This is going to be hard for me to type.. In the last 6ish months I have lost 4 animals. Two of them, I know the reasons for their death. One was a young ball python who never took a meal for me. I waited too long to assist and force feed her and she just couldn't recover.
The second was Fry, my rescue leopard gecko. I think you all know that story.
The other two were two geckos recieved at the same show but from different vendors. They were both healthy for at least a month. The first to pass on was a very young viper gecko. He was eating, drinking and being just fine but one day I came home and checked cages and found him dead. His cage mate (almost exact same size) lives on and is healthy and growing.
Tonight, Waffle, my g.marginata was dead. This gecko was perfectly healthy. The only thing i can think of was that I handled her while I was sick (she had some stuck shed on her toes I was working on removing as low-stress as possible) I was raising her ambient humidity and then working on her with tweezers. She was eating (CGD and dubia roaches) and would drink when I misted her tub. She was kept warm and had hides and climbing surfaces. I had just startled handling her about 2 weeks ago (i'd given her months to settle as to not stress her). And had handled her about 3 times, no longer than 5 minutes. She was active but not overly spazzy. Maybe something was wrong..
None of my other animals seem to have any problems (except the enigma leopard geckos but they're kind of tweaked anyway..)
I love my geckos, but losing this many in this short of time is really upsetting me. Should i persevere? Should i get rid of them? I just really need a kind ear and some advice right now.
I feel like the words worst pet owner. Help
Waffle was one of my favorite geckos, she was a CB specimen and the breeder was very proud of her and her clutch mates. I'm upset because I don't think I'll ever find another CBB marginata.
I check my animals at least 14 times a week (twice a day at least). Usually I give everyone a day where they are just left alone (some of my geckos are gravid and I want to minimize their stress). Some don't like bright lights. etc.
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