SCARY! (graphic pic)

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I have a 9 year old Blizzard female who has not laid any clutches for the third consecutive season, but last year and this year whenever she produces egg follicles she bleeds... every 2-3 weeks. The vet can't explain it, but she still eats and is otherwise normal in every way. This time it was worse than usual, and it scares me whenever I open her tub and see this!

 

[LeopardShade]

Oh my gosh... that's certainly bizarre... I hope she doesn't lose too much blood.

 

[Wild West Reptile]

Poor thing! That's really strange Marcia. How long does this go on usually? It's gotta be hard on her.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

This started last season, and has gone on every 2-3 weeks for the duration of both breeding seasons. The vet thinks that the ovaries rupture somewhat when the follicle is released. The blood is usually not this bad, but she doesn't have any in her abdomen so it's coming out through the oviduct. I sent this pic to the vet, and will take her back in if he thinks I need to. My poor baby. When I saw all of that blood, I freaked.

 

[Wild West Reptile]

Yes, your poor baby. I hope she is alright.

 

[Wowoklol]

Thinking about retirement? Poor girl would almost have to be anemic as small as she is?

 

[geckoeyez]

Oh my gosh! That would've freaked me out too. I hope you find out whats wrong. Good luck!

 

[acpart]

Something to be said for menopause . . .

Aliza

 

[KelliH]

Poor gecko.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

She weighs over 60 grams, and just ate a couple of supers! I wouldn't think she would have that much blood in her body...

 

[LZRDGRL]

Hooh! :main_lipsrsealed: I would have freaked out, too. But her tail still looks thick, so she doesn't seem to suffer much from this?? Looks like gecko chain saw massacre. I would keep her far away from any cages with males, so she doesn't get stimulated...

Chrissy

 

[robin]

that is quite disturbing! marcia i do not mean to be mean or anything but i feel very bad for the gecko and she has got to be in some sorta pain. in my opinion she needs to be euthanized. this is two seasons in a row now. not only does she look like she is bleeding but it looks like she is passing clots as well.

 

[Darcpixie]

Perhaps she would benefit from a spay? Wouldn't the be preferable to euthanasia?

 

[T-ReXx]

Spaying is not an easy thing to do in reptiles, let alone a small species like a leopard gecko. It is unlikely she would survive anesthesia with that amount of blood loss.

Has the gecko been bred or is she retired and just ovulating and producing infertiles? If she is ovulating due to being bred obviously she needs to be retired immediately. If she is ovulating on her own then euthanasia would be the kindest course of action. That sort of rupture is going to be extremely painful, and if she can't be prevented from ovulating then she should be put down.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Truly, she doesn't seem to be affected by this... especially when she snatches superworms like there's no tomorrow right afterwards. Her behavior is otherwise completely normal. What looks like clots is poop with blood in it. She does this once every 3 weeks or so, but this is the worst one. I do have her in a separate room from all the other geckos so she has a better chance of not ovulating with all the pheromones in the air. She has been a retired breeder since 2009.

Spaying her would prevent this from happening, but my experience with surgery of this type is about 50/50 survival. The 5 times in 15 years I have had surgery on one of my girls for egg-binding or follicular stasis, when they went through their post-operation shed they pulled out all their sutures and eviscerated themselves. Only one gecko survived the ordeal. It isn't worth the animal's pain, stress, and my expense only to lose a beautiful gecko that way.

If this was a real quality of life issue that would not go away, I would certainly humanely euthanize her. I am not so selfish I would allow any of my animals to suffer needlessly. Sometimes we don't have any indication that the geckos is really in pain, I just don't want her to bleed to death waiting for ovulation to stop for the season only to have her go through this again next Spring. I'm still waiting for Dr. H's response from the photo before making my final decision.

God, it rips my guts apart making these decisions. For those of you who think that being a geckos breeder is easy, please consider the downside of working with living creatures... especially ones that you love.

 

[robin]

is she defecating blood as well?

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

is she defecating blood as well?

No. The blood is coming from the ovary and draining through the oviduct and out the cloaca (the common cavity into which the intestinal, genital, and urinary tracts drain and collect). If the blood didn't drain that way, it would leak out into her abdominal cavity, and the likelihood of infection would be great. Usually, there are only a few spots of blood when this happens. This one is epic. I'm afraid I will have to say goodbye to Lucille when I take her to the vet in the morning.

 

[robin]

sorry marcia

 

[fl_orchidslave]

How terribly heartbreaking So sorry, Marcia

 

[Wild West Reptile]

Let's all hope for the best. Good luck Marcia.