Starwild
Gex 'n Snakes
- Messages
- 90
- Location
- North Carolina
I try to take the best possible care of all my animals, but I did a very stupid thing that nearly cost me hundreds of dollars and the life of my six-month-old Bell albino.
I'm sharing my stupidity here to hopefully let my idiocy serve as a lesson to everyone else.
I just moved to a new state and city two weeks ago. Monday night, I went to clean out the reptile cages. I did as I've always done--put the stopper in the bathroom sink, set damp paper towels in the bottom, and let my adult gecko sit there for a while. It soaks her toes to prevent trouble during shedding, and keeps her out of trouble while I'm cleaning. She can't climb ceramic, so I thought it was safe. Not anymore.
I cleaned her cage with no problems. Put her back in, and took out my little juvie Bell, named Fred. I put some fresh paper towels down, set Fred down, and cleaned out his cage. Returned to get him. He was gone.
I didn't understand at first. There was NO WAY he could have climbed out of that sink, and the drain stopper was firmly in place. Then I saw what I had missed at first: a giant overflow hole at the edge of the sink, just big enough for a young gecko to crawl into.
My gecko was inside the sink.
I *freaked*.
I took the sink apart, turned off the water so he couldn't drown, took the pipes off so he couldn't crawl into the wall. At one point I even took a hammer to the sink to try and break it to get him out, only to discover the old, cheap sink is not pure ceramic, but ceramic layered over metal. I couldn't break it. If I had had to cut him out, it would have required something that could cut through heavy metal.
I rent, so I would have had to pay the plumber, whoever cut the thing apart--if it could even be done--and then pay to replace the sink and the countertop. And then probably risk getting kicked out for being such a bad tenant.
So I decided to wait a few days and see if he would come out on his own. I set a heater in the bathroom to keep it warm, set a bowl of mealworms and a bowl of water in the sink basin, and waited.
Tonight when I came home, I found him in--of all places--the BATHTUB. He had to have crawled out, fallen off the countertop, then climbed the fabric shower curtain and ended up in the tub.
I am speechless. I am lucky. I am blessed and I am so glad to have him back.
I am so, so thankful that he's okay, and I cannot believe how fast it happened, how close I came to losing him through my own stupidity. It was an accident, but a totally preventable one.
So learn from me and my mistake. I have. Be careful with your geckos, they are small and can get into tight spaces in a heartbeat, where you can't get them out.
Fred is fine, and sends his regards.
I'm sharing my stupidity here to hopefully let my idiocy serve as a lesson to everyone else.
I just moved to a new state and city two weeks ago. Monday night, I went to clean out the reptile cages. I did as I've always done--put the stopper in the bathroom sink, set damp paper towels in the bottom, and let my adult gecko sit there for a while. It soaks her toes to prevent trouble during shedding, and keeps her out of trouble while I'm cleaning. She can't climb ceramic, so I thought it was safe. Not anymore.
I cleaned her cage with no problems. Put her back in, and took out my little juvie Bell, named Fred. I put some fresh paper towels down, set Fred down, and cleaned out his cage. Returned to get him. He was gone.
I didn't understand at first. There was NO WAY he could have climbed out of that sink, and the drain stopper was firmly in place. Then I saw what I had missed at first: a giant overflow hole at the edge of the sink, just big enough for a young gecko to crawl into.
My gecko was inside the sink.
I *freaked*.
I took the sink apart, turned off the water so he couldn't drown, took the pipes off so he couldn't crawl into the wall. At one point I even took a hammer to the sink to try and break it to get him out, only to discover the old, cheap sink is not pure ceramic, but ceramic layered over metal. I couldn't break it. If I had had to cut him out, it would have required something that could cut through heavy metal.
I rent, so I would have had to pay the plumber, whoever cut the thing apart--if it could even be done--and then pay to replace the sink and the countertop. And then probably risk getting kicked out for being such a bad tenant.
So I decided to wait a few days and see if he would come out on his own. I set a heater in the bathroom to keep it warm, set a bowl of mealworms and a bowl of water in the sink basin, and waited.
Tonight when I came home, I found him in--of all places--the BATHTUB. He had to have crawled out, fallen off the countertop, then climbed the fabric shower curtain and ended up in the tub.
I am speechless. I am lucky. I am blessed and I am so glad to have him back.
I am so, so thankful that he's okay, and I cannot believe how fast it happened, how close I came to losing him through my own stupidity. It was an accident, but a totally preventable one.
So learn from me and my mistake. I have. Be careful with your geckos, they are small and can get into tight spaces in a heartbeat, where you can't get them out.
Fred is fine, and sends his regards.
