I Dropped My Leo!!!

[Charlie]

A couple of days ago I noticed that my leo did not shed properly. I then decided that I needed to bathe him. I took him to the bathroom to give him a quick bath in the basin. All went well... until... I picked him up to closely examin whether all the sheddings are removed from his toes. He gave a quick walk/leap from my hand and landed on the tiles... He fell from height aprox 1.3m.

I feel like a complete arse for doing this to him!

The problem now is I think he suffers from a brain injury as he can't walk normal any more, and I have yet to see him eat...
I know it is not a spinal problem I can see it is a malfunction in the brain, because he is not limping, he's dragging his feet along. and he will be sleeping in the most akward of positions.

Now I need some expert advice, what do i do now? Will the most humane thing to do is euthanise him? Or can I feed him Puratee(sp?) to keep him alive?

You guys are more than welcome to critise my actions as well... It was a pretty stupid mistake...

[QtCreaCha]

No, no, no, no I don't think anyone here has the right to criticise... We are all human and things happen to the best of us! People who don't really care and are irresponsible and truly negligent will not take the time and effort to join a forum, share experiences and ask for help and advice. Don't blame yourself, these things happen!

Good luck with your pet, wish I could help and advise accordingly!!

[fredsmith]

It was a stupid mistake, but accidents happen. Beating yourself up is only going to make you feel more #$%^... Whats important is that you learn from the experience and take more care in future. We all make mistakes, it's part of being human.
I once slid the glass front of a cage shut once, and because the glass stuck a bit, had to add a bit extra force, with friends nearby I wasn't paying enough attention... The housesnake inside had meanwhile tried to get out and I slammed the poor things head, guilotine syle against the wood.
He didn't survive.
But everytime I close a cage now, I am a bit more cautious whilst doing it...

[QtCreaCha]

Not only a lesson for you but everybody else reading this. Every time I pick up my gecko's or close any glass door I will automatically be extra careful after reading this. Sometimes, unfortunately, we need to learn the hard way by our own mistakes and sometimes we lucky enough to learn the easy way by others mistakes.

[Fooble]

Gees fredsmith that's quite a story.
Im almost sure everyone who has kept herps be it geckos snakes or what ever has had some mishap happen and lost an animal,
many of whom will never mention it.
So good on you.

[Buck Rogers]

Bathing a leopard gecko is a big no-no, rather supply them with a moist hide to shed properly, these animals are not used to bathing in water from their environment nor will they go into water willingly. But that is a mistake in the past, best advice that I can offer is to contact a reliable reptile vet like Dr Bull and ask him to have a look at it and see what he can do, his number is available on the reptile vet section.

[evilsheep]

I have experienced this before. That particular gecko died, although there is a chance that it is a temporary condition. Either way, the only solution is to take him/her to a vet, who will tell you whether it is temporary or permanent, in which case euthanasia might be the only solution. I understand how tough it is, i had to put down one of my babies from last year because he had a severe parasite infection and he wasn't recovering from it and eventually became so thin i couldn't handle his suffering anymore. The vet used halothane which is a sweet smelling gas. It was tough to watch but he didn't struggle at all. I hope your leo makes it, but if not (touch wood), it can be done painlessly and is the kind thing to do. Good lucky buddy...

[evilsheep]

Ps. Don't take it too hard on yourself, asking for help shows that you care. As other members have said, it happens to the best of us. Reptiles can be unpredictable at times. Buck rogers made a good point - a humid hide should sort out the shedding issues, especially with the toes. You can try placing the humid hide over a heatpad, as that increases the humidity further and makes it easier to shed. My leos prefer the humid over the heat pad to when its placed in a cool area of the tank.