Reptile & Amphibian Forums

One of my girlfriend's Leopard Geckos was found dead today. The gecko was fat and seemingly healthy, and was active last night. We went out today and when we came home noticed it was dead. I know it's hard to tell, but does anybody have any guesses? Take a look at the pics.

what substrate was it on?
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Dan Quinn

It was kept on tile

could be age. impaction...has it pooped or ben eatin. also have u added anything new to its enviroment with out decontaminating it it could have gottin a parisiet(cant spell) theres are all ideas. maby a more export can help you. sory to hear about ur leo.
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1.0.1 Green Anole(tedo, bubbles)
1.0 Leo Gecko(Brut)

It's not age, it was around 6 months old. Nothing new was added to the cage. Doubt it could be impaction, but who knows?

temp get to an extream hot or cold ? more then he can handel. and what was his meals?
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1.0.1 Green Anole(tedo, bubbles)
1.0 Leo Gecko(Brut)

The only way to know for sure why the leo died is a necropsy. It looks to have been well fed in the pics. Did it have any unusual behaviors? Sometimes leos, like people, have underlying problems that can't be detected and they just up and die. Sorry about your loss, it was a good looking gecko.
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www.hullabalooherps.com

Only way to know for sure is to have a vet do a post mortem on it. But my guess would be some sort of interal parasite.
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Leo Land
The best and biggest leopard gecko site on the net!

Reptiles are very good at hiding illnesses, so it's not rare for them to die after only a day or two of symptoms, whether it's kidney failure, a respiratory infection, or some varieties of parasites.

If you want a good guess as to the cause of death, you could try asking an exotic vet to do a gross necropsy, which should cost $50-$60. If you want more extensive tissue examination done to get an exact answer, body samples have to be sent to a pathologist (probably out of state), which would cost a lot more. Avoid any vet that offers to do a necropsy for free because it probably means they don't have experience doing necropsies and want to use your leo for study purposes. And if you do go with a necropsy, DO NOT freeze the body. Wrap it in a towel or newspaper, put it in a plastic ziploc bag, and keep it in the fridge. Make sure no part of the body touches the plastic because that will build up condensation and speed up decomposition.
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chickabowwow

Did something happen to its nose or face? There is that white stuff on it, and it looks like a dark area near it's but it might be anything or could just be how it always looks. I can't really tell on a laptop.

>>One of my girlfriend's Leopard Geckos was found dead today. The gecko was fat and seemingly healthy, and was active last night. We went out today and when we came home noticed it was dead. I know it's hard to tell, but does anybody have any guesses? Take a look at the pics.
>>
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Tim W.
http://tsw.f2g.net

Yeah, thats's why I posted a clos up of it's face. There is that white stuff and bruising/discoloration on it's nose. I have no idea what it may be from.

that may be what's called 'liver mortis,' somethiing whereby the blood in a cadaver settles in the bottom-most area, because of gravity. the poor thing, it really tugs at my heart. it reminds me of my girl jeeves (the first gecko i ever had, the only one i have lost), a big, healthy-looking gecko, lost in a heartbeat.

the only way to know is to refridgerate the corpse (good for max 3 days), and take it into a vet for necropsy (as others have recommended). it really is worth it, i found it helped calm my mind & stay informed for my other geckoes. i know that what turned out to have been the COD for my jeeves was an infection from an inflamed, undeposited egg yolk.
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marla
currently: 0.0.9 catfish, 0.1 ferrets, 2.8.3 leopard geckoes, 0.0.13 oriental fire-bellied toads, and 0.2.0 sugar gliders

I have heard of a few people that have lost a leo do to it choking on it'd shed.
Otherwise that is a very healthy leo, if it was on tile I would don't think impaction would be a problem. Most parasites tend to waste them away rather then suddenly kill them, but it could be a posability i supose.

Was there anything that could have fallen on it?

Also are there other leos in the tank? If so if the other was a male she could have been eggbound.
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Sarah H

www.fototime.com/inv/500FFD9910FF842
[email]ghia12345@aol.com[email]

Am I the only one who noticed that white stuff near the gecko's nose? It looks sort of like mold (???) Maybe Im wrong, and it might have nothing to do with the geckos death, but that still looks sorta suspicious.

I mentioned it a few posts up, because no one else did.

>>Am I the only one who noticed that white stuff near the gecko's nose? It looks sort of like mold (???) Maybe Im wrong, and it might have nothing to do with the geckos death, but that still looks sorta suspicious.
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Tim W.
http://tsw.f2g.net

It kind of looks as though the gecko's been walking the frame of the enclosure. Was it pacing up and down the sides of the tank? Maybe rubbing it's nose on the glass?

I've heard of animals that had been pacing, ended up with open sores or abrasions that lead to infection. Some of these infections can spread very, very FAST once they're in the blood stream? Some infections can end a gecko's life even before we know it was there.

Sorry for your loss... It's never a fun thing to go through.

when they can't get the shed off thier nose some will keep trying and rub it raw. Thats what the nose thing looks like.

Another thought, when they die i think they grab at the substrate with their mouth. It being tile could have scratched it.
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Sarah H

www.fototime.com/inv/500FFD9910FF842
[email]ghia12345@aol.com[email]