New Blizzard, Injured leg :(

hello again, I recently picked up a blizzard leopard gecko from the westbury reptile expo here in NY, I was interested in buying it and just before I went to pay the guy offered to sex it for me(Female, or so he says) but then realized the gecko has a broken leg, and said he couldnt possibly sell it to me, but he said I could have it if i wanted to deal with it, i couldnt pass that offer, I wanted to help anyway possible. He was unsure if it was born this way or it happened along his shops travels to the expo. It is the right hind leg, in this picture it looks somewhat normal, but I can see it is clearly not, it can walk on it, but the foot doesnt touch the ground normally(you can see the knee is bent like the left hind leg, but its just flat out, not standing), it kinda lands on the side of his leg. She doesnt appear to be in pain, she walks and is eating, but I cant be sure if shes just walking to try and escape from adjusting to her new home. There appears to be redness around the foot, I am trying not to aggrivate it so I'm not going to push a photo shoot, so this is the only picture I snapped


do you think she will be ok? Could it be a deformity or is it a definite break? these reptile wholesalers dont seem to keep a good eye on all of their animals, they just have too many. What do you think? Thanks in advance


edit: I forgot to add, she opens her mouth when being handled, but doesnt nip -- a sign of discomfort?? or defense? Leos are usually more docile..

I can speak from experience on this one. I had one of my geckos break one of back legs as well, how is still a mystery. Post is here http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=14172&highlight=broken I did take him in to see if there was anything else I could do and just to take sure there wasn't any bigger issues going on with him. My vet told me that there is pretty much nothing they can do when this happens..but if he started to lose weight or anything changed to bring him back in. It's pretty much hands off for about 6weeks. My little guy is doing great now, you can't even tell it happend. So, it's your call..keep an eye on anything or take him in if you think it's best. Just giving my thoughts and hope it helps a little.

Broken legs tend to heal on their own, and this gecko looks pretty young so it should heal up just fine. Make sure it has plenty of calcium available to aid in bone growth.

When a gecko opens it's mouth at you, it is a threat that they just might bite! I would recommend just leaving the little one alone as much as possible until it acclimates to it's new environment and the leg heals.

Thanks for the lightning fast replies, i am somewhat relieved now lol I just have one more question though. I put her in a slightly larger size container than what I brought her home in, its still pretty small but I thought it was more convenient for her to catch her food/water without having to run after it. do you think thats alright? and ofcourse im restraining from handling her, just when i brought her home i wanted to change her environment and she opened her mouth in fear, or possibly pain

I'm sure everything will be just fine. Just keep an eye out and make sure that her leg is going in a positive direction. Young geckos tend to open their mouths warning you that a bites coming lol..It most likely has nothing to do with her leg. Keep us updated on her...

lol well i hope shes only fiesty when shes young.. i'd hate to be bit by her as an adult..why do they only try to bite when theyre young? instinct? or they need to be handled and used to human interaction?

We've had some babies that were ferocious! They would start screaming when they heard me walk into the room even if I wasn't coming for their tub. They all settled down one they got bigger though. Just handle them normally and pretend as though you don't notice that they're trying to bite you. Eventually they realize that it's not an effective scare tactic.