Self harming behavior in leopard gecko

[Mrgbb]

i checked on her this morning and it seemed like she was in the middle of another seizure episode.. When i disturbed her she went into a full fledged seizure episode. She seems like she is distressed when this happens. (Shes an eclipse eye so i can't see where her eyes are looking though). But its not pretty to watch. I may take a video later for educational purposes.

If she is still with me when I get home, I think I'm going to end her suffering.. Its not fair to her.

Coldblooded, based on what you have said I think the cold coma and the freezer may be the kindest option.

if you bring her to any local vet they should have a department or side office for euthinasia... i think that would be the best way to do it... but than again i dont know if you would really wanna pay that kinda money for something you can do on your own... well my condoleces... i hope she goes peacefully.

[cinderbird]

if you bring her to any local vet they should have a department or side office for euthinasia... i think that would be the best way to do it... but than again i dont know if you would really wanna pay that kinda money for something you can do on your own... well my condoleces... i hope she goes peacefully.

I have been under the impression that heart stick administration of drugs is the best for reptiles, but on a 22 gram gecko can they make the shot the first time? I worry that it would cause her a lot of unnecessary undue stress to drive her to a vets office, have her be in a strange room and handled by strange people.

I am prepared to do whatever I need to do (money isn't the issue thank goodness) I just don't want to cause her anymore pain unless i HAVE to.

[txherp]

So sorry to read this... I read that using Co2 for killing is NOT recommended for reptiles, I don't remember why but I wouldn't do it. I think the freezer would be the best method if you have no other choice.

[Mrgbb]

I have been under the impression that heart stick administration of drugs is the best for reptiles, but on a 22 gram gecko can they make the shot the first time? I worry that it would cause her a lot of unnecessary undue stress to drive her to a vets office, have her be in a strange room and handled by strange people.

I am prepared to do whatever I need to do (money isn't the issue thank goodness) I just don't want to cause her anymore pain unless i HAVE to.

yea i understand... Your the only one that can decide what to do. I guess the cool down meathod would be the best method for not causing any un-needed stress. Well goodluck to you and again my condolences.

[coldblooded]

i checked on her this morning and it seemed like she was in the middle of another seizure episode.. When i disturbed her she went into a full fledged seizure episode. She seems like she is distressed when this happens. (Shes an eclipse eye so i can't see where her eyes are looking though). But its not pretty to watch. I may take a video later for educational purposes.

If she is still with me when I get home, I think I'm going to end her suffering.. Its not fair to her.

Coldblooded, based on what you have said I think the cold coma and the freezer may be the kindest option.

It sounds like it's time, then. I wonder what is triggering the seizures. How long have you had her? How old is she? You mentioned the dent in her skull, I wonder if it is some sort of old injury that caused brain damage..

Again, I am terribly sorry.

As for the euthanasia, I have found the cool down/freezer method to be the best option for something as small as a gecko. They are totally unresponsive when pulled from the fridge (no reaction to pokes, prods, no eye movement, appear to be asleep. I don't even notice respiratory movement.) and freeze quickly due to their small size. At 22g it won't take long. I would, too, would be concerned about the stress involved at the vets office as well as the accuracy of the needle to the heart/pain involved beforehand.

[cinderbird]

It sounds like it's time, then. I wonder what is triggering the seizures. How long have you had her? How old is she? You mentioned the dent in her skull, I wonder if it is some sort of old injury that caused brain damage..

Again, I am terribly sorry.

As for the euthanasia, I have found the cool down/freezer method to be the best option for something as small as a gecko. They are totally unresponsive when pulled from the fridge (no reaction to pokes, prods, no eye movement, appear to be asleep. I don't even notice respiratory movement.) and freeze quickly due to their small size. At 22g it won't take long. I would, too, would be concerned about the stress involved at the vets office as well as the accuracy of the needle to the heart/pain involved beforehand.

To answer the first section:
I've had her for about 4 months. I got her along with another gecko (solid grey, can't remember the morph) they were within 2 grams of each other and I found it appropriate to house them together for the time being. Once i started noticing the grey one getting much larger and starting to bully her they were separated immediately. She is in a 16quart tub in my rack, kept identical to all of my other leopard geckos. She came to me at about 10 grams. I did not notice the divit on her skull when i first picked her up (which is my fault entirely). I had picked her up as a pet, not a breeder so it was to me at the time a cosmetic issue and as long as it didn't effect her I was ok with it.

She's somewhere around 6ish months old, maybe a little younger.

I believe the defect to be congenital, not an injury. I'm basing this on the fact that if something had fallen on her head, it would have killed her(at the size she would have been) , not given her the divit.

Shes been an enthusiastic eater, she just never really grew. Her ex room mate" weighed 36 grams when i traded her off and just LOVED to eat. Some people i showed her (grey) to suspected her of being gravid (which she wasnt) she was just fat and loved to eat.

She still has a nice fat tail for her size, just isnt very robust. I believe in the wild she would have been one of the ones to not make it.

As of last night, she wasn't walking properly either. She's using her wrists to move (hands folded backwards) to walk, and no longer putting her feet down to walk normally.

My best guess as to what is happening is that her brain is growing and is pressing into the divit, but with the problem in her skull it isn't growing normally. Brain swelling or equivalent, or something like hydrocephaly where the brain just has too much pressure on it and is interfering with its function.

[coldblooded]

I think that is very likely that your theory is correct. Also, the only sort of old injury I can think of that could cause a dent would be clutch mate aggression, but I think it is more likely to be a birth defect. Poor thing..

[cinderbird]

I got home from work a little while ago and found her mostly unresponsive except after a poke or prod. She had another seizure and got to the point where she wasn't even blinking.

I made the decision to put her to sleep, I couldn't stand to see her suffer with this as her seizures were getting more frequent and she was getting less responsive. I think I saved her and myself a great deal of pain and I hope this is something I never have to go through again as a pet owner.

I wanted to thank you all for your advice, especially you Coldblooded.

I hope thirteen can forgive me for this.

[coldblooded]

I got home from work a little while ago and found her mostly unresponsive except after a poke or prod. She had another seizure and got to the point where she wasn't even blinking.

I made the decision to put her to sleep, I couldn't stand to see her suffer with this as her seizures were getting more frequent and she was getting less responsive. I think I saved her and myself a great deal of pain and I hope this is something I never have to go through again as a pet owner.

I wanted to thank you all for your advice, especially you Coldblooded.

I hope thirteen can forgive me for this.

You're very welcome, I wish it could have done something to help her

And don't ask for forgiveness, the greatest gift you could give her was to relieve her of suffering. I know it's hard to do, and I hope you never have to experience it again.

My condolences and RIP to your gecko

[jfreels]

Man, what a downer thread So sorry you had to go through this, OP. I think you did the right thing.

I've grown quite attached to the geckos I have and it was a very sad day when one of mine died a couple months ago. You have my condolences.