Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We bought this leopard gecko today and now that we have it home we noticed that it is getting ready to lose a toe. We asked about his tail and the pet store said another gecko bit it off and it is a new one. I haven't seen any pictures of geckos with this kind of tail. I took a picture so the tail and toe can be looked at for opinions. The black toe is on the back left foot, it is very little. My son spent all of his christmas and birthday money on the gecko and supplies, which was alot. I want to take it back and wait for a healthy gecko to come to the pet store. What should I do?

That toe is already gone, probably from a bad shed (or a couple of bad sheds). The tail is regenerated, that isn't rare, some people don't like regen tails but it doesn't really seem to affect the overall health of the gecko. The missing toe shouldn't be a problem as long as it doesn't get infected. As long as this guy is otherwise healthy, if you can live with some of his imperfections I am sure he will make a great pet for your family. You should have a vet check him out to make sure he is healthy. Good luck with your new gecko.
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www.hullabalooherps.com

Here is another picture of the gecko.

Another picture.

hey he's a beautiful little guy ;D anyway...i agree...the toe is unfixable and probably was due to a bad shed or 2...the tail being regrown isn't that big of an issue...it happens...i broke one of my leo's tails half off and she now has a partially regrown tail...either way very pretty...good luck ;D You can always keep that little fella and go buy another one to keep him/her company ;]

C-Ya

-S1N
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0.1.0 - Hypo-Golden Leopard Gecko (Skizzardt)
0.0.1 - Tremper Albino Leopard Gecko (Baybee Skiz)
0.0.2 - (Morph Unknown) Leopard Geckos (unnamed)
0.0.1 - Bearded Dragon (Phoenix)
1.0.0 - Gold Gecko (Chewonowski)
0.0.1 - White Line Gecko (unnamed)
1.0.0 - Hatian Curly Tail (Chubby)
1.0.0 - Green Anoles (Yo-Boi)
0.0.1 - House Gecko (unnamed)
0.0.1 - Bahama Anole (Home-Boi)
0.0.1 - Betta Fish (Redz)
1.1.0 - Dog (Bernie and Molly)
0.2.0 - Cats (Remy and Shylo)
0.1.0 - Fiancee (Steffanie)

Hi sorry dont wanna sound like im having a go but as we always say if u had checked out a care sheet and prepared for ur new little leo u could have picked out a more suitable one for your son.I understand that he probably could not wait for his new little friend but again if u had checked out the appropriate resources u would have a healthier looking gecko.Thats my 2 cents and sorry if i sounded angry but how can they sell them in that state.Gilbery007

I have to agree with Gil on this one. If you were prepared with all the information before buying the gecko, chances are you wouldn't have bought that one in the first place. You may also spend extra money than needed on vet bills. On another note, whatever pet store you got him from is very unprofessional selling him in that condition. Normally when buying pets, you look for the healthiest one possible, unless of course, you are rescuing them. I would take him back and demand a different one or get your money back.
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~*Chibi*~
Sir Iggy (El Salvador Blue Iguana), Ryo-ohki, Orion, Bud, & Finnegan (4 crazy kitties), Rosebud (cockerspaniel), and Kayko (leopard gecko)

I did my research and looked over the gecko. I mentioned the toes and tail to the pet store employee. She said the tail was regenerating and the toes need to finish shedding. We came home and put the gecko in water to soften the skin on the toes and noticed that the toe was in bad condition. We took the skin off of the other toes. I wanted other gecko owners opinions as we are new gecko owners. My son has a snow corn and a chinese firebellie newt. My big thing with him is research.

Hi, I replied already but my son has something to say now. He said that we did our research and looked at the gecko closely. The pet store employee talked us into getting the gecko. Telling us that everything was ok. We feel bad about the gecko but we would like one that doesn't have cosmetic problems. The other ones were not any better. If they gave us a discount on the gecko we would keep it. We paid $50 for the gecko.

Yes, $50 a bit much for damaged leo. I dont know if this will get me in trouble w/ kingsnake, but I have 2 baby leos that look just like that but with no defects, that I would be happy to give one to you, if it were possible. I'm serious. (I hatched 32 babies this season and am not interested in money but am interested in finding only good homes for em. have 19 left.)

We are very interested. I hope this doesn't get us in trouble with kingsnake. We live in NC.

We should probably take this out of the forum then. I'll email you.

I have replied. Thank you for your help.

Wut kind of baby leos do you have?

I am interested in you're babies. I am willing to pay for them I would just rather get them from someone like you than a pet store.

That's insane to have paid $50 for that gecko. I've gotten both my gecko babies for under $30 and they were in excellent health. I don't know what pet store you went to, but I still would take him back and get your money back. Leos aren't supposed to look like that.
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~*Chibi*~
Sir Iggy (El Salvador Blue Iguana), Ryo-ohki, Orion, Bud, & Finnegan (4 crazy kitties), Rosebud (cockerspaniel), and Kayko (leopard gecko)

he has a regrown tail and a missing toe is no rerason to bring him back, if he where aggressive, or very sickly, then yes bring him back, if he's healthy, then why put him back in with a whole bunch of other leos that have a possibility of being sick?, thats sentencing that gecko to death, if he were to get sick at the petstore, he be in there withering away, the employees or manager would not take it to a vet

he's a beautiful little leo that needs time to recuperate, his tail is not fully regrown, and his toe will heal, give the little guy a chance

somtimes the pets that look a little different make the best ones

keep him, give him a good, long life
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Dan Quinn

I totally agree with that too, 95% of the pets I've had in my lifetime are all rescued with some sort of problem. All the cats I own now are rescued cats, one of which I got with a serious eye problem that has left her one eye mishaped (best cat I've ever had). I once even had a pet duck that I saved from a farm and her bill was partly severed. My issue is the fact that her son had been planning on having a nice healthy gecko and whatever awful pet store they bought it from basically ripped them off. I would never go to a pet store and buy a damaged animal for my daughter. I work at the SPCA part time too, and I see this kinda thing all the time. People go to these pet stores come home with a pet that turns out to be more work then they bargained for, and a majority of the time I see these animals back at the SPCA. It's heartbreaking.
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~*Chibi*~
Sir Iggy (El Salvador Blue Iguana), Ryo-ohki, Orion, Bud, & Finnegan (4 crazy kitties), Rosebud (cockerspaniel), and Kayko (leopard gecko)

I agree with you guys that returning him is more or less a death sentence, and I agree that a regen tail doesnt make any diff to its personality. Some of mine have regen tails and after a while I dont even notice cause I love em anyways

But lets face it - regen tails are ugly, that's why nobody buys them. So I also can see not wanting the only leo you have to have an ugly tail. Its' not Michelle's fault that pet store sucks

Oh, and the other reason why I say all of this is because I just bought a gecko from an online dealer in November that lasted 2 weeks and cost me over $300 in vet bills. The dealer had kept him on Vitasand, told me there was no problems, and sent me a bag of it along with the gecko. Within a week, the gecko was bloated full of sand, and then died 3 days later. The whole time my very young daughter cried her eyes out. My vet told me that the gecko had most likely been eating sand long before I had gotten him. There was nothing I could've done. I don't trust people who sell animals.
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~*Chibi*~
Sir Iggy (El Salvador Blue Iguana), Ryo-ohki, Orion, Bud, & Finnegan (4 crazy kitties), Rosebud (cockerspaniel), and Kayko (leopard gecko)

...

Here is a picture of our set up for 1 leopard gecko, 1 corn snake and 1 chinese firebellied newt. We do our research.

I think enough people have said good things here.. I'll just add my two cents. I think you should hang on to him. In my personal collection, some of my favorite leo's have little blemishes like that. They manage just fine with them... esp when they're in good hands! Good luck with him... and the new one that may be on it's way

like people already said, the tail is going to grow back, and it will only look a little different than it would have otherwise. The toe will fall off and if you keep it clean, nothing else will and he will be fine.

Sending that little guy back to the petshop is definately not looking out for the best interests of the reptile, which is something we reptile owners need to care about big time. You made a mistake and bought a reptile that is less than perfect. I know how it is. I was 14 when I got my first lizard (beardie...I'm 16 now by the way), and I did all of the research, but the guy at the reptile place still managed to talk me into things. He showed me a beardie that looked to be in great condition despite a very very minor tail nip (I think). If I had looked around more I would have saw warning signs that I was going to have big problems with parasites and eating. He was in what looked like a 20 gallon long (he was around 13", with a bigger beardie that looked to be a little thin and maybe a little sickly, though still acting fine. Also, before I brought him home I noticed there was another lizard of a different species in with them...it looked like it might have been an ackie or something. These were warning signs that I didn't think about because I was too excited about getting the little guy. He's doing pretty good right now, but the past two years I've had him have been a bit touch and go so to say. Your leo on the other hand seems to be in good health, so you are luckier than I in that respect. He deserves a good home.

The re-grow is nice and fat which shows that your little guy is likely in good health. He is in the process of losing a toe. Few pet stores provide moist hides so many leos have shed problems. He probably had a bit of skin get stuck and it cut off circulation. The area around the toe doesn't appear to be swollen, or red so it's not likely to be infected. You could keep him on something like paper towels and put some neosporin on the toe to prevent this possibility. It'll probably fall off next time he sheds. All his problems look to be cosmetic, and he should still make a wonderful pet.
-Alice

One more thing, You should probably take a really careful look at his remaining toes. If you see any skin stuck to them, put him in a container lined with a wet paper towel for about 15 minutes. This will soften up the skin and you can remove it with a pair of fine forceps (pocket knife tweezers work great for this). This will prevent any more toe loss.

-Alice

ahhhhhhhh, they should never house juvie leos together. they are FAMOUS for biting off each other's tails But your leo looks perfectly healthy and beautiful. The tail is not done re-growing so it will get a bit longer than that. If you dont mind the tail please keep him/her. You've probably already fallen love anyways But if you want a more perfect looking leo that's ok too.

about the toe, its only the very TIP of the toe that is lost, not the whole toe (yet). again, not a problem for the gecko, just a cosmetic thing. since we can still see the dried brown dead tip, there is a chance that the dead-ness will spread up the toe. What I do and I've had to do it many times on rescue geckos, is cover the toe, especially the tip, with Neosporin. keep a film of Neosporin on it,like till he sheds again. when the toe tip ends in healthy skin instead of that brown dried stuff, it is healed and safe. The little claw will be gone and wont grow back, but thats not a big deal.

the Neosporin is not really for antibiotic in this case. In my experience, it keeps the skin lubricated better than water or a damp hide and really helps the skin from drying up and dying further. Ive used it to save many toe tips and tail tips on a whole lot of gecko species.

neosporin ( and generic antibiotic cream) proved invaluable in keeping a toe infection from speading many a time. it can serve both purposes
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1.0 Blizzard Bill
1.0 Hypo stripe 100% het Rainwater from JL (BJ)
1.0 HypoTang from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino Hypo (Cloud)
0.3 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie (now w/SD), Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (MIA)
RIP Peaches, Ghost

Just to let everyone know that we still have the leo. We are having a hard time deciding to keep him or not. We feel that $50 is a bit much to spend on him, but we didn't really have much to chose from since we have only 2 petstores here. Yes, they mark up their animals. I too was disappointed in this petstore since we have bought a corn snake and newt from them. I want to go to the store and complain but I am not sure if they will do anything about it. My son is stuck between keeping or giving back. He understands that he will be better off here but doesn't want it to be a sick one.

If we do decide to keep it, will it be ok to add another one or have separate tanks?

Thanks to all for their help and opinions.

If you put another one in with that one, you have a good chance that he will bite off their tail!! baby and juvenile leos are famous for doing that. even if it looks like they're getting along too. they will hang out together all day like best friends and then one morning you look and AAAHHH one is tailless. adults dont do it as much.

Thank you, that is what I figured but wanted to make sure.

sorry to stick my 2 cents in here, but my suggestion is to
1. put a little dab of antibiotic ointment or neosporin on the good end of that toe and maybe the bottom of that foot to prevent any infection spread.
2. keep him on paper towels (not sure what you're using now) until the dead tissue does fall off, which it will.
3. dont stress about the tail. your son would not have been brought back to the hospital if he came home short a toe or with some other minor cosmetic issue. there is a very good lesson for your son here. the tail will grow back well and he will be fine with a smooth tail.
4. try not to get another until this guy is well established. if you do, you MUST quarantine them both for 30-90 days. if they get bigger and are the same size (and not male) you may combine them later.
hope that helps
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1.0 Blizzard Bill
1.0 Hypo stripe 100% het Rainwater from JL (BJ)
1.0 HypoTang from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino Hypo (Cloud)
0.3 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie (now w/SD), Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (MIA)
RIP Peaches, Ghost