Posted by:
lefty82
at Tue Aug 22 23:26:43 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by lefty82 ]
Okay, everybody warns about sand and other dangers that can lie in a cage. Well, there is somethign else I would like to warn about...
I lost my pretty little Monet tonight. It was cage-cleaning time and Monet was hiding under the fake rock. She usually hides under her coconut shell. So I lifted the rock and despite the care I took, it slipped from my hands and landed on her. At first I thought it just hurt her tail, because it shook a lot. But after about an hour of special attention, little Monet appears to be dead.
The reason the rock slipped is partially due to its large akward size, partially due to my clumsiness, and partially due to its weight. This hide is by far the heaviest thing in the cage - and it is made specially for geckos. If Monet was just under her usual coconut shell and this happened, she would have been scared, but not hurt. Defintely not dead.
I'm pretty shaken up. I have taken care of animals all my life - pigeons, chicks, ducklings, geese, turtles, cockatiels, rabbits, cows, cats, dogs, goldfish... Of course, animals have accidents and get sick and I have been through that. But I have never had the death of an animal be my fault before - especially not one I was so attached to. I feel like a murderer and although my boyfriend is trying to make me feel better with hugs and kind words ("it's not your fault" - yeah right...), I just feel like scum.
From now on I am only using hides that weigh less than a full grown gecko, such as the coconut shells. That fake rock will not be allowed in a cage with my geckos ever again. If anybody out there is using a heavy hide, I strongly suggest replacing it with something light. Even the most graceful and careful person could mess up. You never know when an accident is going to happen. Please use my tragedy to prevent others from happening.
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-Kristin
0.1.2 Leopard Geckos
(Monet, Kumquat, and Tamale)
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 Important warning... - lefty82, Tue Aug 22 23:26:43 2006
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