Concerned about my gecko's health?

[ericssonfan81]

Age really shouldn't have anything to do with it. If you are old enough to decide you can handle responsibility of raising a pet, you should be held responsible for the health of the pet whether you are 17 or 70. The main problem I had when at 17 was the financial aspect.

I was 17 and had geckos and I was tremendously misinformed about their husbandry which resulted in calci sand, 120F and no thermostat, No humid hide so I was spraying the calcisand misting the entire tank, missing toes, and housed together with no quarantine. I did not have the luxury of these gecko forums and I was still able to change things around and give my geckos a wonderful latter 8 of the 12+ years. Looking back I'm astounded they survived, and not only survived, but ate and pooped with regularity and had no health problems. The point is that I wished I had a ton of ppl letting me know what I'm doing wrong and I wished I could have fixed it way earlier. The information here will prove to be critically valuable to your you and your gecko.

I vote for keeping this thread open for the sake of the gecko and getting updates as it seems gecko is finally gonna get to see the vet! :main_thumbsup:

 

[Kurairush]

Unfortunately... it wasn't so. He died this morning.
I've been talking with the guy from the rescue today and he said that it could've been impaction or something.
Although I wouldn't think that my gecko would've swallowed a piece of coconut husk by accident when eating a cricket before.

We've put his body in the freezer and he's going to be buried in spring.
Gonna clean up his cage and cage items, to kill off any germs or (the slim possibility of) parasites.
If I decide not to use it for anything, I'll donate all of the stuff to the rescue.

I grieved for a bit today, but I feel better, since I know he's in a better place, where he can eat again and frolic around with animals.
(I'd rather not see negative comments on this, please.)

 

[Kurairush]

Unfortunately... it wasn't so. He died this morning.
I've been talking with the guy from the rescue today and he said that it could've been impaction or something.
Although I wouldn't think that my gecko would've swallowed a piece of coconut husk by accident when eating a cricket before.

We've put his body in the freezer and he's going to be buried in spring.
Gonna clean up his cage and cage items, to kill off any germs or (the slim possibility of) parasites.
If I decide not to use it for anything, I'll donate all of the stuff to the rescue.

I grieved for a bit today, but I feel better, since I know he's in a better place, where he can eat again and frolic around with animals.
(I'd rather not see negative comments on this, please.)

 

[Embrace Calamity]

It wasn't even on coconut husk. Another lie. I'd tell you that you're a worthless owner and should never be allowed with 100 feet of any animal ever, but I still don't even believe all of this. It's just too ridiculous and stupidity-riddled.

~Maggot

 

[katie_]

Wow.

 

[Kurairush]

On the contrary:
http://m.pet smart.com/mt/www.pet s...ferralID=7eb4217c-55db-11e2-97b3-001b2166becc(just remove the spaces.)

Even in his last hours, I've enjoyed the time I've had with him. Even I couldn't hold him, unlike my late guinea pigs, I enjoyed watching him move around and eating crickets.

But here's a copy of one of the text messages I recieved back from the rescue guy:

FRM:Arrowhead Reptile Rescue
SUBJ:RE: RE: RE:
MSG:I am very sorry to hear that. Unfortunately the nature of rescuing unwanted
animals
mean that we often do not know how old they are, or what kind of
care they had in the past, or their medical history. Even when the
former
owner gives us this information, sometimes they are not telling the truth
and so we really never know.

They all need homes. I just adopted two geckos last week that are 16 and 17
years old. Don't know how long they will live, and told the new owner
that.
I have had leopards make it 20 years. But it's anyone's guess for any
single animal or what their past history is.

But otherwise, I've enjoyed having my gecko for a long time. While it won't be as hard as losing the guinea pigs back in 2011 and early 2012, I'll still miss him.

 

[Kristi23]

Everyone needs to stop with the personal attacks and name calling or infractions will be given out.

 

[ericssonfan81]

RIP little guy. :wings:

From what we know, you've lived a very tough life and I wish somebody could have rescued you from this rescue..

On the health questionnaire you said he always does this in winter, but the vet report says possible impaction? So impaction would suggest he never eats regardless of winter. Also being so nonchalant about so many other aspects of his husbandry, heat pad fell off, no proper thermometer.. should replace it ONE DAY. Just noticed his tail thin?!? Fecals look normal but can't say when he last went? So how do you know they are normal?

I think I've taken the troll bait hard.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

RIP little guy. :wings:

From what we know, you've lived a very tough life and I wish somebody could have rescued you from this rescue..

On the health questionnaire you said he always does this in winter, but the vet report says possible impaction? So impaction would suggest he never eats regardless of winter. Also being so nonchalant about so many other aspects of his husbandry, heat pad fell off, no proper thermometer.. should replace it ONE DAY. Just noticed his tail thin?!? Fecals look normal but can't say when he last went? So how do you know they are normal?

I think I've taken the troll bait hard.

I contacted the rescue this person allegedly got the gecko from explaining everything and linking them to this thread. We'll find out if this is real hopefully pretty soon.

~Maggot

 

[Kurairush]

I got a text back from him. I regret not giving the gecko supplements.
Well, I guess this can be closed.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Sorry, y'all, this is real. I talked to the director of the rescue. This person was well-educated and knew much better but did it anyway. It's a very sad day for all.

~Maggot

 

[Kurairush]

Close the thread and delete my account.
I deserve to wallow in guilt.

 

[ericssonfan81]

No need to wallow in guilt.. Just we all hope you learn from this experience and if you decide to get another gecko, you'll know all the basics now and will save you alot of heartache in the long run.
I don't feel this thread got personal until you posted that he's survived these conditions just well before and you didn't think your gecko was in a dire condition.. We all have the best interests for your gecko.

We hope that owners are truthful about their mistakes as we've all once been inexperienced gecko owners but its difficult to help out esp if you are posting for help but we don't know exactly what's going on and accept suggestions and criticism. Even to this day there are things I don't know about geckos but I learn and I adapt so my leos can live a healthy life!

 

[Kurairush]

This sorta reminds of when a fictional character starts to develop after one of their friends or loved ones dies.
But I think I'll just stick with dogs for a while. Still got a little Chihuahua around here to cheer me up.

Maybe I'll try again one of these days.

 

[Prost]

I've created an account on this site a couple weeks ago. A lot of the reptile forums are very hostile, and I was lurking, looking for, essentially, a thread like this, to determine if I wanted to become a member of the community.

Harsh, tactlessly aggressive responses may be warranted, but you guys are pushing a lot of people away from honest inquiry, and you are devaluing the lives of a multitude of geckos by scaring their owners away from posting.

The best way to get the gecko into a better situation is not to berate the owner.
Off to find a better gecko forum, I guess.

 

[katie_]

Could you give us some tips and examples?
I see only helpful advice on 2 whole pages.
Only after the OP was showing a lack of understanding did people get harsh.
This is an animal we're all passionate about, not a house plant.
Forums arent really the place for non-vets to swap diagnoses anyways.
We're here for the geckos, so some suggestions on how to get through to people would be very appreciated.

 

[ericssonfan81]

It did not get personal very much until the "I apologize if the environment isn't up to your "standards". Because he's made it just fine in this environment before." comment and then ignored ALL advice especially while seeking help for a desperately thin gecko and having a whole nonchalant demeanor of the whole situation. I'm sure if you search other threads in the health and medications forum you'll find many success stories of sick geckos nursed back to health by their owners and successful gecko rescues from ppl who no longer care for them.
If anything, hopefully threads like this will raise the awareness of such situations and help people see when qualified vet care and even basic husbandry is ignored, there can be the terrible outcomes. Every injury and illness regardless of how minor should be addressed immediately and not allowed to linger. Had my gecko been in that kind of shape, I'd try anything, even raindances in hopes to turn its health around. Or maybe many will see how many ppl quickly jumped in with suggestions on what to do.. Each of OPs posts never address any of the advice given leading me to believe theres no interest in hearing any of us out.

 

[ericssonfan81]

Sorry Double post.

 

[Kristi23]

I've created an account on this site a couple weeks ago. A lot of the reptile forums are very hostile, and I was lurking, looking for, essentially, a thread like this, to determine if I wanted to become a member of the community.

Harsh, tactlessly aggressive responses may be warranted, but you guys are pushing a lot of people away from honest inquiry, and you are devaluing the lives of a multitude of geckos by scaring their owners away from posting.

The best way to get the gecko into a better situation is not to berate the owner.
Off to find a better gecko forum, I guess.

I'm sorry you feel that way and can understand why. People have been pretty harsh lately. But we do have some great members and a lot of info. I hope that you change your mind and stay. We really are trying to get the forum back to the way it used to be.

 

[Kurairush]

This guilt just won't go away...

Last night after I played my Nintendo 64, before I went to bed, I went over to the cage and realized that he was still gone.
Used to be that I'd always spritz his cage with water and check on his cricket count. Like it was part of my routine.

I still feel the urges to look over his cage, even though he's gone. It's just... painful.