enigma syndrome

[brillobee]

I was looking at a red eye emigma form tug, he says she shows slight signs of the symdrome but feeds normally and is growing well. Does the syndrome get worse as they get older or will she remain with the same her whole life? I don't want to get her and she gets worse to the point where she can't eat or walk.

 

[Dimidiata]

Its variable. Many people say stress can cause it to get worse, or even unknown factors. She may she may not, it all depends.

 

[Thorgecko707]

When I got mine it took a couple months of ES before she calmed down after being shipped.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

In some Enigma's, the 'syndrome' is brought on by stress or bright light. I've had Enigmas without symptoms develop problems just from the stress of breeding. I have others who have never exhibited any problems.

 

[brillobee]

does the syndrome have any long term effects, besides the lack of coordination. Do they need any special care? I though i read somewhere that they are prone to mbd?

 

[Russellm0704]

I've never had an enigma and probably never will. I have nothing against enigmas at all, but I feel like I shoulnt buy an animal that is more likely to give me something to worry about. My normal is on a feeding strike now and I'm worried sick over it. If you are ready to take on the potential stress of ES then by all means go for it. The coloring is out of this world on those guys

 

[Dimidiata]

the effects depend on the condition of the syndrom, a head tilt is usualy minor but spinning in circles may prevent eating wich can of course lead to death. Enigmas are unpredictable lil special needs geckos, but if your ready to take one on then theres an enigma that needs a home.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

does the syndrome have any long term effects, besides the lack of coordination. Do they need any special care? I though i read somewhere that they are prone to mbd?

The long-term effects are that enigmas that exhibit symptoms will most likely always have them, and since ALL enigmas carry the gene that causes them, this can be passed on generation after generation. Enigmas that don't exhibit symptoms, or have mild to moderate symptoms, do not need any special care at all other than patience since some have poor eye-strike coordination. To my knowledge, they are not any more prone to MBD than any other gecko morph. Enigmas that have severe symptoms have quality of life issues, and IMO should be humanely euthanized.

 

[Dimidiata]

Let me clarify, you need to be willing to care for a special needs gecko should the syndrom of your animal worsen. Doesnt mean it will be too bad. I would ask them though what the slight signs of enigma syndrom are so you know what to exspect and arnt caught by any unexspected behaviour.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

For example, I had a beautiful male Enigma that had a very slight head tilt... most people wouldn't even have noticed. I put him with a female for breeding, and the stress caused his symptoms to become so severe he had trouble even standing up, much less eat. I removed him and he recovered, but not to the point he was before. I still have him, but will not breed him again. He eats well, is gorgeous, and a real sweetheart.

 

[brillobee]

thanks for all your help, but don't think i'm ready for an enigma yet.

 

[Russellm0704]

thanks for all your help, but don't think i'm ready for an enigma yet.

very mature choice, most people would of jumped into it but you decided to get other experienced enigma owners opinions and advice.

 

[PhoenixCoconut]

Ya I was looking into enigmas also I just don't want to have to cull a wonderful, sweet gecko life.(I dont know how wonderful it is when they have ES though)

(They are so tempting to buy though!!!)

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Enigmas are truly beautiful and a pleasure to keep. I wouldn't trade mine for the world. But, the decision to breed them should be well thought out, as there is the potential for real heartbreak.

 

[brillobee]

Well I know I said I wasn't ready for an enigma, but I just couldn't get her out of my head, so I called TUG yesterday (super nice people) and had a discussion about the syndrome and this gecko and long story short I decided to get her. I was planning on housing her alone in a plastic tub. I usually use aquariums, but i figured a tub would be less stressful.

 

[NinjaDuo]

The long-term effects are that enigmas that exhibit symptoms will most likely always have them, and since ALL enigmas carry the gene that causes them, this can be passed on generation after generation. Enigmas that don't exhibit symptoms, or have mild to moderate symptoms, do not need any special care at all other than patience since some have poor eye-strike coordination. To my knowledge, they are not any more prone to MBD than any other gecko morph. Enigmas that have severe symptoms have quality of life issues, and IMO should be humanely euthanized.

I've had enigmas that would not take food, I had to resort to slurries. But with no avail... I had to put a juvi down a few days ago.... Im keeping the few enigmas I have left as pets. I most likely won't be breeding enigmas for awhile.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I love my PET ONLY enigma and have no expectation of ever breeding or allowing her to go to another home. She's the sweetest most loving leopard gecko I'v ever had and a joy for anyone to interact with. Lena is a total fruitcake and requires extra care that I gladly give her. She was an adult when I got her so I don't know when her symptoms began or if she should have been culled as a baby. It doesn't matter at this point of her life. An enigma is not something I would recommend for someone with little experience. Some things they can do are downright freaky, and it be scary.

 

[Aurorae]

Hey Brillo

Congrats on getting your new enigma. I agree with most of what's been said above and so the only thing I'd add is that you should ask any questions if and when they arise in your head - no matter how odd some might sound! Enigma behaviour can be pretty difficult to describe at times, but you can be sure that many on here, including myself, will have a clue

I really wish it was possible to say whether or not the syndrome gets worse with age, but as said above it definitely depends on the individual gecko. We have to remember that enigmas have first hit the scene, off the top of my head, around 2006-2007..so even some of the first enigmas that are 4-5 years old now are simply not old enough to show good evidence of a bettering or worsening with age. Many of the studies hobbyists like to produce are often focused on hatchling/sub-adult enigmas and not on the older individuals, so maybe one day we'll have a greater idea of the effects of age and Enigma syndrome.

Give the little one a cuddle from me!

 

[dirtycream]

im not sure if my situation is a ES or not but im going to explain my story real quick and see if anyone can guide me in the right direction...

so i got a enigma roughly 5 months ago from a local store. i dont know the exact age of my leo but it was old enough to tell what gender it was... male... so i have him set up and a great viv and has been very happy with his home. eats very well and is extremely curious to everything going on outside his tank. about a month ago i wanted to get another gecko to add to the tank so after some research and with my knowledge on geckos i decided to get a AFT that was female for obvious reasons. my intentions were not to breed and was one of the reasons why i went with a AFT since they wont breed with leos naturally and they can both co exist together with no problems. so after introducing them together i decided to seperate them since i wasnt going to be able to be at my house the whole next day to monitor their behaviors. they are still seperated because i wanted them both to calm down again before re introducing. but now my leo "freaks out" every time there is some movement close to his tank. he will swing his tail like they do when they get excited when they see crickets then if you get close enough he will start to run all around his tank frantically. its not in circles and his head isnt tilted at all, he just runs until there is no more movement he can see. it has seemed to get better but i just dont know what to think. he still does it but not as bad as before.. but still pretty bad. there is alot of factors that can go into this like breeding season and the fact he had a short encounter with a female. but i just hope i didnt flick the switch to on with having ES because before this he has shown no signs at all of ES. any input?

 

[tiedxupxinxknots]

im not sure if my situation is a ES or not but im going to explain my story real quick and see if anyone can guide me in the right direction...

so i got a enigma roughly 5 months ago from a local store. i dont know the exact age of my leo but it was old enough to tell what gender it was... male... so i have him set up and a great viv and has been very happy with his home. eats very well and is extremely curious to everything going on outside his tank. about a month ago i wanted to get another gecko to add to the tank so after some research and with my knowledge on geckos i decided to get a AFT that was female for obvious reasons. my intentions were not to breed and was one of the reasons why i went with a AFT since they wont breed with leos naturally and they can both co exist together with no problems. so after introducing them together i decided to seperate them since i wasnt going to be able to be at my house the whole next day to monitor their behaviors. they are still seperated because i wanted them both to calm down again before re introducing. but now my leo "freaks out" every time there is some movement close to his tank. he will swing his tail like they do when they get excited when they see crickets then if you get close enough he will start to run all around his tank frantically. its not in circles and his head isnt tilted at all, he just runs until there is no more movement he can see. it has seemed to get better but i just dont know what to think. he still does it but not as bad as before.. but still pretty bad. there is alot of factors that can go into this like breeding season and the fact he had a short encounter with a female. but i just hope i didnt flick the switch to on with having ES because before this he has shown no signs at all of ES. any input?

Well for starters aft and leopard geckos are complety different, they may "co-exist" but it'll probably be too humid or too dry for one of the species, next if you have a female and a male in the same enclosure then the male will without a doubt try to breed with the female. Anyways there are many factors on wht caused ur gecko to react that way. My main leads or that the female did something the male didn't like, the male isn't social and exhibits E.S. when interacting with other geckos, or breeding caused the symptoms