Spinal Deformity in baby leopard gecko

[kissan]

I recently hatched out my first clutch, and one of the babies was fine, but the other one was born with a pretty apparent problem with his spine. I was wondering what I can do to make life as comfortable as possible for him and what things I should limit in his enclosure, if anything, as he grows older? What problems might I encounter later and how can I prevent them? His breathing is fine, and all of his bones other than his spine seem fine as well. Thanks!!
-Len

 

[stager]

I ve seen temperature spikes in incubation cause such deformities. But it could be heriditary

 

[acpart]

How long ago did it hatch? Sometimes they look funny at first from being folded up in the egg and then they straighten out. Sometimes it gets worse as they get older. I think I had one that started out looking OK and then got more and more curvature. If it can move and eat and you want to care for it, just treat it like any other gecko. If it can't move or eat even if you hand feed it, you'll need to put it down.

Aliza

 

[kissan]

How long ago did it hatch? Sometimes they look funny at first from being folded up in the egg and then they straighten out. Sometimes it gets worse as they get older. I think I had one that started out looking OK and then got more and more curvature. If it can move and eat and you want to care for it, just treat it like any other gecko. If it can't move or eat even if you hand feed it, you'll need to put it down.

Aliza

His brother came out with a straight spine. He can walk pretty well, though when the time comes I may have to take the back legs off of any crickets he eats. His egg was kind of messed up so I think that may have caused it, but I plan on caring for him no matter what. Thank you!



Edit: OH! and his tail is much less formed than his brothers at only about half the length.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

What is the dark black mass near it? If it has an abdominal hernia or part of the egg yolk that is it dragging around I would be worried about him but unfortunately there is little you can do. Just make sure to keep the paper towels in his enclosure 100% damp for the first week until he sheds and then offer him a few mealworms once you see poop. I like to keep the enclosures of my babies 100% safe and clean and don't offer a moist hide or anything that might be abrasive for their bellies for the first month or so. Instead I mist them twice a day for the first week and then every other day or so once they begin eating.

Personally I find that cocofiber is not a good incubation substrate. It holds too much water and the top layer becomes too dry too quickly (especially in a still air incubator like a hovabator). You'd be much better off turning to perlite or vermiculite and making sure your ratio of substrate to water is spot on rather than measuring humidity in the enclosure. That could also contribute to deformities. If you see any more hatchlings with issues I probably would not breed that pair again.

 

[kissan]

What is the dark black mass near it? If it has an abdominal hernia or part of the egg yolk that is it dragging around I would be worried about him but unfortunately there is little you can do. Just make sure to keep the paper towels in his enclosure 100% damp for the first week until he sheds and then offer him a few mealworms once you see poop. I like to keep the enclosures of my babies 100% safe and clean and don't offer a moist hide or anything that might be abrasive for their bellies for the first month or so. Instead I mist them twice a day for the first week and then every other day or so once they begin eating.

Personally I find that cocofiber is not a good incubation substrate. It holds too much water and the top layer becomes too dry too quickly (especially in a still air incubator like a hovabator). You'd be much better off turning to perlite or vermiculite and making sure your ratio of substrate to water is spot on rather than measuring humidity in the enclosure. That could also contribute to deformities. If you see any more hatchlings with issues I probably would not breed that pair again.

It was part of the yolk but it dropped off a few minutes after I put him into his enclosure. His brother had a much fuller yolk sack still attached but he absorbed most of it and it also dropped off. Thank you for your baby setup advice, I'm going to go change the setup for them right after I type this response

I switched to cocofiber after I read an article on severe deformities with someone using perlite that had somehow had a gardening chemical of some sort mixed in. I didn't have quick access to perlite or vermiculite that I knew for sure about, so I used cocofiber since they sell that at my local pet store. I will order some perlite tonight or tomorrow though so I can avoid that as a risk.

This pairing was actually unintentional as this is the mothers first fertile season and I wanted to wait another year or two, and the father's genetics are completely unknown other than him being het for tremper. The brother is still doing completely fine, and the mother is from a reputable breeder, so I'm hoping that it's either the fathers genetics or something that can be attributed to the mother being young/poor incubation substrate.
Thank you so much for your reply!

 

[tb144050]

....., so I'm hoping that it's either the fathers genetics or something that can be attributed to the mother being young/poor incubation substrate.

I'm hoping that it was just the substrate and it was just a one-time-incident. Hopefully the parents are fine and all the hatchlings will be genetically "fine".

His egg was kind of messed up so I think that may have caused it,

Did it start out as a natural looking egg with no deformities? (same as clutchmate's egg? Or did it progressively get "deformed" while being incubated?

 

[Dinosaur!]

double post T B !?

on the topic of the gecko, i do hope that it isnt genetic, and i hope you succeed in making him healthy and comfortable!

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Anything you use with your geckos, either in their cages or as an incubation substrate, should be organic. Both perlite and vermiculite can have added fertilizers in them which can cause problems with eggs. The Miracle Grow brand is the most common out there and not a good choice for geckos because of the extras it has mixed in. My first season I couldn't find anything in town and wound up ordering some from amazon. It was about 2.5x the price I paid in town but not prohibitive (a big bag was about $13 - at a local store the same bag was $6). I believe the brand I got this year was Scott's and last year it was Espoma. The Espoma worked great for me last year and the Scott's seems to be working great this year Good luck with the rest of your eggs and babies! Let us know how the little one does!