Leopard Gecko Head Tilting

[Shaneab408]

I have a two year old male mack snow rers that I bought about three months ago. He has been doing fine and eating well until yesterday when I noticed that he was tilting his head slightly to the right. I got him out and he was walking pretty normally except that he would walk in circles but not a lot. I have heard about some genetic disorder in leopard geckos that I thought sounded similar but he is not the morph that I thought had that. I also read that head tilting could be caused by calcium problems but he has calcium powder and multivitamin with D3 in it in his tank all the time and I dust his crickets or mealworms with both of the supplements about once a week. He is walking around and being as active as he usually is and eating fine. I'd appreciate any suggestions and thanks ahead for responding.

 

[acpart]

You're right that head tilting does occur in a different morph --enigmas. I guess there's a possibility that he has an ear infection or some kind of congestion that's causing that. I would say that if it doesn't improve you should consider a vet visit.

ALiza

 

[Shaneab408]

If he did have the enigma trait would it show up occasionally and go away? I looked for some information on leopard gecko ear infections and couldn't find any. Do you know of any good sites for that?

 

[acpart]

Enigma is a morph, so it would only have that trait if your gecko is actually an enigma (check that out on leopardgeckowiki.com). I don't know of any gecko ear infection sources either, but if you google leopard gecko medical problems maybe you'll find something.

Aliza

 

[roger]

I have a two year old male mack snow rers that I bought about three months ago. He has been doing fine and eating well until yesterday when I noticed that he was tilting his head slightly to the right. I got him out and he was walking pretty normally except that he would walk in circles but not a lot. I have heard about some genetic disorder in leopard geckos that I thought sounded similar but he is not the morph that I thought had that. I also read that head tilting could be caused by calcium problems but he has calcium powder and multivitamin with D3 in it in his tank all the time and I dust his crickets or mealworms with both of the supplements about once a week. He is walking around and being as active as he usually is and eating fine. I'd appreciate any suggestions and thanks ahead for responding.

email your breeder and ask him if its an enigma.if he's a resposible breeder he would have told u the symptoms b4 selling him to u

 

[Shaneab408]

I bought him from a reputable breeder at an expo and he isn't an enigma but a mack snow rers. I have looked into the enigma morph and it seems to be something that affects them from cradle to grave and not just occassionally. He lives with two females (murphy's patternless and bell albino) and they are both doing great, even while I'm typing now, he is climbing around their tank and still tilting a little.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Do you see any evidence of an upper respratory infection? Is he blowing snot bubbles, sound raspy if you hold him up to your ear, excessively licking his face or scraping his face on tank decor? Fluid imbalance in the head from something like that could potentially cause a head tilt. Also are you certain there is no enigma in the back ground of your mack? And enigma syndrom doesn't always affect from cradel to grave. Some dont' show it until they mature, some show it right from the egg, some don't show it until their first mating season, some only show symptoms when stressed...so it really doesn't always follow a specific pattern right out of the egg and from what I understand of it, it affects each animal differently, some with major effects, some with occasional minor affects. I have to agree with Aliza tho... if it is something that concerns you and is progressing or persistant and something that just recently started you may want to take him in for an exam.

 

[Shaneab408]

He doesn't show any of the symptoms you mentioned for upper respiratory infection. I guess there is no way for me to be 100% sure that he is enigma free but the breeder that I purchased him from has a good reputation and I trust his genetics because he collects emails of his leopard geckos' new owners and emails pictures of your leo's parents when you buy one of his leos. Because he doesn't seem to be bad off, I'll watch him closely for a few days and if he doesn't improve, I will take him to the veterinarian and go from there. If anyone knows of any home remedies that I could try with him, I would appreciate it.

 

[Imperial Geckos]

He doesn't show any of the symptoms you mentioned for upper respiratory infection. I guess there is no way for me to be 100% sure that he is enigma free but the breeder that I purchased him from has a good reputation and I trust his genetics because he collects emails of his leopard geckos' new owners and emails pictures of your leo's parents when you buy one of his leos. Because he doesn't seem to be bad off, I'll watch him closely for a few days and if he doesn't improve, I will take him to the veterinarian and go from there. If anyone knows of any home remedies that I could try with him, I would appreciate it.

Why cant you just double check with the breeder? Its really no big deal, call him/her and explain whats going on and ask if any of the parents were enigmas and if the gecko you have is an enigma...

Also post a picture of your gecko, maybe we cant help you out w/ ID'ing it...

 

[Dog Shrink]

Why cant you just double check with the breeder? Its really no big deal, call him/her and explain whats going on and ask if any of the parents were enigmas and if the gecko you have is an enigma...

Also post a picture of your gecko, maybe we cant help you out w/ ID'ing it...

When I mentioned that I was meaning more the grand parents or great grand parents as the parents are likely known.