Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, we live in Cyprus so we have lizards running wild all around us.

My husband came in last night and saw a baby Gecko, he put it in the porch bin because he thought it was dead! His words,"It has no tail and it wasn't moving"

Anyway the baby Gecko has been living in the house for a week and it was running around fine. When I found the lizard in the bin it wasn't dead at all just playing dead BUT the tail is now missing and the back legs won't move, it moves the front ones around fine but the back end just stays in the same position, it twists its back end about but the legs still stay fixed.

Help, what should I do? and is it normal for that to happen when they lose their tails?

Not that I know of. Usually their tail drops and wiggles to distract their predator while they run off (using all 4 legs). I have heard of stories where gecko legs kinda stop moving and then start again. I'm sorry but I forgot why, either temporary paralysis or desease not exactly sure. If you keep him warm he should be ok. Thats how I would go about treating it personally....

Thanks

I have put it in a big plastic tub with a bit of sand and stones (no lid) and it is just sitting there. I have given it a small push to make sure it is still alive and it can move the back legs just not very well. I am not holding much hope for it because it isn't active at all. I have put a couple of dead mosquito's in for it and dropped a couple of live spiders in... nada

As this area is it's natural home there is no need for me to heat it and keep it warm, the temp is about 40c / 102f

Guess all I can do is hope Thankls again for the help

Mist him with a spray bottle. He may be severely dehydrated (common after losing tails). Make him lap water off his eyes and so forth. maybe give him a small dish or mist the glass nearby. You can also get some crickets or wax worms at a local pet shop relatively cheap.