Crested Gecko Question

[olablane]

I recieved 3 cresties from Frank on wednesday. They are so cute. Last night one of them started acting like it was having convulsions . When I checked on it this morning it was on its back dead. The other 2 are doing fine, eatin' and poopin'. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what happened. If this happens to another, what do I do? These are my first cresties and I love them and dont want any harm to come there way. Thanks for any advice you may have.
Blane

 

[equuskat]

That's pretty odd - I've had no issues with mine.

How are you keeping them?

 

[olablane]

Right now they are being kept in a kk on paper with papertowel rolls for hides. How do you recommend keeping them?

 

[equuskat]

What do you feed, etc?

I keep all four of mine in KKs on paper towels with fake plants and branches to climb on. they all have large shallow water bowls. Every other day they eat the Repashy Crested Gecko Diet, and about 2 days a week I give them a couple of roaches each. The humidity ranges between 60% and 80% give or take (dries out a little overnight because I keep my fan going).

I am NOT an experienced crested gecko keeper, mind you, but mine seem to be doing very well. The two that I got from Gecko_keeper have grown significantly and thrived so I guess I am doing okay.

 

[olablane]

It sounds like were doing about the same things. I am feeding the food that Frank sent for them. I havent fed any roaches tho. Maybe I should. I guess I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best..ifyou have any more advice or ideas please let me know. I want to keep the ones I have left. Thanks, BLane

 

[equuskat]

Well I wish you the best of luck. Definitely sorry for your loss.

 

[olablane]

Thanks so much for your time and advice. I really appreciate it. Thae two remaining ones are still fine!!.
Thanks, Blane

 

[Jeff Godbold]

Cresties are really hardy! I used to bred them and dabbled with them for a while. I'd go to the guy/girl you bought them from. That's kind of unusual unless you're totally missing the bar in husbandry. But thats somewhat unlikely since, they don't need much in the way of heat. I'd ask the seller...your husbandry practices sound spot on...unfortunately...it sounds like you got "taken". They may have been probablematic before you got them and so the seller "made" it look like a great "deal".

 

[UrbanJungles]

You can pretty much forget about a crested gecko for a week and it'll be fine since they don't need much in teh way of heat, moisture, even food...so I don' think it's your fault.

Do you have any heavy rocks or branches in th tank with the geckos? Sounds like maybe one may have experienced some trauma in the way of a head injury which can cause "convulsions" and death.

You should get in contact with the person who sold them to and maybe he'll have some insight. Good luck and sorry for your loss...

:?

 

[equuskat]

The person who sold the geckos is not likely to knowingly have sold "defective" animals. He's a very upstanding guy.

 

[The Juice]

How old are the 3 cresties? Maybe the one that died had some kind of birth defect the seller didn't know about?. I had 3 hatch last week & one has only 1 eye. I have 5 cresties from the same person you recieved yours from ranging from 4 months to over a year old and they are thriving. I would contact the seller asap & let him know what is going on..... Good Luck with the other 2

 

[olablane]

You can pretty much forget about a crested gecko for a week and it'll be fine since they don't need much in teh way of heat, moisture, even food...so I don' think it's your fault.

Do you have any heavy rocks or branches in th tank with the geckos? Sounds like maybe one may have experienced some trauma in the way of a head injury which can cause "convulsions" and death.

You should get in contact with the person who sold them to and maybe he'll have some insight. Good luck and sorry for your loss...

:?

There is nothing other than papertowels and pt rollsin the cage. I remove bottlecap waterbowl when they finish drinking.

 

[olablane]

Cresties are really hardy! I used to bred them and dabbled with them for a while. I'd go to the guy/girl you bought them from. That's kind of unusual unless you're totally missing the bar in husbandry. But thats somewhat unlikely since, they don't need much in the way of heat. I'd ask the seller...your husbandry practices sound spot on...unfortunately...it sounds like you got "taken". They may have been probablematic before you got them and so the seller "made" it look like a great "deal".

I dont think I got "taken" as I only find good reviews onthe seller.He has been really good to deal with.

 

[olablane]

How old are the 3 cresties? Maybe the one that died had some kind of birth defect the seller didn't know about?. I had 3 hatch last week & one has only 1 eye. I have 5 cresties from the same person you recieved yours from ranging from 4 months to over a year old and they are thriving. I would contact the seller asap & let him know what is going on..... Good Luck with the other 2

I am going to get ahold of Frank and see if he has any ideas. Thanks

 

[ShellsandScales]

That happens with geckos from time to time. I've had it happen with two Albino fattail geckos. It is most likely genetic in nature. I think its one of the downsides of all the selective breeding to produce color morphs. There is a certain amount of inbreeding needed to produce a lot of the color morphs that are out there and there are bound to be some that have problems. The main problem is when breeders are establishing a color morph instead of only keeping and breeding the healthiest of the best, some will breed the next generation with any offspring that live to maturity. So you get runtly less desirable adults producing even more runtly deformed and problematic offspring. It can take many many generations to get these genetic "bugs" back out. Many small scale breeders don't go through all of the out breeding and establishing enough alternate bloodlines to prevent many of these problems in the offspring that they put up for sale. Its unfortunate (and expensive for some) when this happens but it speaks volumes to the old addage..... You get what you pay for. Thats why I'm making payments on a gecko. It worth it for me to pay for something top of the line just to be sure I'm getting the best genetics so I have fewer problems with the offspring. The other aspect of it is, If you breed for example an animal that is het for albino to another animal that is het for albino, any albino offspring from that pairing should be very healthy and good size. However, if you breed an albino to an albino you are going to get smaller offspring that are more likely to have problems. I guess it just dilutes the genes too much. Sorry for rambling on like that just thought I would share some of what I know about the topic. If you have any other questions feel free to pm me.

 

[olablane]

Thanks everyone for the help. I have been in touch with Frank and we are figuring things out. He has offered to replace the dead gecko, even tho it arrived alive. He seems like a great guy. Thanks frank!!