fallen_angel
Fallen Angel's Geckos
- Messages
- 7,937
- Location
- Stockton, CA
We shipped this gecko last week, he is a Mack Snow Patternless. Upon arrival, he started exhibiting traits that are occasionally seen in Enigmas, such as head jerking, back flipping, and the wobbles.
He did not show any of this kind of behavior before he was shipped. Granted, he always was very skittish and jumpy, but he still maneuvered normally.
Here is a video of him after he arrived at his new home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umiaJu8beuM
What could be the cause?
Is it possible that he hatched with this problem, but the issue remained dormant until he was put under a lot of stress from shipping? He did come from one generation of inbreeding. I've always read that 1-3 generations of inbreeding isn't usually a problem. Prior to this one generation of inbreeding, the bloodlines of each parent were both very strong and from highly reputable breeders. He was the only baby that hatched from 4 eggs, all of the other eggs were infertile.
The only other thing I can think of is possible trauma during shipping. I always make sure they are pretty snug in their deli cup and we use styrofoam peanuts for void fill inside of the box, so any tossing around during shipment shouldn't be so much of a problem for the gecko. There was also a second gecko inside of the box that did not have any problems after arrival. UPS did deliver to the wrong house and the box sat on a porch for a few hours longer than it should have, but the heat pack was still warm when the box was opened. Also, the gecko was not in a cold coma or anything upon arrival, he was awake and alert. Or is it possible that he went into a cold coma but was awakened when the box opened? I always figured they wouldn't wake up that quickly if they had fallen into a cold coma, but have never actually dealt with one personally.
Any thoughts?
He did not show any of this kind of behavior before he was shipped. Granted, he always was very skittish and jumpy, but he still maneuvered normally.
Here is a video of him after he arrived at his new home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umiaJu8beuM
What could be the cause?
Is it possible that he hatched with this problem, but the issue remained dormant until he was put under a lot of stress from shipping? He did come from one generation of inbreeding. I've always read that 1-3 generations of inbreeding isn't usually a problem. Prior to this one generation of inbreeding, the bloodlines of each parent were both very strong and from highly reputable breeders. He was the only baby that hatched from 4 eggs, all of the other eggs were infertile.
The only other thing I can think of is possible trauma during shipping. I always make sure they are pretty snug in their deli cup and we use styrofoam peanuts for void fill inside of the box, so any tossing around during shipment shouldn't be so much of a problem for the gecko. There was also a second gecko inside of the box that did not have any problems after arrival. UPS did deliver to the wrong house and the box sat on a porch for a few hours longer than it should have, but the heat pack was still warm when the box was opened. Also, the gecko was not in a cold coma or anything upon arrival, he was awake and alert. Or is it possible that he went into a cold coma but was awakened when the box opened? I always figured they wouldn't wake up that quickly if they had fallen into a cold coma, but have never actually dealt with one personally.
Any thoughts?
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