Sick Girlie

Hi all, first time poster and first time gecko owner. Our girl, a tangerine leopard gecko, came to us at 8 years old and we are her second owner.

Last week we noticed she has a soft growth on her abdomen and after a visit to the vet earlier this week, she’s on a laxative because he found a harder lump on the opposite side. He isn’t sure what the soft lump is, but said we need to address the likely impaction first. He also recommended we force feed her 0.1ml of a wet food mixture.

Ever since we started the laxative, her energy has dropped off. Shes gone from coming out and basking all the time to hardly leaving her hot hide. Her tail seems to have shrunk and the lump has doubled in size since last week.

Before we noticed the lump, she wasn’t eating. In fact, the last time she ate was November. Everyone told me as long as her tail is fat it’s fine. She regularly pees, and was a little active until a couple weeks ago when it seemed like she woke up. We offered her food once a week with no success. She seemed to be in brumation , which I was told could last up to 4 months. Until the lump appeared, I wasn’t concerned. The fight with heat vs humidity has almost broke me but we’ve been able to maintain the minimum balance, as well as have hot/cool sides to her environment. Before the lump appeared we had mostly a sand substrate. To help with humidity, I’ve changed it to the 70/30 split with reptisoil and sand.

I’m concerned that the laxative/lump/lack of eating is happening is causing her a one way trip to the end of her life. I’m posting for help - what else can we try? What else can I do to help our girl?

I have pictures of the lump and her environment, if that will help.