Living proof of why calcium is SO important

[Jeanne]

About 4 years ago I gave a friend of a friend a Leopard Gecko for him and his girlfriends kids. I rarely saw him, but ocassionally would here through my friend that the Gecko was doing great.

A few weeks ago he said that the kids had grown tired of the Gecko and asked if I wanted it back. When I got her back I was horrified. They had obviously never given her calcium or a humid hide. She is missing most of her toes, and the ones that she still had were covered in dried shed, some were bleeding.

She also has a BAD case of MBD from the lack of calcium. When my friend mentioned this to him, he said that he didn't even notice that there was anything wrong with the Gecko. I can't believe that he thought she was fine, this was the sadest looking Gecko that I had ever seen. She has to walk on her forearms, and her spine and tail is badly curved.

Well, after a few weeks of being back with me, she is doing much better. She has a nice most hide, a little cap with calcium, and nice gutloaded mealworms. She was a dark gloomy color when I got her, now she has nice bright colors, and is much more alert.

I never took pictures of her when I got her, but here are some pictures of her now.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Poor baby!!! I'm so glad she is back with you now!

 

[Wretched]

See, thats just not right. I still dont get how you can own an animal, and not take basic care of it. nevermind if you know nothing about a moist hide or calcium. Missing toes and the symptoms of MBD are so frickin Obvious.

 

[Jeanne]

I know. It blows my mind as well.

 

[BalloonzForU]

OMG Poor thing. I'm glad that she's back in your care.

 

[Mel&Keith]

Hopefully it'll snap back some more with a little tlc from you. At least it has a way better caretaker now!

 

[Jeanne]

Hopefully it'll snap back some more with a little tlc from you. At least it has a way better caretaker now!

You can't reverse MBD. But, yes, she will be living a better life now.

 

[ReptileMan27]

Poor thing

 

[KiKi]

at least she will bw well taken care of now

 

[ByRandom]

:evil: Don't you mean ex-friend? :evil:

 

[Jeanne]

The person that had the Gecko wasn't my friend, he was a friend of a friend

 

[Perefalcon]

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think my 2 year old could do a better job than that!!!

Alex has become the offical calcium scooper for the geckos...I give her the calcium and a small spoon and she fills the bowls for all the reptiles

Good thing she's with you now!

 

[LadyGecko]

Jeanne-I'm glad that she is back with you
I also have a "special gecko" that had MBD and he is a sweet little patty that is one of my fav "pet geckos"
He came to me as a young baby with the start of MBD that must have never been noticed or just plain ignored
After a vet trip and some intense calcium supplementation -he is doing fine
Several years later he can catch crix as fast as any of my other geckos despite his bowed front legs

Good luck with her -it sounds like she is going to be fine but how sad that it is that this has to happen with all of the calcium products on the market

Sandy

 

[geckocraze]

Wow, this is honestly the first pic I have sen with the toes missing, i mean i have always read about it, but never seen the actual pic. But I am very happy to see you were able to still take it back and are trying to get it in its best health for the conditions it has gone through. Seeing people like you can put a smile on my face after hearing about such incidends.

 

[gecko breeder]

i feel realy bad for that gecko. the legs are horrible and it sadens me to see it. i hope you revive that gecko for it to have a much better life.

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

This is very sad! Aside from the obvious lack of correct care for the animal, didn't they ever care to know more about it? For me, I go and research something the very moment after it has sparked my interest. I find it hard to believe that they never even wanted to know if they were doing things right.

 

[brandy101010]

I'm so sorry this happened to one of your geckos. I'm glad you got her back now and they did not wait any longer to give her to you. I can only imagine how bad she would have been if she had to spend any more time in those conditions.

 

[aricbuss]

at least she is in good hands now!

 

[MichaelJ]

it's so sad to see her walking on her forearms. I wish animal cruelty applied to items like that. I'm glad you have her back and will give her a better life. Poor little thing.

 

[crayolaskies]

That is so sad! I can't believe her situation wasn't noticed earlier by these people. I'm so glad to hear that she's doing better in your care and hopefully will have a long, happy life with you.