Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
Well my newest gecko whom I had gotten almost two weeks ago escaped her rubbermaid box. I know exactly how and what to do to fix it. I live in an apartment, and she had to have gotten out sometime after 11:30 last night after i went to bed. I've searched high and low for her, but i havent found her. I figured, I'm not going to find her if i LOOK for her. When your looking for something that moves, you can't just say "I already looked there" either, lol. I'm hopin she will turn up.

Anyhoo, there is enough room under the door of my apartment for her to crawl under. The thing is, when she got out, the apartment was completely dark, and they always keep the hallway of the apartment building fully lit. The hallway is very wide, long, and empty. My question is, do you think she would have crawled out and left the apartment, even though the hallway was lit and is wide and empty? or would she have just stayed in the darkness and found some spot in a closet to hide for the day?

We have a towel stuffed under the door in hopes shes still inside and wont leave the apartment. If she's still in here, i'm confident she will show up (theres not many places to go in a tiny one-bedroom). Thanks for any input!
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~Melissa~
1.3 Leopard geckos
1.0 Bearded dragon
1.0 Hog Island Boa
0.0.1 crested gecko
1.0 Ferret
0.1 Chinchilla
1.0 Chinese Praying Mantis

Melissas Menagerie

My guess would be, no she would have stayed where it was dark and not scary...but I of course can't know that for sure If I were you, I'd put a bowl of food and another of water near someplace that stays dark all day, like a closet or something....or someplace you might think she might like to squeeze herself into to hide out. Maybe you'll see her grabbing a snack and be able to catch her. I've read a lot of stories on here about people finding their lost geckos, and I sure hope you find yours as well!

Thanks! I will do that
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~Melissa~
1.3 Leopard geckos
1.0 Bearded dragon
1.0 Hog Island Boa
0.0.1 crested gecko
1.0 Ferret
0.1 Chinchilla
1.0 Chinese Praying Mantis

Melissas Menagerie

I don't think she would have gone out the door either. Good luck finding her.
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chickabowwow

3.2.3 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)

Hi there, I have a couple of suggestions for you (if she hasn't already turned up).

#1 Lay aluminum foil across any likely pathways. Consider putting a water dish down on the foil. In the evening/at night, keep lights off in room leo is likely to be in. Sit nearby ... read a book with a spotlight or watch tv with the volume low, whatever, and listen. Sooner or later you will hear the pitter patter of gecko feet on foil. I first saw this on Melissa Kaplan's site maybe four years ago, and its worked here.

#2 If she doesn't turn up soon, do make a methodical search, inch by inch. We've found leopard geckos under the desk and under a bed. My son's bearded dragon turned up right next to its cage (behind a bookcase). I hate doing this particularly as my living space is cluttered but it has turned up two leopard geckos at our house.

#3 Chances are the leopard gecko is ok, but the sooner you find her the better. Until this year we'd had about 7 escaped herps (mostly leos) at one time or another. All had eventually been found and were fine. I never worried too much when one was missing, largely because of my first experience with losing a leopard gecko in an apartment. He was missing for almost three months (the record around here) and when found had actually gained weight. However, this year one went missing and had injuries - she is now missing the outer part of her lower jaw and almost lost 3 fingers. That was my fault and it made me realize I needed to be much more careful in handling them.

I wish you the best of luck in finding her.
Andrea A.

>>Hello,
>>Well my newest gecko whom I had gotten almost two weeks ago escaped her rubbermaid box. I know exactly how and what to do to fix it. I live in an apartment, and she had to have gotten out sometime after 11:30 last night after i went to bed. I've searched high and low for her, but i havent found her. I figured, I'm not going to find her if i LOOK for her. When your looking for something that moves, you can't just say "I already looked there" either, lol. I'm hopin she will turn up.
>>
-----
Andrea A.

>>Hi there, I have a couple of suggestions for you (if she hasn't already turned up).
>>
>>#1 Lay aluminum foil across any likely pathways. Consider putting a water dish down on the foil. In the evening/at night, keep lights off in room leo is likely to be in. Sit nearby ... read a book with a spotlight or watch tv with the volume low, whatever, and listen. Sooner or later you will hear the pitter patter of gecko feet on foil. I first saw this on Melissa Kaplan's site maybe four years ago, and its worked here.
>>
>>#2 If she doesn't turn up soon, do make a methodical search, inch by inch. We've found leopard geckos under the desk and under a bed. My son's bearded dragon turned up right next to its cage (behind a bookcase). I hate doing this particularly as my living space is cluttered but it has turned up two leopard geckos at our house.
>>
>>#3 Chances are the leopard gecko is ok, but the sooner you find her the better. Until this year we'd had about 7 escaped herps (mostly leos) at one time or another. All had eventually been found and were fine. I never worried too much when one was missing, largely because of my first experience with losing a leopard gecko in an apartment. He was missing for almost three months (the record around here) and when found had actually gained weight. However, this year one went missing and had injuries - she is now missing the outer part of her lower jaw and almost lost 3 fingers. That was my fault and it made me realize I needed to be much more careful in handling them.
>>
>>I wish you the best of luck in finding her.
>>Andrea A.
>>
>>>>Hello,
>>>>Well my newest gecko whom I had gotten almost two weeks ago escaped her rubbermaid box. I know exactly how and what to do to fix it. I live in an apartment, and she had to have gotten out sometime after 11:30 last night after i went to bed. I've searched high and low for her, but i havent found her. I figured, I'm not going to find her if i LOOK for her. When your looking for something that moves, you can't just say "I already looked there" either, lol. I'm hopin she will turn up.
>>>>
>>-----
>>Andrea A.
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~Melissa~
1.3 Leopard geckos
1.0 Bearded dragon
1.0 Hog Island Boa
0.0.1 crested gecko
1.0 Ferret
0.1 Chinchilla
1.0 Chinese Praying Mantis

Melissas Menagerie

Thanks for the advice! I will definately try those. i feel like such an idiot because she had gotten out once before and i found her right away, and i did some fixing to her enclosure but i didnt realize how she had gotten out until today. so yeah, the little brat better decide to turn up soon! lol
-----
~Melissa~
1.3 Leopard geckos
1.0 Bearded dragon
1.0 Hog Island Boa
0.0.1 crested gecko
1.0 Ferret
0.1 Chinchilla
1.0 Chinese Praying Mantis

Melissas Menagerie

I'm looking at possible places around my apartment just in case it happens to me...anyway here we haev radiant hotwater heat that runs along the floor. Plenty of nooks and crannies and of course, heat. Just a thought but if you have some place where the heat is radiating from try peeking there.