Ivyna J. Spyder
New Member
- Messages
- 18
- Location
- USA
I need to vent a little 
My little 'mack super snow' gecko Khione is very pretty... but not very normal. She's what you might call 'special', and rather high-maintenance. Many things are just harmless quirks but others are troubling and make things difficult.
More often than not she sleeps at night and is awake during the day. She doesn't really do anything, she just sits there all day with her eyes open despite many cozy caves to sleep in.
She does not poop in one corner. She has not pooped in the same place more than once since I got her. I guess she missed that memo.
She has abysmal eyesight and will only strike at things that I basically bump into her nose. And even then she often misses anyway. She can't eat crickets or other bugs with long legs because she doesn't close her eyes when she strikes and always gets poked. Fast-moving crickets and roaches are just too hard for her to catch anyway.
(The bright side is she is a great eater- though she can really only eat silkworms and other soft-bodied prey which are crazy expensive)
She has absolutely no grip or balance. It's like her arms and feet are numb. I know leos aren't great climbers, but the ones I've had before could at least walk across your arm and cling with their claws without losing their balance.
I started her out with a great tank full of things to clamber over (nothing too high) because my last one was a climbing maniac... but I had to take a bunch of it out because I was afraid she'd hurt herself. Despite this she's still managed to break one of her toes. Thankfully it doesn't seem to bother her.
She is allergic to something in paper towels that causes her eyes to crust shut, resulting in several fruitless vet visits until I figured out the problem. She's on tile now and doing better.
She doesn't know how to use her humid hide and constantly has shedding problems because of it. No matter how many times I put her in it, or even when I offer different kinds, she never knows to go in herself when she needs to. I've had to help her shed nearly every time because she often gets skin stuck on her toes and tail. She gets to a point where she just gives up.
She also hates me because I always have to restrain her to give her medicine or pull stuck shed off her feet. I try to be as gentle as I can, but of course she doesn't understand that I'm trying to help.
But jeez... One or two of these 'quirks' would just be quirks but all together it's frustrating. It's just not what I'm used to in a leo at all.
I like her despite it all, and I would NEVER get rid of her or anything. I'll hand feed her even when she's in her 20's if I have to, but it's really frustrating sometimes.
Does anyone else have geckos that need extra care like this?
My little 'mack super snow' gecko Khione is very pretty... but not very normal. She's what you might call 'special', and rather high-maintenance. Many things are just harmless quirks but others are troubling and make things difficult.
More often than not she sleeps at night and is awake during the day. She doesn't really do anything, she just sits there all day with her eyes open despite many cozy caves to sleep in.
She does not poop in one corner. She has not pooped in the same place more than once since I got her. I guess she missed that memo.
She has abysmal eyesight and will only strike at things that I basically bump into her nose. And even then she often misses anyway. She can't eat crickets or other bugs with long legs because she doesn't close her eyes when she strikes and always gets poked. Fast-moving crickets and roaches are just too hard for her to catch anyway.
(The bright side is she is a great eater- though she can really only eat silkworms and other soft-bodied prey which are crazy expensive)
She has absolutely no grip or balance. It's like her arms and feet are numb. I know leos aren't great climbers, but the ones I've had before could at least walk across your arm and cling with their claws without losing their balance.
I started her out with a great tank full of things to clamber over (nothing too high) because my last one was a climbing maniac... but I had to take a bunch of it out because I was afraid she'd hurt herself. Despite this she's still managed to break one of her toes. Thankfully it doesn't seem to bother her.
She is allergic to something in paper towels that causes her eyes to crust shut, resulting in several fruitless vet visits until I figured out the problem. She's on tile now and doing better.
She doesn't know how to use her humid hide and constantly has shedding problems because of it. No matter how many times I put her in it, or even when I offer different kinds, she never knows to go in herself when she needs to. I've had to help her shed nearly every time because she often gets skin stuck on her toes and tail. She gets to a point where she just gives up.
She also hates me because I always have to restrain her to give her medicine or pull stuck shed off her feet.
I try to be as gentle as I can, but of course she doesn't understand that I'm trying to help.But jeez... One or two of these 'quirks' would just be quirks but all together it's frustrating. It's just not what I'm used to in a leo at all.
I like her despite it all, and I would NEVER get rid of her or anything. I'll hand feed her even when she's in her 20's if I have to, but it's really frustrating sometimes.
Does anyone else have geckos that need extra care like this?
