My Gecko Died :(

[kikhimwenhesdwn]

I received my gecko 2 weeks ago and I named him Freddy Boom Boom Washington! and all was good. 20g tank, reptile carpet, 150watt bulb. Water and wet/dry hide always available. He ate 5-6 crickets a day w/calcium powder. But yesterday I noticed the tip of his tail looked kinda shriveled and black, then I saw him bite it, so I brought him to the vet, who said it was nothing to worry about and gave me some ointment to put on. So we drove home, I felt relieved! then when I got home, I opened the container and he was dead :bigcry:, I don't know why, but I guess it was stress. Buried him in the back yard. RIP Freddy!

Does anyone else think it was stress or related to something else?

On a happier note I got my new one today, Blizzard Morph, his name is Cool Whip!:main_thumbsup:

 

[acpart]

I'm sorry your gecko died, it can be heartbreaking. Where are you getting these geckos from and are they babies, adults or juveniles? It's hard to know if the gecko you got wasn't really healthy or if there's a problem with your care. One thing that comes to mind immediately: are you using the 150 watt bulb as the only heat source? There's a chance that the light is too strong and his tail was shriveled because he was too hot and got burned. Geckos can sometimes have complete system failure if they get overheated. Consider this for your new gecko:
--if you don't already have an undertank heater (UTH) get one
--get a thermometer with a probe so you can check the floor (not air) temperature to make sure it doesn't get above the mid-90's
--get a thermostat or dimmer (rheostat) because it's likely that the UTH will get too hot
--leopard geckos don't really need lights and 150 watts is probably too hot anyway


Good luck,

Aliza

 

[Wowoklol]

Take a picture of your setup? That light sounds like wayyyy too much.. I used to grow corals with 150w bulbs... Leopard Geckos are nocturnal(sleep during the day, active at night) so they don't need a lot of light, just a nice heat source to keep a warm spot around 90ish degrees. The rest of the tank should be cooler so it can decide what temp it wants to chill at.

 

[kikhimwenhesdwn]

Thanks for the info. The first one was from a friends store, they don't normally sell them but she got it for me anyway. This time I went to a reptile store that breeds them. Yeah the bulb is all i have, but I have it on a thermostat with a probe, I Usually set the thermostat to 80-85 for the day and 75-80 for the night, is that ok? I have a cool side and a warm side, he only left the warm side hide to eat.

I use to have a 60watt but it never got up to temp, thats why I bought the 150watt.

 

[M_surinamensis]

Leopard Geckos are nocturnal(sleep during the day, active at night)

Crepuscular. Slightly different.

The container in the car is suspect. See it with unfortunate frequency in the aftermath of shows, despite instructions most vendors are good enough to issue.

'course right now I think the biggest questions surround the sterilization of the environment the now deceased gecko was being kept in. I have this unpleasant suspicion that gecko #1 died and gecko #2 was dropped right into the now empty enclosure.

 

[kikhimwenhesdwn]

I changed the carpet and cleaned the water bowl and food bowl, I didn't wash the tank, Should I? And the wet hide too.

 

[ElapidSVT]

get rid of the light and get a proper undertank heater and you will have a much better chance of keeping the animal healthy.

 

[Russ S]

Whenever anything dies, regardless of cause, everything it came in contact with should be thoroughly disinfected. If an item can not be properly cleaned it should be thrown out.

 

[roger]

I received my gecko 2 weeks ago and I named him Freddy Boom Boom Washington! and all was good. 20g tank, reptile carpet, 150watt bulb. Water and wet/dry hide always available. He ate 5-6 crickets a day w/calcium powder. But yesterday I noticed the tip of his tail looked kinda shriveled and black, then I saw him bite it, so I brought him to the vet, who said it was nothing to worry about and gave me some ointment to put on. So we drove home, I felt relieved! then when I got home, I opened the container and he was dead :bigcry:, I don't know why, but I guess it was stress. Buried him in the back yard. RIP Freddy!

Does anyone else think it was stress or related to something else?

On a happier note I got my new one today, Blizzard Morph, his name is Cool Whip!:main_thumbsup:

You need an under tank heater kept at 88-95 deg

 

[kikhimwenhesdwn]

Thanks for all the answers.

Thanks for all the answers, Just bare with my ignorance one more post

If I have a probe sensor Temp control (Zilla Temp Control), set at 85 degrees, then would it matter what wattage the bulb is? whether its 60watt, 150watt, 250watt bulb or a heat pad? when the thermostat states that the ground temp is 85 degrees? 85 degrees is 85 degrees, whether its from a bulb or a pad.

If I am completely out of line please let me know.

 

[acpart]

If you're using the temp control with a bulb, then I assume you have the light plugged into the temp control and whenever (if ever) the temp gets above 85 degrees where the probe is, the temp control would turn the light off. Is that what's happening? If so, I'd imagine your light turning on and off all the time. I have a 75 watt bulb for my fire skink and had to change to that from a 150 watt because it was melting the plastic at the top of the cage! If the light is not turning on an off, how do you have the temp control set up?

Aliza

 

[kikhimwenhesdwn]

If you're using the temp control with a bulb, then I assume you have the light plugged into the temp control and whenever (if ever) the temp gets above 85 degrees where the probe is, the temp control would turn the light off. Is that what's happening? If so, I'd imagine your light turning on and off all the time. I have a 75 watt bulb for my fire skink and had to change to that from a 150 watt because it was melting the plastic at the top of the cage! If the light is not turning on an off, how do you have the temp control set up?

Aliza

It does turn on and off, Can someone maybe recommend a set up for me? cause I thought what I had was good lol, I want to give my Leo the best care I can.

This is my set up sry for the crappy pic.
View attachment 39408 cool side
Too the right is the cool hide with a fake plant next to i.t

View attachment 39409 warm side
His warm hide to the left and wet hide next to that

his food dish is in the middle along with the water

20G tank, I have a clamp lamp, with a red bulb 150watt, with the zilla temp control, with the sensor probe by the back opening of his warm hide. reptile carpet on the bottom.

please help me out, I want to give my leo the best I can.

 

[Chestersmom]

You really shouldn't need a 150 watt bulb for a 20G. I heated my 20 g with a 60 watt bulb. Never had an issue. I personally don't like uth. I always had a problem with the getting to hot. I have used a 60-75 watt black light bulb for a couple years.

 

[Tony C]

If I have a probe sensor Temp control (Zilla Temp Control), set at 85 degrees, then would it matter what wattage the bulb is? whether its 60watt, 150watt, 250watt bulb or a heat pad? when the thermostat states that the ground temp is 85 degrees? 85 degrees is 85 degrees, whether its from a bulb or a pad.

It's not so much that it WON'T work, as you said 85 degrees is 85 degrees, but a high wattage heat lamp is not the best solution. As you noted it turns on and off frequently, which will dramatically shorten the life of the bulb and may be a stressor for the gecko. I don't think you noted whether it was a white light or infrared/black, but having a regular photoperiod is important for most reptiles and having a light switch on and off at all hours can disrupt that schedule.

Undertank heat pads are popular because they are much more efficient (typically producing the desired temps while drawing only around 10 watts of power) and do not emit any light. A heat pad is also safer than a high wattage bulb in the event of a thermostat failure, if a heat pad sticks on the gecko can still escape the heat on the cool side, but a 150 watt bulb stuck on will be much more likely to overheat the whole tank and make gecko jerky before you are able to catch the problem.

 

[Wowoklol]

Crepuscular. Slightly different.

The container in the car is suspect. See it with unfortunate frequency in the aftermath of shows, despite instructions most vendors are good enough to issue.

'course right now I think the biggest questions surround the sterilization of the environment the now deceased gecko was being kept in. I have this unpleasant suspicion that gecko #1 died and gecko #2 was dropped right into the now empty enclosure.

Ahh thank you for pointing this out. Was not familiar with this term.

 

[M_surinamensis]

Ahh thank you for pointing this out. Was not familiar with this term.

No worries.

What it mostly means in practice is that light; intensity, angle, duration, spectrum... is something that can provoke behavioral changes. There's reported to be some slight seasonal variations in behavior patterns too; so subtly different behaviors can be observed depending on how each of the environmental conditions (temperature, light, humidity, barometric pressure, in conjunction with other stimulus) is manipulated relative to and in combination with the others.

The differences can be pretty slight, but you can provoke them towards periods of higher activity by providing a realistic photoperiod. I suspect a lot of people do this completely by accident anyway, unintentionally allowing the glow of their television, computer or reading lamp in the same room as their geckos to create a period of low but present light coming in at an angle. Dusk, fading into proper darkness as they turn it all off and go to bed.

It's not so much that it WON'T work, as you said 85 degrees is 85 degrees, but a high wattage heat lamp is not the best solution.

Your post was full of excellent points, but I disagree a bit with that line, specifically the "85 degrees is 85 degrees" part.

Heat isn't just temperature, it's a measurement of energy. The conductivity of that energy matters.

Consider an oven, set to four hundred degrees. Everything inside the oven is four hundred degrees, the rack, the sides and the air. If you put your hand in the oven and touch the metal rack, you'll be burned almost instantly, because metal is an excellent conductor of heat; a lot of heat energy was able to move from the rack into your hand. If you simply hold your hand in the four hundred degree air however, it would take a couple minutes for you to really burn yourself because air is a very poor conductor of heat.

When leopard geckos seek out heat, their every instinct tells them to go find a nice rock that's been baked all day by the sun, or which is collecting the first morning rays and starting to warm up. Their normal behavior includes not just a temperature but a conductive surface in order to transfer heat from that warm area into their bodies.

Paper towels, butcher paper, newsprint, some kinds of ceramic tile, vinyl, plastic or linoleum tiles, repti-carpet, wood chips, sani-chips, cocoafibers, crushed walnut or any other silly thing someone might be using as a substrate- most of these are poor conductors. Eighty five-ninety degrees created by a lamp from above will not create the kinds of conditions that are conducive to a well constructed leopard gecko hot-spot. There's no heat radiating up at a good rate from underneath.

Stone, some different kinds of more conductive ceramic tiles and the oft debated sand (or a nice dirt mix with a little bit of sand, packed down firmly), would be materials where overhead heat sources would collect, retain and then radiate the heat in a way that works well for leopard geckos.

'course a heat mat or heat tape steps neatly around the entire issue by simply providing stable, radiating belly heat regardless of the substrate involved. While simultaneously not forcing every bit of moisture out of the glass box or screwing with the photoperiod of an animal that would usually spend the better portion of most days a couple feet underground, tucked a long way down a tight crevasse or at the back end of an abandoned rodent burrow.

 

[gixxer3420]

Listen to what everyone is saying. Get a UTH.

 

[Adirondackgeckos]

M_surinamensis, how neatly, and clearly explained, I always look forward to your posts
<3

 

[OhioGecko]

I know the light debate has been going on forever with Leopard geckos. It is a fact that leopard geckos are nocturnal, nobody disagrees with this. By putting lights on Leopard geckos you will mess with their natural sleep/wake states. It would be similar to putting a light bulb on your head board pointing down on your face when you go to bed at night. You would eventually adapt but you might be a little moody, have a sun burnt face or have other health effects that show up later from not resting properly.

I would suggest getting a UTH covering no more than 1/4 of your 20 gallon tank, this will create a gradient heat. I would also suggest getting your hot sport 92-95. IMO and from my experience 85 is too cool.