Cause of Death?

[cadGweep]

I am making my first post under very unfortunate circumstances. After bringing home an apparently healthy juvenile gecko from the pet store 6 days ago, I found him dead this morning and I'm left wondering what I did wrong. :main_huh: I'd like to get another one (under 15 day warranty), but I don't want to condemn another innocent creature! Here is the brief history of our leo that may provide a clue:

10/13 - Brought leo home. Put in 10g with calci-sand, water, mopani log, fake plant. Fed 6-8 crickets which were promptly devoured. 3 more waxworms disappeared overnight. For heat, using 75w overhead light daytime, 40w (red) for night. I know it was around 65 at ground level at night, and maybe 75 during the day.

10/14 - Added a dry hide on the warm side which he liked. Fed a bunch of waxworms, but I think he only ate one overnight.

10/15 - Found 1 poop (looked like a black waxworm). Fed more cricks, but only observed maybe 1 get eaten.

10/16 - Accidentally put a medium sized cricket in when feeding him, but he ate it! I was so afraid he'd choke. After that, he ate nothing for the night.

10/17 - Replaced sand with paper towels on advice of this forum. Added moist hide. Still not much sign of appetite although 1 waxworm missing and another poop found. Leo spends most time in dry hide during day, on log near light at night.

10/18 - Spent 1/2 day with 40w bulb since I broke 75w bulb and was too stupid to realize I could use regular light bulb! With the house temp around 65, it was maybe 65 in the middle bottom of the tank, so probably a little warmer near top of log where he was huddled. Finally located a small UTH and installed that afternoon along with a ceramic tile over it to distribute the heat. Temp showed 70 but tile felt to be 80-85. Put hide on top of this where he went almost immediately and stayed. I knew he was craving heat as he would relax in my hand and lay down, so I was really glad I could add this. I figured his digestion would speed up and he would start eating more after this. Added a few cricks to tank, but no feeding observed.

10/19 - Found dead near food bowl on cooler side of tank. Found some very small poop and what looked like some undigested waxworm under hide.

Throughout all this we changed his water regularly. I was misting his plant twice a day at first, but stopped after reading here that it wasn't really necessary. There were no signs of dehydration that I could tell. I'm guessing the cause was impaction, but it seems a little strange there were no other symptoms. His lower belly did appear a litte purplish when I checked.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. We really enjoyed having the little fella for as long as he was with us. He was a birthday present for my 9 year old son, and he was certainly seemed to enjoy feeding, holding, and even reading about leopard geckos.

Bruce

 

[Halley]

10/13 - Brought leo home. Put in 10g with calci-sand

Don’t use sand, this can kill them.

For heat, using 75w overhead light daytime, 40w (red) for night

I’d invest in an Under Tank Heater (UTH) and keep the temperature in the enclosure constant. Temperature on the Hot side should be 88 – 92, and on the cool side 70-75.

10/14 - Added a dry hide on the warm side which he liked.

I’d put a moist hide on the warm side, and a dry hide on the cool. In my breeder set-up I just have a moist hide in the middle.

Fed a bunch of waxworms, but I think he only ate one overnight.

Don’t feed to many waxworms, it’s a poor diet. It’s likely feeding somebody Hershey’s Chocolate all the time.

10/15 - Found 1 poop (looked like a black waxworm).

That might have been a dead waxworm he didn’t eat, and not poop.

10/17 - Replaced sand with paper towels on advice of this forum. Added moist hide. Still not much sign of appetite although 1 waxworm missing and another poop found. Leo spends most time in dry hide during day, on log near light at night.

This seems normal, and thanks for not using sand.

 

[acpart]

It's hard to know sometimes the health of a gecko bought from the pet store. You may not have done anything wrong and the gecko was just not healthy. How large was it? Was it a very young baby, or a somewhat bigger one?

You may have bought a gecko in marginal health and since it took you a few days to correct the habitat, it may have pushed it over the edge.

It may have been a freak occurrance.

In general, the younger the gecko is, and the longer it's been at a pet store (especially if it's the big chain stores which tend to get huge lots of very young geckos from breeding factories) the more chance that it was not healthy to begin with.

My suggestion is to clean out everything thoroughly, to use what you've learned about housing and feeding a gecko and to consider buying one from a breeder. THis is the time of year where breeders are trying to sell their hatchlings to prepare for next year's season, so there are a lot of good deals. It would be helpful to know where you live and maybe there's even a breeder near you so you wouldn't have to pay for shipping (if you're in the New England area, I'd be glad to provide for you).

Aliza

 

[Grinning Geckos]

It sounds to me that it was too cold ... but with a 75 watt bulb, I kinda doubt it. How far away is the light? What are you using to measure your temperatures? It needs to be at the surface. The "mood ring" stick on thermometers are crap, and the spring dial ones aren't much better. You should be using a digital, or even an "old fashion" mercury thermometer can work in a bind...you just can't leave it in there.

If he was too cold (which sounds possible), then he wouldn't be able to digest his food. That can make for a very sick gecko.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

First of all, I am very sorry you lost your little gecko, Bruce. I am not going to criticize you for buying a petstore gecko. I can imagine your son is devastated by losing his birthday present.

I am soooo glad you got the gecko off the calci-sand! You did the right thing by taking the advise of the members of this forum.

I also agree that without BELLY heat of around 90-92 degrees on the surface of the warmest spot in the enclosure, the little gecko could not digest it's food. Overhead heat/light is not only unnecessary, but cannot provide the correct environmental needs for a leopard gecko. An undertank heater (UTH) is essential to maintain these temperature requirements.

I am in total concurrence that in the possibility that the gecko was sick, or even impacted, when you got it, that you should disinfect the enclosure and ALL it's contents with either 10% bleach solution, or straight household ammonia. (Be sure and provide adequate ventilation!) Rinse, rinse, rinse, and let it sit out to dry in open air.

Again, I am very sorry your son lost his new pet! GeckoForums.net is the BEST resource for learning about leopard geckos, and there are some wonderful breeders here that can provide you with a healthy replacement.

 

[cadGweep]

Thanks very much for all your responses. Sounds like I need to take a step back and make sure everything is all right temperature-wise before I get another one. I have been using a stick-on thermometer so far along with my hands to gauge the temp, but I have a few digital type thermometers around that should be more accurate. Given that my house goes down to about 62 at night and when we're away, I'm guessing that I'll probably need to keep the lights in addition to the UTH. I'll know more soon!

Aliza, he was a little under 4 3/4" and I was told he (probably a she) was a juvenile. Buying from a breeder sounds like a good idea! I wasn't aware until recently that there were many people that did this (but I also had never heard of leopard geckos either ). Would I still be able to get a juvenile this time of year? Are they very expensive? I live on the Northshore in Mass. so that would be great if you could pm me with any information.

 

[nats]

Thanks very much for all your responses. Sounds like I need to take a step back and make sure everything is all right temperature-wise before I get another one. I have been using a stick-on thermometer so far along with my hands to gauge the temp, but I have a few digital type thermometers around that should be more accurate. Given that my house goes down to about 62 at night and when we're away, I'm guessing that I'll probably need to keep the lights in addition to the UTH. I'll know more soon!

Aliza, he was a little under 4 3/4" and I was told he (probably a she) was a juvenile. Buying from a breeder sounds like a good idea! I wasn't aware until recently that there were many people that did this (but I also had never heard of leopard geckos either ). Would I still be able to get a juvenile this time of year? Are they very expensive? I live on the Northshore in Mass. so that would be great if you could pm me with any information.

As the others have said, I agree getting your next leo from a reputable breeder. Check out the sponsors on this forum, or find a breeder in your state and save $50.00 shipping.
Just get a refund from the petstore and buy your animal from someone who knows and loves them :main_thumbsup:

 

[hondawingsfly]

breeder for sure i had a normal i had for 7years and i brought home and albino from a big petstore she acted really funny and wouldnt eat so i returned her soon after my normal stopped eating and died i beleive she got him sick now i know a lot more about caring for geckos and quarentining new geckos but i would deff reccomend buying from a breeder i now have 11 geckos all from breeders and all perfectly happy and healthy. also as already mentioned throw out the heat lamp and switch to a uth. if you dont know any breeders pm me i can reccomend a few i have dealt with, also take a look in the classified. good luck, let us know how it works out.

 

[Bounsall06]

I have 2 male juvenile "normal" morphs and may be willing to let your son have one. I just can't afford to pay for shipping. I live in London Ontario Canada.

 

[cadGweep]

I have 2 male juvenile "normal" morphs and may be willing to let your son have one. I just can't afford to pay for shipping. I live in London Ontario Canada.

Thanks for your kind offer Bounsall06! But I think I can find someone local and avoid the shipping thing. In fact, it turns out acpart(Aliza) lives pretty close to me. I'm in total agreement with everyone here that I should go with a breeder rather than a pet store.

Thanks again!