Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently got in 12phan., and 12 ebenaui from a major importer. The geckos ARE IN BAD SHAPE, to say the least. I had 6 die in the first 24hours. 3 of which D.O.A.

Anyway this morning i was misting them and as soon as the water hit the gecko it looked at me, screamed with mouth WIDE OPEN, then died. The scream sent chills down my neck.

Anyone else experience this?

Its horrible to see the way these geckos are treated. Such a wonderful animal wasted thanks to the pet trades lack of morals. yet when you look at the deforestation in madagascar, imports turning into captive breeding populations, is the only chance these and many other animals have to ward off extinction.

Sad, sad.......humans suck

I've often had hatchling Uroplatus scream the during the first few days when they're misted, but they don't drop dead. I imagine this animal was so stressed that the surprise of being misting tipped it over the edge. I doubt it would have survived even if you hadn't misted it directly.

Most imports I've received over the last few years have done well, a lot depends on what happened to them before they get to you. One shipment of 8 "spiny" Uroplatus I got in 2 years ago had 50% mortality (usually it's more like 0 to 20% mortality). I sent a couple for necropsy and one was found to have likely died of stress alone. The 4 that survived are still doing well.

If you can keep the phantasticus cool (60-65F night to 72-75F day) it may help. Hopefully the rest survive long enough to be deparasitized. It's best to wait a couple days before medicating them unless they have enteritis or are regurgitating.

Good luck!
Neil

This happened to me once. I started misting one and she screamed and fell over with mouth gaping open. She got up several minutes later but looked like she was very drunk. I don't remember if that particular survived or died later. I had a whole group like the size of yours at that time. A great source for Uroplatus is Aline Reptiles in Miami, FL. I've gotten all mine from them. Great people, great gex and wonderful service.

Robert
Robert Gundy Reptiles