Rescuing a Leopard Gecko that REGREW HER EYES!?

This is a link to a Snake Discovery video about treating a couple leopard geckos that lost their sight due to neglect. I like these rescue videos because they show the amazing things that can be done to bring relief to distressed herps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFTc5knXW7A

Super interesting, and Emily sure seems to know what she's doing there. There were some apparently legit comments on the video to the effect that it is very possible that the eyes were severely damaged but not completely lost (so didn't regrow, exactly) but a quick lit search suggests that total regeneration wouldn't be completely impossible.

Also, that video is a good reminder to supplement your non-rodent feeding herps properly. There is quite a percentage of casual keepers who are under the impression that calcium + D3 are sufficient supplementation for insectivores, and that simply isn't true.

REGREW HER EYES!? A non-amphibious vertebrate? Lololololol So cringe...:)

At the risk of making you cringe, please enlighten me as to the extent of geckos ability to regrow their body parts. Is it only their tails that they can regrow? Now that I think about it, I can't recall ever hearing about a lizard regrowing toes, which they lose frequently.

How long to you think Spot, the one that died, was wandering around that lobby before they found him? How long would it take for a leopard gecko without care to reach the state he was in when they found him? Weeks? Months?

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Originally Posted by Homebody

At the risk of making you cringe, please enlighten me as to the extent of geckos ability to regrow their body parts. Is it only their tails that they can regrow? Now that I think about it, I can't recall ever hearing about a lizard regrowing toes, which they lose frequently.

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Good questions are never cringe.

Excluding damage taken during embryonic development: Leopard Geckos can *only* replace their tail, and of course the 'new' tail is not as durable as the original tail.

Many amphibians and invertebrates have the ability to regenerate more complicated structures-E.g. most 'reptile people' know that axolotls have advanced regenerative capabilities.

I didn't watch the video so I can't comment on the extent of the healing process. I'm not a fan of clickbait titles.

Fun fact: Most starfish have eyes at the tips of the arms. When the arm is regrown: The eye is regenerated. Of course the eyes are pretty basic (like those of a jellyfish)...so don't be too impressed. ;)

There are published papers that suggest that limb regeneration in reptiles is currently thought to not be possible (example abstract). Looks like reptiles can regrow the optic nerve but not to the point that it is functional (abstract), and that avian reptiles can regrow damaged retinas (source). Personally, I wouldn't hang too much on the current claims of eye regeneration without more credible documentation but it doesn't seem flatly impossible. It is still an amazing recovery, even if the details are suspect.

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Originally Posted by Homebody

How long to you think Spot, the one that died, was wandering around that lobby before they found him? How long would it take for a leopard gecko without care to reach the state he was in when they found him? Weeks? Months?

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When giving leos some time off in winter (not sure I'd call it brumation, exactly), three or four months without food (but with water, of course) results in a little weight loss but more of the 'hey, you're not so fat anymore' variety. Spot could have been at bad temps and on bad food (whatever spiders it could catch) for much more than a year given the look of it, I would think. That one was very arguably a candidate for quick euthanasia, regardless of any possible heartwarming outcomes that would have made for another popular video.

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

I'm not a fan of clickbait titles.

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Yes, that aspect of it makes the claims less believable and also makes the motivation for the video a little suspect.