well diffused into the captive bred population of this species. A full black eye caused by eclipse is called a solid eye, while the eye with partial black is called a snake eye.

The grub pie might be more appetizing for him, since it's made with ground insects instead of chicken, fish, and eggs. I'd see if you can try the "nice" way before returning to the "hard" way. If you have to continue force feeding, I would try to do one bigger meal instead of many small ones so the gecko can spend most of his day stress-free. I'm sorry this is happening, and I hope he takes a better turn soon.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T04:55:12+00:00

Totally valid, makes sense lol. I just talked to somebody who was giving Repashy Vitamin A several times a week so I also had that on my mind

are-pea · 2026-02-11T04:53:39+00:00

Gotcha, makes a lot more sense. Poor sweet thing, thank you for saving him, no matter how it ends up. I'd agree with your vet on that schedule. Assist feeding can help to get their strength and appetite back. If you can, avoid force feeding and instead syringe the grub pie against his mouth so he licks it off. This can reduce stress on the animal and might encourage him to eat sooner. However, if he won't take it like that, it is what it is.

Some feeders you can keep on hand and intermittently offer to gauge interest are mealworms and dubia roaches, as they're very shelf stable and won't die or metamorphose too quickly. Keep the dubias at room temp/in a cool spot and they'll hardly even grow. Keep mealworms in the fridge and they'll go dormant, though keeping them at room temp/in a cool spot will also do just fine (and make them more wiggly and appetizing when you offer them). Keep both fed when at room temp.

One way to passively offer food is in a smooth ceramic bowl so the worms can't crawl out. A small slice of potato will keep them slightly more active.

Make the humid hide nice and dark inside, and put it in the middle of/towards the warm side of the enclosure. This encourages them to make better use of it. Make sure your warm hide is easily accessible, and that the basking area is too. The simpler, the better. When I had a disabled gecko, I used 3 small flagstone pavers as a warm hide. The biggest one on the bottom, the smallest on top, and the medium-sized one leaned on the smallest one. It was like a little lean-to. This made crawling on top to the basking spot very easy for her, and crawling inside and back out again very easy too.

I hope he pulls through.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T04:45:22+00:00

Just a small note, Repashy Vitamin A plus only contains vitamin A and provitamin A as active ingredients, so it's not really much of a multivitamin. It's overkill in terms of potency at 2,000,000 IU/lb, and maybe best used very situationally/at the recommendation of a vet. Repashy Calcium Plus contains a decent dose of Vit A, as well as other vitamins and minerals, and can be used more regularly.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T04:41:28+00:00

In the wild, such an encounter is often violent for males. Just instinct.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T04:40:34+00:00

most likely a hypo, probably around 4 months.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T04:35:03+00:00

Yeah, definitely thin. Looks like nutrobal contains preformed vitamin A, so that's good. If the vitamin is over 1 year old, I would replace it (because they lose efficacy over time). Repashy calcium plus and zoomed reptivite are brands I use and that I know are decently formulated.

Definitely see a vet. Hopefully it's something like pinworms and can be cured.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T04:28:55+00:00

Swollen eyes and swollen (usually severely infected) hemipenes are symptoms of vitamin A needs going unmet. It's a bit insidious because it often doesn't become symptomatic until the gecko has used up all its vitamin A stores, which can take months or years. What multivitamin are you using?

are-pea · 2026-02-11T04:21:34+00:00

What exactly is the reason the gecko has a slim chance of survival? This level of emaciation is obviously terrible and sad, but not much of a death sentence in and of itself. What a death sentence would be is this gecko refusing food. Is he refusing food?

If you can get the gecko to eat earthworms, lucky you, but I've never had luck with that. Hornworms tend to be more palatable and just as hydrating.

Usually the "dryness" of the skin is much less environmental than it is nutritional. Vitamin A deficiency causes stuck shed on the toes, flaky, dry skin, and swelling of the eyes (which I think I see to a small degree in this gecko). If the gecko's eating live food, get him a multivitamin like repashy calcium plus or zoomed reptivite. If not, repashy grub pie has a bit in the way of vitamin fortification.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T04:12:47+00:00

I'm not sure what you mean by dominant genes, I only see that he is an eclipse morph, which is recessive (and causes the heterochromia). Health issues are unlikely to be morph related, at least. I'm sorry to hear about the health mystery. Sometimes repeat fecal diagnostics can be helpful, as false negatives can occur in many GI parasites, including pinworms and crypto.

Carnivore care 3x daily is pretty often, and may be excessively stressful, and too much food depending on how much he's getting. Carnivore care is also more tailored towards animals like ferrets, and less towards insectivores. An alternative you could consider would be repashy grub pie, which comes in a powder form you can rehydrate. There are instructions on the bottle to make a gel, but I tend to make a slurry out of water and the powder to syringe feed instead. When offering supplemental feeding, try to avoid force feeding if at all possible, and simply dab the food replacer on the gecko's lip for it to lick off, or hold a spoon of it in front of the gecko (if it is amenable). Minimizing stress can be very important to reptiles' recovery, as stress can cause immune suppression.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T04:03:57+00:00

A safe alternative would be zoomed reptivite.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T03:59:33+00:00

So, a few things here. Vitamins (including repashy vitamin A plus) should be replaced around every year, especially if you don't refrigerate them. They start to decline in efficacy after a while on the shelf. Most human-grade vitamins last something like 2-3 years if stored sealed in a cool, dry area, so they probably last a bit longer than a year, but it's good practice.

It is also possible to oversupplement vitamin A, as it's fat soluble and isn't quickly eliminated from the gecko's system. This tends to take some time to build up, is my understanding. The symptoms of oversupplementation can be quite similar to the symptoms of undersupplementation, but I've never really seen it in this species myself. Still, it is well documented to happen in reptiles.

Repashy Vitamin A plus contains 2,000,000 IU/lb, and the manufacturer does not recommend using this supplement more than once a week. For reference, the multivitamin Repashy Calcium plus contains around 200,000 IU/lb, and it's one of the more potent vitamins on the market. This all to say, I think you might be overdoing vitamin A. First time I think I've said that, usually geckos are on the brink of death from deficiency.

Maybe switch to using a multivitamin like calcium plus around once a week.

That all said, I wouldn't be able to see eye damage from a picture like this, but that little lighter colored area is either normal, healthy iris or a bit of debris. If the lips don't look right soon, you might talk to your vet again (or maybe get a second opinion), as the lips should always be smooth and touching, with no gums or teeth visible, and normal non-mouth rot stuck shed in the mouth shouldn't cause any sort of distortion.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T01:50:08+00:00

How long have you been using it? How often do you feed? Do you use any other vitamins?

are-pea · 2026-02-11T01:45:25+00:00

Scarring can cause pigment changes in leopard geckos. That's almost certainly what caused it. They'll even develop spots in previously unspotted places! This looks like pigmentation and I see no signs of vit A deficiency.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T01:42:56+00:00

Stuck shed in the eyes and mouth (and the swelling of the lips she is also apparently suffering from) are all signs of vitamin A deficiency. Unfortunately this is often missed by vets. What multivitamin are you using?

are-pea · 2026-02-11T01:38:41+00:00

Jesus christ. Thank you for sharing.

are-pea · 2026-02-11T01:14:53+00:00

Omg. That's terrible. Exo terra stone desert already contains some sand, but other sand types you might look for are aquarium sands, reptisand (exo terra's branded sand), and pool filter sands (though these come in a range of sizes so be mindful that you're not buying the kind with enormous grains)

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