Sudden death??

[Geckolicious]

I recently bought a pair of crested geckos from a guy on Craigslist. They were cute, energetic and appeared vibrant and healthy. I noticed today that the male looks lethargic, but I didn't think too much of it until I saw that the female was curled up on the floor completely dead. I thought she was asleep until I touched her.

I've had these two for a week and I've only fed them the CGD that came with them in the purchase... I'm scared for the male and I don't know what's going on. There didn't appear to be anything physically wrong with either of them. The female literally just laid down and died.

The only thing that might be off is that the temperature in the room they are in is close to 80 during the day. Is it too hot? Or maybe I just got sold sick geckos?

 

[Dog Shrink]

First thing I'd do is check the expiration date on the CGD make sure it's still good. Next did dude tell you how old they were? Third is your temps similar to what they came from ? I thought they needed to be more like 90-93 for proper temps. Slowing down to me would make me think too cold but I'm a leo person not a crested person so...

 

[GeckoStud]

90-93 is way too high for cresteds. I was always told exposure to temperatures of 85 or higher for any prolonged time can be lethal to cresteds.

 

[Dog Shrink]

90-93 is way too high for cresteds. I was always told exposure to temperatures of 85 or higher for any prolonged time can be lethal to cresteds.

Thanks for the clarification. Like I said I'm a leo person and kinda clueless when it come to cresties.

 

[GeckoStud]

No prob. Cresteds do best between 75 and 80 in my experience. The only thing I can think of is maybe they died of dehydration or it was too hot for them? What temps were you keeping them at and how often did you spray them?

 

[JordanAng420]

Yep, the ideal temps for cresties are mid to upper 70s. Obviously I can't tell you what happened, but I am sorry for your loss.

I hope your male does well and pulls through this "lethargy"...however, if he does pass, keep him in the refrigerator and have a necropsy performed.

Sometimes, just the right amount of stress will send an animal right over the edge. Stress can be lethal, ESPECIALLY in reptiles.

 

[Geckolicious]

Well, the male has passed... he didn't make it through the night. I hesitate on the necropsy because of the expense. I would like to know what happened, but I don't have the $80 to spend when it's too late to change the outcome. I will call my mom and see if she will pay for it though. You never know.

Temps are 78-81. Stress should have been low because they weren't fiddled with much and they were in 20 gallon longs turned upright with the vines and leaves that came with them. Maybe just the stress of a new home? But it still seems weird. I believe they were young because they were small (not scrawny, just small) like other juvies I've seen. I sprayed them 2-3 times a day. The CGD doesn't have an expiration date, I think I might just throw it out...

Crap, I think I have to get a necropsy done. This just sucks so bad all around. Poor things.

 

[Dron2124]

Sorry to hear about ur loss. Is rly sucks when a pet dies specially one u just got. Id be devastated if my little guy dies and I just got him a week ago he is so cute and energetic and jumps around

 

[T-ReXx]

There are a whole host of problems that could have been the demise of your geckos. Since temps and humidity seem to be good, I strongly suspect parasites. Having a necropsy done might be a good idea, but if you don't have other reptiles there may not be a point beyond satisfying your curiosity. Sterilize everything or throw it out. Cresteds are usually pretty hardy lizards, and if they just up an died there must have been an underlying problem that was there when you got them. As already mentioned, temps above 85F will severely stress cresteds, and 90 will kill them very quickly. Good luck with future reptile purchases.

 

[CrestedNation]

i second parasites. but then again it could be something else. i had two of my cresties out in my shed temporarily and it gets down to 50 in there at night. brought them in this week and they're fine as can be. hardy things for the most part. just don't get over 84 degrees. are you going thru with necropsy?

 

[Daedric1]

I noticed you said you were spraying 2-3 times per day. What was your humidity? Most of the time they can get by on 1-2 sprays. They need 60-80% at night time where they will lick water off the leaves (since they don't often drink from a dish). However, you don't want this humidity constantly. The cage should dry out during the day and drop to around 50% humidity during the day. Constant exposure to high humidity can cause respiratory problems.

Also, what was your substrate? Some pet stores sell cedar chips or substrate products with cedar in it, but this is poisonous to cresties and some other reptiles, so never use it.

Were they eating and pooping? Also, was the previous owner feeding CGD? Even if so, sometimes people add small amounts of sweeteners to their CGD to make their fussy geckos eat it, such as honey. This is fine, except when switching over to CGD without extra sweetener, they may not eat it without (the sweetener can also make the geckos overweight).

Anyway, hope you find out what happened. Your temps sounded fine to me.