Enimga Syndrome?

[queso]

I purchased a sunglow temper this past weekend form a reptile expo. She is 6 months old. I'm wondering if she has enigma syndrome, because she is showing some signs of it. (Stargazing, tilting her head, staring outside her tank for periods of time, startled easily). She also wanders around her cage a lot and does random things like in one the attached pictures below, she decided to climb up her sign and sit there for a minute (she's precious!) I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts and could help me figure out of this is enigma syndrome? Also, she does eat good but she has some problems catching the food on her own, and doesn't have good aim when feeding her with tongs.

 

[Neon Aurora]

My guess would be no. She isn't an enigma, and it is unusual (though not impossible) for a non-enigma gecko to have ES. I think those could be interpreted as normal gecko behavior.

Maybe you could take a video?

 

[queso]

I'll try taking a video. It's just new to me because I have another leopard gecko and he acts nothing like her, and a lot of her behaviors resemble that of one with enigma syndrome.

 

[Kristi23]

She wouldn't have ES if she's not an enigma. That's not to say that she doesn't have neurological issues though. A video would help.


I also moved this to the health section since it's not really a morph question.

 

[cowana]

With you having just got her this weekend the pacing and climbing all over her cage is normal. She is investigating her new surroundings. Typically the older a LG is the longer it takes to settle into a new environment. Also, my little colony if I move something in their tank they have to look around to see where it went and if everything else is the same.

I have a little RAPTOR girl that behaves a bit like yours. I don't think she is ES (no Enigma) or neurological. I think she might be of less than average intelligence though... Possibly too much linebreeding? IDK. I have caught her staring out her aquarium for a bit, but then correlated it to times when she sees her reflection. She can be a bit of a clumsy hunter, particularly when I feed her with my metal tongs. She will bite at the tongs like "ohh, shiny!" I really think she is just more simple-minded than your typical Leo. I wouldn't trade her for the world, though. She is my sweetest, Leo. She will curl up in the crook of my neck and is just so calm and sweet. I love her to pieces. (Not saying your gecko is slow, just using my girl as an example.)

I know ES can be a really scary thought, and if your gecko displays any of the symptoms it is really worrisome and easy to fear the worst. Chances are she is just trying to settle in, but like everyone else suggested get a video if possible to rule it out.

 

[queso]

Thank you for the reply! What you said makes a lot of sense and my baby is also a clumsy hunter and behaves the same way you described with the tongs when I feed her, and the reflection thing also makes sense. She tends to just lunge at the tongs for the heck of it, lol. I tried getting a video earlier but she hasn't really shown any of the signs related to ES like she has been. However, I was watching her earlier and she "attacked" the water in her dish and I really wish I could've caught it on video. :main_laugh: I will try again tomorrow to get a video of her posted.

 

[cowana]

Thank you for the reply! What you said makes a lot of sense and my baby is also a clumsy hunter and behaves the same way you described with the tongs when I feed her, and the reflection thing also makes sense. She tends to just lunge at the tongs for the heck of it, lol. I tried getting a video earlier but she hasn't really shown any of the signs related to ES like she has been. However, I was watching her earlier and she "attacked" the water in her dish and I really wish I could've caught it on video. :main_laugh: I will try again tomorrow to get a video of her posted.

Your welcome. I hope it eased your mind a little bit. My girl is just a goofball. The older she gets she is a bit less odd, but she is still different. She has developed a new thing after her winter fast that she doesn't like any feeders that poke her nose or are hard, so she will bite at a feeder but if she bumps her nose she will shake her head, lick it a bunch and then give up on that one. Haha

 

[queso]

Here's a video of my little booger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkqxLTvtf3Y

 

[Art Geckos]

I don't see any signs of ES here. Enigma Syndrome is a misleading name, as it is a dominant disorder that all leopard gecko morphs are susceptible to; it just appears to be 'linked' to the enigma gene... meaning the mutant gene causing these equilibrium deficiencies is located closely to the enigma gene, on the same chromosome. But ES is not unique to Enigmas.

Your animal seems a little in-deliberate, but its nothing to be alarmed about.

If your interested in learning more about ES, here is an article I wrote for Gecko Time all about it: Enigma Syndrome in Leopard Geckos: An Autosomal Dominant Disorder - Gecko Time - Gecko Time

 

[sausage]

She's lovely. Such a curious lil thing, defo interested in the camera haha