Lost Gecko - Need Suggestions For Finding

[cowana]

Any suggestions for catching a loose gecko? My roommate's son had friends over and they know they aren't supposed to go in the animal room, but they did while we were at the store. They left the drawer in my quarantine rack to the blue spot pulled out and she is gone.

I've tore the room apart and can't find a trace of her. I left a small dish of mealworms & waxworms and water by the rack. I'm afraid she may have gotten in the central heating vent. It is right next to the rack and warm.[emoji27]

I'm totally freaking out right now. I'm scared for her. The door was shut but there is a small gap under it. We also have 5 dogs living with us full-time (2 part-time who are currently here) and 8 cats. I am watching the animals closely for any commotion, as is anyone else. If she is in the vents she will be in the furnace and she is a goner!

I am a better gecko keeper/mom than this... I have never lost or hurt one before. I mooned over her for months and then I lost her and probably killed her the first night! She deserves better! [emoji27][emoji33]

 

[indyana]

Oh, so sorry, Amy.

Did you check to make sure the kids didn't pick up the gecko and take it anywhere?

There's been a ton of previous discussions on finding lost geckos. I won't rewrite all the tips, but basically, you need to put out things that will attract her.

Find an Escaped Gecko - Gecko Time - Gecko Time
https://www.google.com/search?q=site:geckoforums.net+finding+lost+gecko

Don't lose hope until you find her. Some people have had geckos go missing for months before they pop up again.

 

[cowana]

Thanks. I'm trying not to lose hope. I'm so mad, sad, worried and upset right. The boys know they aren't allowed to touch the geckos without me present, but they did anyway. They're aged 14-16 years. They wanted to see my 2 hatchlings and 2 new pick ups (tax return present to myself lol). When I saw that the drawer out my heart raced, when she was gone I panicked!

I asked the boys if they had the gecko or put it anywhere , but they said no. It was too late to call their parents but tomorrow I will be checking to see if anyone suddenly got a gecko.

Thanks for listening to my vent and finding those articles for me.

This is her photo from Magical Geckos. Eclipse ph Tremper (low chance)

 

[indyana]

I would consider a sturdy lock for the animal room. Those boys are old enough that they can follow rules if they want to. -_-

Hopefully, she will show up soon.

 

[cowana]

I agree a lock is going on it for sure. The geckos are little escape artists and too valuable. If I can't trust them then I just won't allow access.

Jake is a good kid, but he is a follower, and tends to bend to peer pressure easily. Especially if he thinks it is harmless. "Harmless" lost my gecko. [emoji20]

 

[Neon Aurora]

Oh no, I'm sorry!

I know the feeling. I had one that would get out all the time. I always found him in the closet of the same room, and I have 2 dogs and at the time had 3 cats. And when my two males escaped to fight each other, I found both of them in the closet as well. In my experience, they don't like to venture over open ground, so my bet would be that she is somewhere in the room. They like to stay hidden and I think it's unlikely she would go under the door. Although, if there is an opening to the heating vent that she could easily reach, than I might be concerned about that. I wonder if there is a way you can check?

Don't feel too bad. I lost a snake for several weeks once (and found her inside my dresser in the same room).

 

[cowana]

Thanks, the door is on the on the other side of the room so I don't think she will go there either, but who knows.

The heating vent has a fancy cover and she is smaller (maybe 25g). I will attach a pic. The black thing on the right side is the quarantine rack so you can see why I am afraid she went down it. I did reach my arm down as far as it would go and only came up with a nasty old crayon. [emoji20]

Hoping she went out the other side behind a tote full of reptile supplies. But haven't seen a trace of her.

 

[tristanlook67]

I accidentally left a drawer open and had a gecko get out once but about ten minutes later I found her stuck in a paper towel tube I had on the floor so my advice is to check tight spaces that would be similar to a had for them

 

[TheFabulousGeckos]

Goshhh :0...ive lost my geckos a few times already as I had a lousy rack diy so I had a new rack now.

I will usually find them in any hide spots, small spaces, dark spots and places I know they could fit or my cats find them for me(they dont harm them though as they are used to the geckos). At times I just leave all the lights off and come back to find a gecko right in the middle of the room(busteddd!) they will always head for someplace dark when they escape.
The heating vent is pretty big and there is a chance she might fall in but I really hope she is found elsewhere.
All the best is your search longest I lost my gecko is 2-3 months and came back a healthy gecko 0-0 I have no Idea what she ate.
Do tell us when she's found.

 

[cowana]

Thanks everyone! If I don't find her today I am going to call an HVAC guy tomorrow and see if they can help me find her after my Corgi's Cancer surgery. It has been a crappy week. [emoji22]

 

[indyana]

Good luck, both with gecko hunting and to your corgi.

 

[cowana]

Lilo, my Blue Spot Eclipse, has been found!!! Thanks to my cat, Buddha! I've been watching the cats carefully to see if they show any special interest in any areas or objects and he became obsessed with a diaper bag, I got as a baby shower gift, a short while ago. I had already searched it a few times, but I checked it again and there she was! Yay! She is in full shed so I put her right into the moist hide back in her tub. I'm just glad she is safe and sound, and hadn't went into the HVAC system. [emoji3]

As for my Corgi, Lili (pronounced Lily), she is incredibly sore but doing well. We are making the old girl (12) as comfortable as possible while she heals. She has a 12" incision covering her ribs from spine to sternum on one side with a ton of staples, but they believe they got all of the tumor! Now we just need to wait on the pathology and hope for good news... No Cancer like the vets think it 99% is, and if Cancer it didn't spread. [emoji4]

 

[stager]

So glad both your animals are ok

 

[indyana]

Whew, so glad you found Lilo! (Hehe, that is my skink's name.)

Best wishes to Lili with her recovery as well. Good news for both animals!

 

[KaitouCat]

Glad to hear you found your little reptilian friend safe and sound! It's always distressing when one of them goes missing.. Had a day old baby escape some time ago and never did find the poor lass, not even a dropped tail.
I hope those kids got a good punishment for what they did, especially leaving the bin open on top of checking them out when they were not supposed to. If she wasn't lost during the interaction, then leaving the bin open is a sure fire way of loosing the animal.

 

[GreatGeckos]

I lost a leopard gecko once. She was gone 14 days and I heard something under my bed, I ignored it at first then heard it again. I knew right away what it was scratching around underneath my bed. I grabbed a flash light and jumped down there and there she was all cumfy in a bundled up t shirt that got pushed under my bed. This was years ago .. Probably about 5 years ! Anyhow I really hope you find your baby, try putting a heat mat with food and water in the room somewhere dark, then place toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls all around the room. Check them daily. If you can sleep in the room a night or 2 , leopard geckos are nocturnal you just might find her sneaking around in the dark!

 

[GreatGeckos]

Sorry left this comment before I noticed you found her. Really glad you did!

 

[cowana]

Thank yow, everybody! I am so relieved to have her back! I was incredibly worried she had gotten into the air ducts. Now, I don't have to worry about searching for her and can focus on helping my Corgi.

Lilo is a great name,, Indyana. Good choice. Haha I thought Lilo was quite appropriate for her when I found it meant "lost" considering she went AWOL the same night I got her. (If you've ever seen the movie Lilo & Stitch it basically means "lost & pulled together". I thought that was fitting for the movie.)

There are definitely consequences. I don't think Jake (roomie's son) had seen me more upset and his mom was really pissed, too. The boys that were over had their parents called after everyone involved got an earful from me about trust, respect and responsibility. The parents were pretty mad and promised consequences on their end. Jake was grounded until she was found (or a week), and no friends over without supervision when ungrounded until he proves himself trustworthy again. Grounding is no joke here... No phone, TV, radio, computer (except schoolwork), video games, etc. He could do homework, chores, and read... That's about it. Oh, and of course, help look for her! He is glad today is his last day because he was hating life.. LOL

I did learn a lot about finding a lost gecko from this gecko experience, though. I have a better idea what to expect if it happens again *knocks on wood*. I really appreciate everyone's support, suggestions and stories. It did ease my mind. [emoji3]

 

[Neon Aurora]

Sorry for being late, but I'm so glad you found her, and that your corgi did well in surgery! Losing animals and having sick animals can be pretty scary. I'm sure you feel very relieved. =)

 

[JoulesBurn]

Congrats on finding her! Woah, that's scary stuff, glad it turned out just fine. Hoping for your pup, too. That is one super stressful week.