Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so I am in need of serious help.

For those of you know, I am a reptile rehabber and work at a reptile sanctuary as well as my own home. Working with sick and almost dead reptiles is nothing new to me, but geckos are.

I am not sure how it happened, but I had two geckos escape. These geckos belong to Deadoktober and they have been at my home for a month now. I have been gone for almost a week straight except to come home, change and take care of the animals because I have been helping a friend move. The last time I can pinpoint seeing the geckos in their enclosure was Tuesday night. It is now Friday and when taking them out to feed crickets, we discovered that they are nowhere to be found.

After frantically tearing the house apart, one of the babies (5 months) has been found. She is missing her tail, has a lot of dried blood on the stump and back leg and is looking dehydrated. She was found in a shirt that was in the bathroom.

I have since pumped 1.6CC of my reptile pedilyte concoction to get some water and electrolytes in her. I have given her 5 (units are 1/2 of a CC) units of Betadine (antibiotics) as well as cleaning her tail with iodine.

The injection was done in back leg and right now her back leg is not doing too well. The injection may have injured it even though I used my smallest needle (used normally for diabetics). I am not so concerned about her regaining use of this back leg as long as she makes it though this ordeal. I would rather have the leg hurt than have her die slowly because of an infection.

We think the cat got her. The cat is an avid hunter and eats bugs often. The tail is nowhere to be found and that is why we think it was the cat.

Is there anything else I am forgetting to do? I am afraid that I am losing my common sense because I am emotionally attached to these animals and because of the fact that I am so distraught that they even got out in the first place.

Please if anyone has any suggestions or advice I would greatly appreciated. Please no negative comments because at this point I am negative and down on myself as it is.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Ellena

These are the babies, cross your fingers that we find Aster (on the right) and please wish Willow (the one on the left) good luck in her recovery.

i like to set up a small environment similar to the cage. a little fake plant, possibly a black light ( for heat depending where in the country you are) and food and water. then just keep your eyes peeled.
good luck and get back to us

Thanks for the response.

I set a bunch of crickets loose in the house (if the gecko doesnt eat them the cat will, oh well) and I am keeping my eyes peeled for him. Hopefully if he is still alive he will be really active tonight and I can catch him.

Ellena

"I set a bunch of crickets loose in the house "
haha, you have fun with that...
hopefully you will find the gecko.

>>Thanks for the response.
>>
>>I set a bunch of crickets loose in the house (if the gecko doesnt eat them the cat will, oh well) and I am keeping my eyes peeled for him. Hopefully if he is still alive he will be really active tonight and I can catch him.
>>
>>Ellena

If the cat got the first gecko, what makes you think it won't get the second as well (assuming it hasn't already)? Get the cat out of there!
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Chris

1.0.1 Coleonyx variegatus
1.0.0 Gekko vittatus
1.0.0 Eublepharis macularius
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus

Terrestrial? Who you calling terrestrial?!!

Yeah, I will just throw the cat in the streets to starve.......

LOL

I can't tell you...how heart broken I am. We have caged the cat up and left crickets out for Aster. God help him.

He has spunk and attitude that makes me try (and wishful thinking) that he is still hiding somewhere.

I don't blame my friend for whatever. I still have one surviving. And despite her injuries, I know she will live. My friend in my opinion, found one...and that is great. I never thought I'd be so attached to these animals then I am now. Ellena kept her cool while I was blubbering like a big baby and saved my Gecko. For that I am greatful. I know how Ellena is with reptiles and I know she is feeling like it's the end of the world. unfortunately, this happens to the best of us and some things are out of our control. We have learned the hard way...and now we may not know what happened...one can only hope.

Sorry to hear about all that. Lets hope the cat didnt find him.
i know its apples to oranges, but i have had snakes lost in my house many times they are escape artist and every single time i got them back. some times it took longer than others. once i found a missing snake like a month later in the middle of the night coming into my bathroom from a whole in the ceiling down stairs. so good luck
The only other trick i have for u, which may not work for a gecko do to its being so small is to pick a room or even 2 rooms and put one of those motion sensor lights on and if it jumps or moves enough to get the light to turn on u can rush in and search. this trick works better for loose rats and snakes but u never know. ellana says her man is handy so maybe he can rigg a couple up in a hours time
Pulling for u
Dave

Thanks for the well wishes Dave and the idea as well. I think that is a totally rocking idea and I will be trying it this weekend. With the cat locked up and the dog in my room at night.... nothing is moving in the house at night so all should be still. The geckos are the only nocturnal animals in the house so I am really hoping this will work.

Thanks again and I will keep you posted on Willows health and Aster's hopeful appearance.

Ellena

n/p

ive had crested geckos get out a few times, but luckily i have no cats. unfortunate as it may sound, i think its pretty likely that the cat got whoever it was you havent found yet. but its good not to give up hope. i have found that my escapees dont manage to get out of the room, and i always sure to close all doors to keep the gecko isolated. usually they do not stray too far from their enclosure. one of mine i found sleeping in the top corner of a window, other times i have found them within a matter of feet of their enclosures, despite the fact that i tore my room apart 3 or 4 times. all have showed back up in good health. keep lights off and constantly check different rooms. remember they get active in the dark, so night is your best chance to find them. good luck.

Deffinitely limit the cats access to the entire house. Either lock it in one room, after making sure the gecko couldn't possibly be there and leave the act there. You can move food, water and litterbox into the room and keep the door close. Sure it's not nice for the cat but it may only be a few days at most before it has full access again.

For the gecko, I don't think it would have travelled too far away from where you keep them. Where you found the first one would be a good indication how much it roamed. I would put a jar of crickets, high enough to ensure that the crickets don't get out but the gecko can get in. Count the crickets so you know if the gecko ate some. You can also put a small dab of CGD on a spoon or jar lid for him as well.

I hope this helps.

I found the one gecko in the hall bathroom and I was hoping the other would be close by. I have torn apart the whole house, moving couches, using a flashlight, to no avail. This gecko is a spunky little guy and I feel that he is still alive and hiding out somewhere. I did let some crickets go in the house.... but I do like the idea of putting some in a jar. I will put some in a mason jar in the bathroom tonight and see if something develops.

Thanks.

Ellena

I'm sorry to hear about your geckos. I have faith that you'll find the missing one, and that they'll both be fine!
I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did they get out? Were they able to push up the screen top or something? I just want to be able to prevent the same from happening to mine because, as of now, my crested's screen top just rests on her tank.
Thanx and good luck!
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1.2.0 Leopard Geckos
0.1.0 Crested Gecko
1.0.0 Minature Chihuahua
1.0.0 Cat
0.2.0 Gerbils

Thanks for your positive thoughts. I really think the missing one is alive.... he just has too much spunk and attitude to jsut get caught. I had the hardest time even getting him to calm down!

We are not sure how they got out. I wish I knew because not knowing is driving me nuts. They are in a custom enclosure with no screening, but plexi-glass doors. We inspected the enclosure and think they might have squeeded between the door and the enclosure if the magnet didn't catch all the way.

I guess we will never know for sure though.

My opinion, better safe then sorry. I would somehow secure it to the cage so that eliviates any possibility. I would hate for someone else to go through the same experience as we are having.

Thank you for your aspiring thoughts on Aster.

when i was a kid i lost a lizard in the house and didnt check the doorjam before i closed the door...... just make sure to check before you close any door

i hope everything turns out well
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1.1 Gargoyle geckos
0.0.1 asian golden tree frog
1.0 oriental firebelly toad
0.1 european firebelly toad
1.0 albino betta
1.0 orange tabby
0.0.1 asian painted frog
1.0 broad headed skink
0.0.1 fowlers toad
0.1 red eyed tree frog
1.1 red eared sliders
476.769.47 feeder crickets

Hi

My freind had the same thing happen to her baby crested and it lived 2 months under alot of care so i would follow what these people tell even though ur crested mite not make it.

I lost mine for about 2 days about 2 days ago lol.

Found him under a piece of paper on my couch arm. My sister walked by and the wind from her blew away the paper... and there he was! He is only 3 months old. Look EVERYWHERE!!
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix

Did you really INJECT your gecko with a TOPICAL only solution? I hope your betadine is infact an antibiotic instead of the topical-only antiseptic solution (like hydrogen peroxide(H2O2) or Novalsan) that I know as betadine.

"Betadine Solution contains 10% povidone-iodine and is the foremost documented, broad spectrum topical iodophor microbicide. "-http://www.brucemedical.com/fr-2135-80.html

"Betadine® Brand Antibiotics
Broad-spectrum TOPICAL antibiotic products
...topical antibiotics play an important role in treating minor cuts, burns and scrapes. Both formulations of Betadine® Brand First Aid Antibiotics combine Polymyxin B sulfate and Bacitracin zinc with moisturizers to control infection and promote healthy healing of damaged skin."-http://www.pharma.com/html/Our_products/Betadine_Brand_Antibiotics.htm
This may explain why your gecko's leg DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE!
"The injection was done in back leg and right now her back leg is not doing too well. The injection may have injured it even though I used my smallest needle (used normally for diabetics).I am not so concerned about her regaining use of this back leg as long as she makes it though this ordeal."

And if it is an antibiotic that i dont know of(very possible), I think reptiles are supposed to receive antibiotic shots in the first third of the body length( I know it's true for snakes).

From personal experience with reptile dehydration problems, I would recommend soaking daily or as needed. Then if more durastic measures are needed, give fluid injections provided by a herp vet. I would expect force-feeding fluids to be more harmful than helpful simply due to the stress it might cause, and you may drown the animal in the process...

-Jessica (Ihm)

Thank you for concern however there is no need to be rude to my friend.

As for my Gecko not being able to move her back leg...she is moving around much better now thank you. Looking now at her skin, she was attacked. when we had first found her there were liquid bubbles under her skin..after the injection, they disappeared shortly after.

You should throughly read our updates if you are going to shake your finger at someone who did the best they could. If you did, you'd find out that the crested is now moving about well and eating on her own. >

I don't he sounded rude at all...http://www.bluetongueskinks.net/forum/images/smiles/noknow.gif
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix

Are you suggesting that just because the poor animal survived a 2.5cc injectin of betadine that it was okay to do it?!!! She obviously did not even bother reading the LABEL on the bottle before taking it upon herself to inject the lizard with the solution.

Betadine Lable reads:
"The number 1 Hospital Brand ANTISEPTIC
Betadine Solution (Providone-iodine, 10%)
Kills germs in MINOR BURNS, CUTS, AND SCRAPES"
-http://www.pharma.com/PI/NonPrescription/A6910BE3.pdf

I capitalized key words that should have told her "Not injectable"

Then if she missed the front of the bottle, she certainly would have checked the back before injecting an animal with it...maybe even the warning lable, which reads:
"WARNINGS:
FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY..." and goes on to warn if someone were to swallow the solution, "If swallowed, get medical help or contact a poison control center right away."-http://www.pharma.com/PI/NonPrescription/A6910BE3.pdf

FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY, what can I say?

And where did she get the 'dosage' 2.5cc of the soution from? Did she guess? My 72g Blood Python with a respiratory infection was being treated with .03cc of Ceftazidine(an injectable antibiotic) every three days! How could you justify injecting a GECKO, juvenile at that, with 2.5cc of ANYTHING. I bet the poor thing's leg was swolen huge with this burning substance after such a dosage. It is terrible that someone would do this to an animal, good intentions or not! Her ignorance is a danger to her animals, obviously!
Rude... I feel the need to be somewhat 'forceful' with the fact that this person INJECTED their juvenile gecko with a harmful solution and thought it was a good thing! Many people who know nothing about reptiles or even animals in general will wander to this forum, or others like it, to find reliable information on how to care for their 'new pet xxx'. How many other people read this and decided to 'treat' their sick reptile with a quick injection of betadine? I mean she even says she is a reptile rehabber, and works with reptiles, she must know what she is doing...right? I say again, Her ignorance is a danger to her animals! And you say I should have read the updates, I did! I read every single reply to this because I could not believe no one else was shocked someone injected their animal with such a large amount of a well known topical only solution.
I dont mean to be rude, but it is all i can be, knowing that gecko went through needless pain, after a stressful situation because of another ignorant herp owner. I get just as mad when people dont provide heat for a reptile so it can simply digest its food, or do provide heat but allow the animal to get terrible burns. our general ignorance is a terrible crime against the animals we keep.
-Ihm

You may or may not have a point i have no clue, just out of curiousty WHY do u have all this information handy?

my only other point is i dont find you as rude, i meen yeah u obviously bashed all over a clearly distraught fellow herber, and probably could have made your point more as helpful rather than ignorant. but you back up your staments with facts and thats more than most of us do when we start a war on here.

so cudos to you my friend you seem intellegent, aware, and have a dedication to your reptiles that can be respected. but your attack makes you a bleep bleep bleep bleep.

you say you read all the posts right? so u understood the "choas" "frantic" act now think later frame of mind they were in? why would u choose to attack that. Ive made my share of smart allack comments on here in good fun but your attack just wasnt meant to be helpful and u know that...

and you say your reason for it all was so if some every day joe dont come on here and read up on this stuff and start jabbing things with medicine they dont need . Im pretty sure thats BS

1 the every day Joe that has reptiles dont have needles
2 the every day Joe with needles isnt using them on thier reptiles
3 the joe with needles and reptiles probably isnt coming on here to see what you have to say.

SHAKE IT RIGHT BACK DEADOKT

Thank you Dave...that makes me feel better...I was going to have to yell again

Wow, you really have that holier than thou thing going for you don't you?
LOL

Excuse someone that was in a frantic dash to write a post to get some opinions and mistakenly typed the wrong thing. I work for Kindres Spirits Reptile Sanctuary and DO know what I am doing and in fact do this every day.... JUST NOT ON GECKOS.

Maybe you should come down off your high horse and realize that there are others out there that have knowledge, besides you, and that are NOT a danger to the animals that they care for. I HAVE not lost one yet.......

I asked for help and advice, not someone jumping to conclusions without clairification. Thank you for proving the point that some people think they know everything and others do not.

Whoa dude, why don't you chill out and ask more questions before you freak out. Damn.

If I wrote betadine, I meant baytril... so I did NOT inject topical in the leg. The leg is working just fine now and the reason she was not using it was because she is so small and of course a needle, any size would make a little leg like that sore.

Maybe next time ask more questions before freaking out.

I appreciate the concern, but like I said, I rehab reptiles for a living and I know what I am doing.

I do not think i over reacted. I am sorry that there was a misunderstanding, but Baytril is a long stretch from Betadine.

And i did not have this information 'handy.' Upon reading the post i took sympathy for the animal and decided to research this 'Betadine antibiotic' in hopes that it did exsist...for the gecko's sake.

And someone said 'the average joe' doesnt have needles to do such injections...that is BS. I worked at a pet store and herd much much worse...about rats living with their pet snakes because they are 'friends' or reptiles living with no heat for 4 years...3" diameter 5 year old red ear sliders...terrible crimes done to reptiles kept by the ignorant. How was I to know this post about injecting a gecko with betadine wasnt just another idiot with an idea. It was obviously a typo. I do not regret my post though, everyone is more educated about betadine now...especially myself...and in the case that someone did inject their animal with betadine, i would have a few more words to say to them, but cant on here.
-Ihm