Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, well, i dont know if anyone here can help me, but i accidently let my crested gecko tank get too hot (around 83, it's 110 outside where i live so keeping the temp down can be tricky) and he was NOT doing good. i picked him up and he fell down on his back with his mouth all open. i freaked out, put him in some cool water where he hung out for about 20 mins before crawling out. he seems more active now and i've got ice melting on the top of the tank to keep it cool, and i turned the ac in my apartment down to 76, is there anything else i can do? at this point is he pretty much going to die?

I've had a hard time keeping the temps down this summer too - been up above 95 and maybe even 100 out around here. I try to keep my crested @ under 80F, but I've definitely seen it hit 85 in there with no ill effects. Of course, whenever we've noticed the temperature getting that high, we've taken steps to correct it, but still, she didn't seem any worse for the wear - still active, inquisitive, and with a healthy appetite. Perhaps your crested is just more sensitive to heat than mine, but my understanding was that it was once you get up above 85 that you start running a risk of health problems.

I'd say though that you'll probably have to do what we've done - just suck it up and pay the higher electric bill for the A/C. We've also contemplated moving our crested into the living room where she'd be closer to the A/C (unfortunately I live in a 2-bedroom apartment with only one A/C which is at the far end of the place from the geckos). Of course, this is a higher traffic area than she's in now, so that presents its own potential problems with stress due to people walking by and loud noises from the TV, etc.

Good luck with temperature maintenance. If he perked up from the cool bath, that was probably the right thing to do.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

normally prolonged exposure to low 80's (under 85F) shouldn't be too stressful for healthy adult crested geckos but it may have reached higher temps than that which you weren't around to observe. For young geckos, any prolonged exposure to temps over 80 can affected them much faster.

So far what you did was the best thign to do, get the temperature down as soon as possible, soak the gecko in cool water and give it the opportunity to drink all it wants. Not sure if ice on teh top of the tank would help but since cold air drops, it may be more effective than I know.

Moving the cage to the lowest point you can (ie floor) can expose them to temps lower than having them in a cage a few feet higher. A shadow dish with some ice cubes will give them some cool water to drink (one or two cubes with lots of water around them is best, we don't want any gecko tongues stuck to ice do we?).

For now, closely monitor the temp of the gecko's cage, keep him as stress free as possible and wait. If he was cooled off quick enough he should pulll through. If his heat stroke was too bad, he won't make it but only time will tell. I don't even know if a vet can increase the odds of survival or not. If you know one good with reptiles, you can call and consult with him for other suggestions.
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PHLdyPayne