Deformity

[Mich]

There is something seriously wrong with my snow hatchling and I am going to have her put down. I thought there was something kinda weird when she hatched, it was subtle but she seemed to move a little different, kind of seemed to shuffled along and seemed to work harder to get around, although she could still scamper about quite quickly. She is about 2 months old now and is in full body shed, growing at the same rate as another hatchling born around the same time but whatever deformity she had is a lot worse now, it’s almost like her legs are broken or something, she can hardly walk and drags her limbs around most of the time. I only kept 2 hatchlings this season, my little hypo snow and a raptor *sigh* I keep her on news paper, feed her small mealworms from my own colony, have a moist hide (with papertowel), water dish and of course a little cap full of calcium so I'm sure its nothing I've done but am still totally bummed

 

[acpart]

I'm sorry about what you're going through. If it's getting worse, is there any chance she has MBD? Even if you're supplementing her well, some geckos have a metabolic problem where they don't absorb calcium well. Are you up for posting a picture?

Aliza

 

[Mich]

I'm sorry about what you're going through. If it's getting worse, is there any chance she has MBD? Even if you're supplementing her well, some geckos have a metabolic problem where they don't absorb calcium well. Are you up for posting a picture?

Aliza

I could post a pic but there really doesn't look like anything is wrong until she walks .. I thought MBD too even though she has been supplemented well .. it would make sense. I will try to take a pic tomorrow, Ive already examined and bothered the poor little thing enough tonight I am reading thread on euthanasia now but they kind of seem to be more like disputes. I have pm'd a monderator and will call my vet on Monday (he is a great vet but usually takes awhile to get you in and getting off work is really hard). Omg she is sooo cute, one of my fav hatchlings this season by far and I hoped to breed her but even a few days after she hatched it was evident something was "off" and any hope of breeding her was long gone but I still would have kept her but now she is suffering bad and Ineed to do something about it as soon as possible *sob*

 

[bzlizzy]

awwwww *hugs* i hope everything goes well for your little one

 

[Keith N]

If it was apparent right after hatching it may be a birth defect. As for culling there are a few ways some people go about it. Some may seem harsh but in reality they are more humane. You can pm me and I will tell you how I cull, but if you pm'd a moderator they will probably explain too. Sorry to hear about it.

 

[Mich]

When I picked up her hide this morning this is how she left her one leg. Its really weird because sometimes she leaves them just limp and dead like that like they are broken and completely useless but most of the time it is only evident when she "walks" and then sometimes the leg she left limp will look normal but two or three of the others will be limp As you can see she is in shed, growing and must be eating .. now I wish I had put her down when I first noticed it but like I said it was just slight, enough that I wouldn't sell or breed her but she could sprint around and squeak with the rest. We moved just 2 wks ago and I've been exceedingly busy with a lot of things and haven't had as much time to handle my reptiles and was shocked to find out how bad she had gotten in such a short short time. I would peek on her every night when I fed them but didn't handle her but now that I see her try to walk omg

 

[bzlizzy]

aww she's a pretty one. but is it necessary to put her down? is she even in pain? i dont know how you're gonna tell if she's in pain but if she's not, then i guess there wont be a need to put her down?

 

[acpart]

Before we have to go through another endless discussion on this thread as well, do a forum search for "culling" and read the arguments for and against. It will give you an understanding about why some people will say that you have to do it anyway and some people will say that you don't.

Aliza

 

[Mich]

Yes I've read the endless debates and PMd a montor to inq about suggested methods as that is a highly debated topic too, I wasn't meaning for this threat to turn into another one of those at all, I never even asked for culling methods on here, I was just venting about my poor leo, 1st deformed reptile I've ever hatched out.