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Michy   KrazyKelli   Ichigo   Ichigo   KrazyKelli  
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 #1521528


Michy
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 Ripped tail

Hi I’m new to this site. I just bought a Golden Gecko for my 9 year old daughter. She tried picking her up and Lilly (is what she named her) crawled up the wall. I tried to grab her but as she jumped I tried to hold her and her tail ripped off. My other daughter starting to scream as I starting to scream. Her tail kept moving. Lilly kept climbing away from me. I feel so bad for Lilly. I did not mean to do this to her. I put her back in her cage. Should I have taken out the wood chips? I read a message in where the mother put paper towels instead to prevent infection. Will the wood chips cause an infection? What should I do and look for. When I bought Lilly she already had some crickets in the tanks she was in. I guess I don’t have to worry about feeding her for a while. I will cover her for about 2 - 3 days to give her privacy so she can get well. The tail ripped half off. Not exactly on the base but I saw white and a little blood not much for it to run. I hope Lilly is going to be okay. I fell really bad about the whole thing. Should I use an ointment on her tail? I do have some. Should I take her out of the cage to clean out the wood chips and put paper towels? Would that not stress her more? She really is not climbing. I want to do all I can to keep her comfortable and safe. I want to take care of her the best I can. Believe it or not I bought her about 6 hours ago. Two hours ago this happened and I surf the web to find help. I am very happy I found this site. Please reply ASAP. Thank you.
11/20/07  10:00pm

 #1521702


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Michy   In reference to Message Id: 1521528


 Ripped tail

The tail coming off is a gecko reflex, this is a species of gecko that you should not be handling as they can stress to death from it, and yes.. for the moment.. paper towels will be appropriate. Use an antibiotic on the end of the tail that has no painkillers to avoid infection, but other than that leave the gecko alone. If infection occurs, the rest of the tail turns black, or the gecko deteriorates, then take it to the vet. There should be no free-roaming crickets in the tank as they will bite the new wound on the gecko and make things worse. The gecko probably isn’t climbing from stress - though it can also be from getting ready to shed.

All new lizards you get should settle in for about a week. During this time you should limit catching the gecko unless absolutely necessary and only mess with the tank to change the water, mist it (if necessary), and feed the gecko. Sometimes new geckos may not eat for up to a week while settling in and this is normal, but if they don’t east past day 10, take it to the vet. Golden geckos are known for trying to starve to death from stress or stubborness.

If you got this goldie a few hours ago, I highly recommend taking it back and getting a better lizard species for your kid. The leopard gecko is a good lizard for handling, is very hardy, and while it can also drop its tail, it a very good lizard. A bearded dragon, which will need a little more of an expensive setup, is also great for beginners and is very cow-like in nature.
11/21/07  12:13am

 #1632240


Ichigo
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 1521702


 Ripped tail

my sister has a bearded dragon and yes i would recomend it they rarely attack humans and they also eat crickets,and there so cute
02/21/08  04:48pm

 #1632258


Ichigo
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 1521702


 Ripped tail

oh and heres a pic of a bearded dragon (my sisters)






but do golden geckos tails grow back,oh and dont give up on the gecko i mean nobody would have a baby then it would probably go deaf and blind then put it up for adoption then get a new baby,thats just like your gecko then bringing it back a geting another one
02/21/08  04:56pm

 #1632390


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Ichigo   In reference to Message Id: 1632258


 Ripped tail

Goldie tails grow back. This post is a bit old.

Please do not, by any means, compare owning a reptile to owning a child. A child will not give you salmonella. A child will not bite you or defecate on your out of self defense. I can almost promise you that if you adopt a child it will not come loaded with parasites. Giving a golden gecko or any species of gecko that is known to stress and has skin that tears easily to a child is a terrible idea. Not only would the gecko expose the kid to unsightly diseases if the parent does not watch them full time and wash the kid’s hands after each exposure to the gecko or tank, but the stress from the child interacting with the gecko - that is probably wild-caught and stressing into shock - is giving the gecko a quick and terrible death sentence.

Now if the parent believes that they can educate their kid to wash their hands or not put his/her hands on her face after touching the reptile or tank, then it would have been much more logical to own a pet that the kid could interact with. If it has to then be a reptile, the bearded dragon or leopard gecko would have obviously been the better choice.

So to correct your statement: owning a reptile is not like adopting a child. It is a wild animal. If you must compare returning a reptile to anything, compare it to adopting a dog, finding the dog does not have a personality you can cope with (or the dog bites people, or acts aggressive) and returning the dog to adopt a different one that is much better suited to the family.
02/21/08  06:08pm


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