T
thaveteran
Guest
Anybody know what happened over there? I was trying to look on their available page and it said something like there was an accident at the facility. I hope everything is ok.
PrototypeGeckos
New Member
- Messages
- 1,354
- Location
- McDonough, Ga
Wow, I just saw that when I read your post, I hope everything is ok as well, I am sure someone here has been in contact with her and knows whats going on.
bittner_344
www.theurbanreptile.com
- Messages
- 1,295
- Location
- Ont, canada!
I saw hat also earlier today, i hope everything is ok!
Kangas Kritters
Everybody needs a Kritter
- Messages
- 202
- Location
- San Ramon, CA
I'm sure everything if OK
I was just at her house last weekend (after her website update) and believe it's just her new racks that came in needed to be set-up. She's and Glenn are great people who just have their hands full with geckos like a lot of us do.
I was just at her house last weekend (after her website update) and believe it's just her new racks that came in needed to be set-up. She's and Glenn are great people who just have their hands full with geckos like a lot of us do.
Golden Gate Geckos
Mean Old Gecko Lady
- Messages
- 12,730
- Location
- SF Bay Area
I have always been first to share anything and everything I know with all of you... my successes as well as my failures. If I learn anything, I want the world to know so we can all be better informed, and be better keepers of these beautiful, gentle creatures. For me, my geckos come first, and I truly love them. You all have encouraged me when I was heartsick over the loss of one of my beloved geckos. You all have been my lifeline to the world of those who share my love and passion for our geckos. I want to thank all of you for that.
A week ago Sunday, we moved the last of the racks to rearrange my 'new' gecko facility. I was so excited, and was planning on posting pics of my geckos' sanctuary. I visually checked that all the temperature controller probes were taped in, and plugged in all of them. My husband was the beast of burden, moving all the racks and cabinets, and when it was finally done we went out on the patio to have a glass of wine and relax after several days of hard work. I was thrilled to have the gecko room set-up the way I always dreamed it could be.
My husband had to leave for the week on a business trip early the next morning, and we were both tired and wanted to go to bed, but I needed to go feed all the hatchlings. When I opened the first drawer, I didn't notice anything. By the time I got to the 3rd tub, it seemed like it was pretty warm inside them so I took my Raytek temperature gun and checked the temp inside one of the tube. It was 124 degrees!
In a panic, I pulled the plug on everything and started opening the drawers to that rack. There were babies in their water bowls, and many were scratching to get out the front of the boxes. All were alive and active, so I was relieved. Then I checked the probe again, but it wasn't until after I physically felt it that I realized it had actually popped out from under the tape. The controller was reading the air temperature, and the heat just stayed on...
The next morning, there were two babies dead. I started going through every tub, and many could hardly move. Others displayed symptoms of severe MBD... twisted and rubbery deformed limbs. The more boxes I opened, the more I found in that condition... although some seemed just fine. It was completely random. I marked each box that had babies that seemed to have MBD. I tried to check if my calcium supplements had an expiration date, but there was none. I quickly began to treat each gecko with liquid calcium, and stayed up until 3:30 AM doing that.
The next morning, there were 3 more babies dead, and several more were in very bad shape. I continued giving them liquid calcium, and contacted my vet describing what the symptoms of these little babies was. He was gone from the office, but responded telling me it was most likely not MBD, but neurological damage from exposure to high temperatures, and this could mimic MBD... and was most likely permanent. The rack had 39 babies in it.
In the midst of all of this, the air conditioner for my house went out. We had temperatures over 100 degrees here, and I watched the heat rise in my house to 91 degrees. I had to do something quickly to save the eggs in my incubators. I had frozen bags of water in the freezer, and was using them to keep the temperatures down in the incubators. I called every HVAC company in the book, and finally got somebody to come out and look at the unit. It was broken and couldn't be fixed. I broke down and cried, telling them I needed to save my geckos and all the eggs in my incubators. By this time, I had 7 dead baby leopard geckos in a bag in the refrigerator, and was desperately trying to keep the rest alive.
Now, a week later, I have a new air conditioning unit, and 9 dead baby geckos. There are 12 more that have severe MBD symptoms... two are in very grave condition. I have been slurry feeding them until I can get in to see the vet on Thursday. The good news is that two of them have actually improved, and almost half of those affected are eating on their own now.
I am traumatized, and actually wound up with a bleeding ulcer last week that required immediate medical attention. My husband came home last Friday night to find out all of this. I had hoped to wait until I had more information about what's going on with my babies before I posted about this horrible tragedy... but here it is.
I am so heartsick over this I actually considered selling Golden Gate Geckos. I feel differently now. I want to learn as much as possible about the effects of temperature stress on our geckos, and share this information freely. I want the deaths of all my babies to have value.
I'm sure there will be some of you that will criticize and pass judgement on me for being negligent. So be it. I guarantee there is no criticism worse than what I have already put on myself. I just hope you all realize that NONE of us are immune to these problems. I hope all of you will not take for granted that the temperatures in your gecko's enclosures are OK just because the controller says they are. I hope all of you will never take for granted the lives of these lovely, gentle geckos.
I will share more after I have consulted with the veterinary experts, have some x-rays, and am emotionally stronger to deal with all of your concerns and questions.
A week ago Sunday, we moved the last of the racks to rearrange my 'new' gecko facility. I was so excited, and was planning on posting pics of my geckos' sanctuary. I visually checked that all the temperature controller probes were taped in, and plugged in all of them. My husband was the beast of burden, moving all the racks and cabinets, and when it was finally done we went out on the patio to have a glass of wine and relax after several days of hard work. I was thrilled to have the gecko room set-up the way I always dreamed it could be.
My husband had to leave for the week on a business trip early the next morning, and we were both tired and wanted to go to bed, but I needed to go feed all the hatchlings. When I opened the first drawer, I didn't notice anything. By the time I got to the 3rd tub, it seemed like it was pretty warm inside them so I took my Raytek temperature gun and checked the temp inside one of the tube. It was 124 degrees!
In a panic, I pulled the plug on everything and started opening the drawers to that rack. There were babies in their water bowls, and many were scratching to get out the front of the boxes. All were alive and active, so I was relieved. Then I checked the probe again, but it wasn't until after I physically felt it that I realized it had actually popped out from under the tape. The controller was reading the air temperature, and the heat just stayed on...
The next morning, there were two babies dead. I started going through every tub, and many could hardly move. Others displayed symptoms of severe MBD... twisted and rubbery deformed limbs. The more boxes I opened, the more I found in that condition... although some seemed just fine. It was completely random. I marked each box that had babies that seemed to have MBD. I tried to check if my calcium supplements had an expiration date, but there was none. I quickly began to treat each gecko with liquid calcium, and stayed up until 3:30 AM doing that.
The next morning, there were 3 more babies dead, and several more were in very bad shape. I continued giving them liquid calcium, and contacted my vet describing what the symptoms of these little babies was. He was gone from the office, but responded telling me it was most likely not MBD, but neurological damage from exposure to high temperatures, and this could mimic MBD... and was most likely permanent. The rack had 39 babies in it.
In the midst of all of this, the air conditioner for my house went out. We had temperatures over 100 degrees here, and I watched the heat rise in my house to 91 degrees. I had to do something quickly to save the eggs in my incubators. I had frozen bags of water in the freezer, and was using them to keep the temperatures down in the incubators. I called every HVAC company in the book, and finally got somebody to come out and look at the unit. It was broken and couldn't be fixed. I broke down and cried, telling them I needed to save my geckos and all the eggs in my incubators. By this time, I had 7 dead baby leopard geckos in a bag in the refrigerator, and was desperately trying to keep the rest alive.
Now, a week later, I have a new air conditioning unit, and 9 dead baby geckos. There are 12 more that have severe MBD symptoms... two are in very grave condition. I have been slurry feeding them until I can get in to see the vet on Thursday. The good news is that two of them have actually improved, and almost half of those affected are eating on their own now.
I am traumatized, and actually wound up with a bleeding ulcer last week that required immediate medical attention. My husband came home last Friday night to find out all of this. I had hoped to wait until I had more information about what's going on with my babies before I posted about this horrible tragedy... but here it is.
I am so heartsick over this I actually considered selling Golden Gate Geckos. I feel differently now. I want to learn as much as possible about the effects of temperature stress on our geckos, and share this information freely. I want the deaths of all my babies to have value.
I'm sure there will be some of you that will criticize and pass judgement on me for being negligent. So be it. I guarantee there is no criticism worse than what I have already put on myself. I just hope you all realize that NONE of us are immune to these problems. I hope all of you will not take for granted that the temperatures in your gecko's enclosures are OK just because the controller says they are. I hope all of you will never take for granted the lives of these lovely, gentle geckos.
I will share more after I have consulted with the veterinary experts, have some x-rays, and am emotionally stronger to deal with all of your concerns and questions.
Last edited by a moderator:
GeckoGuru
New Member
- Messages
- 182
- Location
- Logan, Iowa
Marcia,
I am very sorry for your losses...that is one of my most horrible fears, having something happen to my geckos.
You did the best you could, good luck with you geckos, I hope that they get better.
I am very sorry for your losses...that is one of my most horrible fears, having something happen to my geckos.
You did the best you could, good luck with you geckos, I hope that they get better.
Scott&Nikki
New Member
- Messages
- 2,003
- Location
- DeKalb/Wheeling IL
Wow Marcia, I am so sorry. You know everyone here is thinkin about you.
C
crs
Guest
Marcia, I am deeply sorry for you and your geckos. I hope that the rest survive and recover to the extent that they can. Nobody here has the right to criticize you of anything, they don't know the full circumstances of the event and the amount of help you have provided everyone on this forum and everyone else in the world outweighs the bad accident that happened. You are such a huge help to everyone on this forum that I think everyone should give you the deepest and upmost respect. If you ever need any support be sure that most people here will be happy to help. Keep us updated.
Last edited by a moderator:
GekkoGalaksen
New Member
- Messages
- 1,943
- Location
- Denmark
Marcia...who would dare to throw the first stone?
We all do mistakes and accidents happens...
We are thinking of you and wish we could do something more then just that!
We all do mistakes and accidents happens...
We are thinking of you and wish we could do something more then just that!
LeosForLess
New Member
- Messages
- 1,305
Man Marcia, that really sounds horrible. It just snowballed. It happened to a good friend of mine. The heat wasnt escaping and he didnt know it so it did show signs of MND, but ended up living. It seemed like it was mentally handicapped, didnt have to be hand fed just wasnt right. We always just called it Heat Stroke. It happened to another friend of mine's 5 foot RTB. Same thing, looked like it had MBD, slow. It doesnt totally go away but it decreases. Good luck and we all know you have the BEST intrest for your geckos!!!!!
G
Gecko
Guest
If they are young and live you'd expect the nervous system to show some regenerative properties. I mean the reptile kidney does if I remember. Hopefully the little guys get better.
Honestly, you can't do much about a mechanical failure like that until it happens. There's not much point in beating yourself up about it. Too bad there's not a built in thermostat in the tape . . .
If you ever need a ghetto way of cooling things you can use the bathroom. You can let the cold water run and leave an inch in the bathrub or shower. Place you boxes in and it acts as a buffer. You can exchange the water as it warms. Some people actually use the whole room to keep some things cool. For a ton of boxes you can just rotate them in stacks.
Keeping the door shut and the bathrub and sink filled with warm water and the boxes just in the bathroom helps too.
Honestly, you can't do much about a mechanical failure like that until it happens. There's not much point in beating yourself up about it. Too bad there's not a built in thermostat in the tape . . .
If you ever need a ghetto way of cooling things you can use the bathroom. You can let the cold water run and leave an inch in the bathrub or shower. Place you boxes in and it acts as a buffer. You can exchange the water as it warms. Some people actually use the whole room to keep some things cool. For a ton of boxes you can just rotate them in stacks.
Keeping the door shut and the bathrub and sink filled with warm water and the boxes just in the bathroom helps too.
Last edited by a moderator:
GECKOFREAK
Addicted To Leos
- Messages
- 1,687
- Location
- California
Marcia, I am so sorry for your loss. Please don't beat yourself up about this..... accidents happen. Everyone has so much respect for you and everything you do. My thoughts are with you and all of your precious animals.
Hi Marcia. I'm very sorry for what happened to you. I hope the babies that are still in a critical condition recover soon.
I show much respect for you, for telling everyone about this accident.
I know the feeling if an animal dies and I feel responsible for that I am to ashamed to post it on forums. But what you did is the best you can do; to share the bad happenings with other people so everyone can learn from it. Thank you for that and please do not sell GGG. Your Geckos need you and the GF.net-Community needs you.
Regards,
Johannes
I show much respect for you, for telling everyone about this accident.
I know the feeling if an animal dies and I feel responsible for that I am to ashamed to post it on forums. But what you did is the best you can do; to share the bad happenings with other people so everyone can learn from it. Thank you for that and please do not sell GGG. Your Geckos need you and the GF.net-Community needs you.
Regards,
Johannes
I also wondered what could have happened when I saw that in the available page. I also noticed she wouldn't write as much as before in the forums, but I didn't dare to ask what happened.
Something like this cannot be called negligence. We all know that you love your geckos and give them the best care possible, you just couldn't know that something like this would happen. As others stated, it was just an unfortunate accident.
Marcia, you are one of the most knowledgeable (if not the most) people I can think of when it comes to geckos. Not only that, but you are always willing to share what you know with us, and we are all very grateful for that. I don't know how can I help now, but I'm sure that there's lots of people near you that would very gladly lend you a hand in this hard times. As for me, I can only say that my thoughts are with you.
Something like this cannot be called negligence. We all know that you love your geckos and give them the best care possible, you just couldn't know that something like this would happen. As others stated, it was just an unfortunate accident.
Marcia, you are one of the most knowledgeable (if not the most) people I can think of when it comes to geckos. Not only that, but you are always willing to share what you know with us, and we are all very grateful for that. I don't know how can I help now, but I'm sure that there's lots of people near you that would very gladly lend you a hand in this hard times. As for me, I can only say that my thoughts are with you.
Mel&Keith
Mod Squad Member
- Messages
- 7,180
- Location
- Pasadena, TX
Marcia, we all love you and appreciate the fact that always share you're experiences with us whether joyous or tragic. We all learn so much from you. I don't think anyone can feel anything other than a deep respect for you.
*hugs*
*hugs*
B
becky2731
Guest
Marcia, you are an amazing person. Thank you for sharing this tragic story and for working so hard to make it a learning experience for all of us. With so many questionable people entering the reptile world, it is people like you that raise the integrity of this hobby and make me proud to be part of a community like this one. Thank you. Blessed be.
KiKi
frustrated mom
- Messages
- 1,394
- Location
- Brooklyn, New York
marcia i am so sorry for yoyr loss and everything that you are going through with your babies and i know you are doiung everything in your powers to help them and it is not your fault,and anyone who says it is has no heart,you are the most caring person i know and matt and i are here for you whenever you need us
KiKi
frustrated mom
- Messages
- 1,394
- Location
- Brooklyn, New York
see i cant even type right im so upset for you
Stitch
New Member
- Messages
- 1,277
- Location
- Kaua'i, Hawaii
Marcia my condolences go out to you. I once lost a whole clutch of baby chameleons due to a misinterpretation. This was an unfortunate accident that could happen to anybody. I am proud of the way you are handling the situation, finding out the facts and trying to see what can be done for the babies and also to make it a learing experience. Most people would have just "upped and left". But you decided to take a stand and do what's right. I think I can speak for the rest of the GF and say "We are here for you, just as you are here for us."
God bless and my prayers go out to you and the geckos. :angel:
God bless and my prayers go out to you and the geckos. :angel:
Franks_Geckos
Leopard Gecko Addict
- Messages
- 1,208
- Location
- NJ
I am sorry for your loss Marcia and I hope that you and your babies recover from this tragedy.
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