Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive looked all over, and have cleaned the basement, but i have not found my gecko. I have left a heating pad, a bowl of water, his cave, and a bowl of mealworms out for him, but no luck. He wont come out. Im afraid for the worst, i really am. Ive almost given up hope. I miss him, and i feel really bad. Hes only a baby, about 4 inches long, just went through his first shed since i got him, and right after that he got out. I feel terrible, i dont know what else to do. He has ample fat stores, but i feel if hes going to keep hiding that will just make him suffer longer. Well, in memory of him, here are a picture of him ....

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~David - KDRKreatures
My Main Herps-
1.2 Bearded dragons (Ralph, Artemis, Cheech)
1.0 Veiled Chameleon (Chiquito)
1.0 Black Racer Snake (Chong)
2.2 Eastern Box Turtles (Athena, Mercury, Gizmo, Galapago)
0.0.2 Leopard Geckos (Nee, Unnamed)
1.0 Ball Python (Carson)

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i have never had a leopard gecko escape, so i can't speak from personal experience. the advice given in response to your other post (below) was really good. in addition, i would set up a red-bulbed light that emitted heat in every suspect room. (the light will emit heat, and the red will bother a leo much less than a white-light bulb). leave it close to the ground, and leave it on 24 hours. beneath the light, set up a bowl with mealworms in it, and it must be deep enough to be sure that the mealworms can't escape. it would be a good idea to put a shallow tray of flour/cornstarch/calium powder under this bowl, under the light. count the mealworms each night. the next day, check for footprints in the powder, and see if any mealworms are missing. if the lamp is too expensive, get a heating pad (doesn't have to be big) for each room, and slide it under the tray of powder. the heating pad/light bulb must stay on 24hours, in order to accumulate enough heat to attract your leo. also- don't limit your search to just the basement. place a set-up in every room that you can. alternatively, you could leave margarine containers (with top intact, but with a hole on the side) around your house, with a moist sponge inside on the bottom, to check regularly. if you are really worried, (and you live alone, ), you can always let a bunch of crikets loose in your house, though i wouldn't do that yet. if you have cats, ferrets, or dogs, keep them out of the basement, and preferrably have them out of the building. if you can, check a room for the gecko at night, in the dark, and be quiet, or you might scare it away. my number one suggestion is to buy a top for your tank right away, lest this happen again.
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marla
keeper of: axolotls, catfish, ferrets, leopard geckoes, oriental fire-bellied toads, and sugar gliders

instead of flour.... use non-toxic (he'll end up licking it) waterbase ink (one that won't leave permanent mark). Follow his tracks to find the missing gecko. it's your basement, right? cement floors? easy to clean.

Kev

P.S. I would like to apologize in advance if this turns out not to be a good idea... it's just an idea folks...
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Kev
1.1.0 Tang Leopard Geckos: Marley, Mary
1.0.0 Normal Leopard Gecko: Toad
0.1.0 Colombian Rainbow Boa: Rambo
1 Beta: Malificent
0.1.0 Tri Australian Shepard: Nelly

Leos can hide in VERY small places. I know of a person that found their leo after 6 months. It was in a drawer.

Steven
Royal Gold Reptiles

just keep your eyes open, especially at night. It may be surpriseing but they can make a good go of it by themeselves. I lost a baby gecko a new born hatchling this spring. It was one day old! It got out when the container was accidently knocked over while trying to get him out of the incubator. He instantly shot right down a crack by the wall under the floor. Well to my dismay about 3 months later here I walked out side and there is a dead 4.5 inch very healthy looking leo on the porch where my cat puts dead trophys. I was hot! I thought the cat got to my babies in the rep room. Kitty was in for some trouble. I went in to check my rack and juvie tanks and all was well. None missing!! The leo on the porch had to be the lost baby. It survived from one day old actually growing healthy and strong without my help. Go figure?? Would have like to found him in the flower bed or something alive but it is a good lesson to take for example. I alsohad a tokay that lived for 3 or 4 months on his own doing extremely well before I finally caught him.
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Even if your on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there
20 leos,1.1 redtail boas,1.1 rainbow boas,1.1 cornsnakes, 1.0 tokay gecko,1.0 veiled cham, 5 dogs and a cat. Oh, can't forget Tater my parrolet.

np
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Lovin' would be easy if your colors were like my dreams...

I figure she caught it outside. I would have seen her going out with it. I live in a block house and some of the foundation has cracks where it could have slipped out. Must have been living around in the flower bed eating wild insects. I live out in the country pretty far plenty of bugs. It would have been so cool to found it outside alive
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Even if your on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there
20 leos,1.1 redtail boas,1.1 rainbow boas,1.1 cornsnakes, 1.0 tokay gecko,1.0 veiled cham, 5 dogs and a cat. Oh, can't forget Tater my parrolet.

I lost a SHT juvi for 2-3 weeks when my husband said he saw a large bearded dragon under the sofa (baha!) it must have been eating those blasted Texas roaches. She was alive and well.
Prior to that, I lost three arboreal a couple of years ago. Again, gone for weeks and then found on the wall doing fine (harder to catch than the leo!!)
Finally, I had two juvi kingsnakes get loose. The banana never was big on exporing and stayed in my bedroom for 4 months. This one didn't eat and had not grown (but ate well once I captured her - found her on top of my dresser even though she had no way of getting there - too weird). The 50/50 Cali. managed to find its way into the walls and was found outside when I was mowing the lawn 4 months later, she had doubled in size and was fat as a tick. Gave me a run for my money to catch her too! Lucky for both of us that she didn't end up so much confetti!
It boils down to just how smart the animal is. If I had not found the banana, she surely would have perished eventually.
I've never lost anything that wasn't eventually found (know on wood).
So keep your head up and your eyes open.
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