Has anyone ever heard of a gecko......

[rubym]

biting its own tail off? I sold 2 geckos to a this person. He came to my house a few weeks before he bought them. I gave him a care sheet. I showed him my tank setups. He went home, supposedly got everything ready, came back got the geckos. He had had them 2 weeks when his cat jumped into the tank with one of the males and it dropped its tail. I asked why he didnt have a tank cover like he said he had. He said he forgot to buy one:main_angry:. Anyway, the idiot text me tonight and says that the beautiful little male carrot tail had just chewed his own tail off. I had a fit. He insinuated that maybe the tails on my geckos are genetically defective. Ive only been doing this for 4 years but I have never had a Leo drop a tail. I think that if my geckos had genetically screwed up tails....I would have noticed it by now. He actually asked if he could get a refund . I said no. I would almost give him his money back to save my babies but my husband said its the principal. Would a gecko chew its own tail off for no reason?

Ruby

 

[KelliH]

I have never personally seen this and the only way I can even imagine it happening is if there is some injury that leads to infection in the tail which might cause the gecko to chew it.

 

[BrilliantEraser]

My gecko actually bit part of his tail off. He's the Enigma that I got from my friend. She owned him when the tail-gnawing incident occurred. Wrex just isn't that bright, best we could figure out. We think his train of thought went something like:

"There's something following me! Okay, I'm gonna run and hide. CRAP, it's still right behind me! Augh! Okay, gotta defend myself! ATTACK!"

My friend came home one day to find him actively gnawing on his tail. Eyes half-closed, just gnawing away.

Like I said. Special.

 

[Angel]

Iv heard of tails dropping if they have a bad shed and it stuck and they try to get it off, other than that never heard of it. my guess is he didnt learn his lesson the 1st time.

 

[Ga_herps]

The only time I have seen a gecko even remotely chew its own tail off is as what was said above, because of a stuck shed problem. Now for the genetically defective part thats a load of crap. It sounds to me like he is fishing for a problem he has no knowledge of.

 

[gitrdone0420]

I dont even think its possible to have a genetic defect of tails dropping, lol. I say this guy is just not taking care of the geckos properly and is fishing for free geckos or money. I would just send him on his way and tell him due to his improper caring for well bred geckos that you would like to discontinue business with him. just imo.

 

[RampantReptiles]

I dont even think its possible to have a genetic defect of tails dropping, lol. I say this guy is just not taking care of the geckos properly and is fishing for free geckos or money. I would just send him on his way and tell him due to his improper caring for well bred geckos that you would like to discontinue business with him. just imo.

Very well put I would say!

Yeah the tail was fine when you sold it to him.. not regrown right?

So how could he even say its a genetic defect when it has only occurred while in his care?!?

What idiot has an uncovered tank that a cat could get access to? I have a couple tanks that both have screen tops, with clips, and the cats dont have access to! But I am paranoid enough that there is always the possibility that the cats might accidentally get in there so I know the geckos are safe!

Some people just....grrr:main_angry:

 

[Whitey]

My question is... is why would a gecko bite its tail off, when it has the capability to just drop it? Doesn't make much sense to me. I understand if it has stuck shed then it will try and attempt to get the stuck shed off, but I see no reason why a gecko would just randomly say "Hmm, I'm hungry... oh look, a tail!!! This looks perfect for a snack!".

Tell the dude to go $*(# off, people like this really piss me off.

p.s. Yes, I know, I'm not politically correct.

 

[sammer021486]

I am a little confused. He has two geckos and the cat jumped into one of the tanks and that same gecko lost its tail or the other gecko lost its tail?

As for out of the blue ripping the tail off, I highly doubt it. I had one of my female blizzards tail tip go black and shrivel up. Even though it was dead she would not drop that tail tip, even if I grabbed her tail, took her three weeks to drop it.

So for a gecko to randomly drop a tail, I would think that some sort of trauma would have to occur, like a cat jumping into the tank and munching on some geckos.

 

[rubym]

I am a little confused. He has two geckos and the cat jumped into one of the tanks and that same gecko lost its tail or the other gecko lost its tail?

He bought 2 at the same time from me. Gecko 1 the cat jumped into the tank.....which he assured me he had lids for. Then yesterday gecko 2 supposedly suddenly bit his own tail off.

{quote+sammer02]As for out of the blue ripping the tail off, I highly doubt it. I had one of my female blizzards tail tip go black and shrivel up. Even though it was dead she would not drop that tail tip, even if I grabbed her tail, took her three weeks to drop it.

We had a rescue that had a neurcrotic tail when we got him. He had to have it amputated. He wouldnt drop it or chew it off......He could have saved me 200 dollars in vet bills,lol.

 

[Shera]

I think your warranty (if you even had one), was pretty much void when he put them into an improper set-up. The cat probably jumped into the other tank and got the other gecko.

 

[sammer021486]

We had a rescue that had a neurcrotic tail when we got him. He had to have it amputated. He wouldnt drop it or chew it off......He could have saved me 200 dollars in vet bills,lol.

I got lucky with her, and gathered some information from here on what vets had recommended for treatment of other people's geckos, whose tails had the same symptoms.

I believe in guarantees on geckos that you sell for their health, to an extent. But by this guy not having a lid on his tanks, when he has a cat(s), then all guarantees are off, as that is failure on the new owners part to properly care for their pet.

Haha, when he demanded the refund you should have told him you have a 25-50% restocking fee, then give him a spiel on why there is such a high restocking fee. Something along the lines of "The restocking fee is required, because the gecko must now be sorted and assigned a new home while in our inventory; it now requires food, water, heating, and proper care; while efforts are being made to find the gecko a new home"

It is sad that something like this happens to the ones that we take so much time to care for, but as your husband said principle and if you do decide to give a refund, I would take a percentage out of the refund to show the person that they can not on a whim decide to take care of a pet, but when it is no longer bright, new, and shiny, return it for a refund.

If they had bought it at a pet store, many pet stores would say "too bad, we provide no warranty on live stock"

 

[adam&nikki]

i honestly do not think he chewd off his tail the guy either picked it up by the tail or the cats got is still i wouldnt give him a refund this is still a live gecko that will live for many years (if taken care of properly)