Those of you that have read my posts will know that I've never been a fan of leopard geckos. It's mostly because I'm biased; I have two beautiful crested geckos, and in my opinion, no reptile can be any more beautiful than them. However, my eyes were truly opened today when I visited my local pet store.
I took Savannah earlier this evening to Pets at Home to double check her gender. We were 90% sure that she was female, but we thought it would probably be best to get her looked at by a professional. Thankfully she is female, and everything was fine. We saw the man at Pets at Home we usually see, one of the reptile specialists, and since we've had Rocco and Savannah we've gotten to know him quite well. Satisfied with his conclusion, I strolled off with Savannah to take a look at their collection of crested geckos.
When I returned, I seemed to interrupt some conversation between the reptile specialist and my mother. I just returned as he began a terrible story about a woman who mistreated her leopard geckos.
A woman had entered the store a few days earlier with her three leopard geckos. She didn't want them anymore. They were all in a terrible condition: their eyes had been glued shut and they were blinded, two of them were sick and could not eat, and they had all had significant troubles with shedding and so their feet were crippled and their skin was pale. They concluded that this was most likely due to the conditions they were put into: they had been given no moist/wet hide for shedding, they had been given the wrong bulbs and therefore were constantly squinting, and due to the fact they could not shed the overgrown skin had glued their squinted eyes shut. She had not sufficiently fed the geckos, and so two of them had taken to eating the sand in the enclosure and had become very sick.
Sadly, they hadn't been able to save two of the geckos, but the beautiful female Tigerlily was saved. The man explained that he knew we were caring and loving owners for our two cresties, and that he was hoping to find somebody like us to take on the leopard gecko and provide a suitable environment for her.
I was eager, and so was my mother, and we were heartbroken due to the story. We asked if we could see her, and he collected her from the back room. I was nervous, as I'd never held a leopard gecko before. I'd never really found them attractive creatures: their tails were fat and their bodies were bulky, they weren't soft like a crested gecko and one barely looked different from the other; but as the man handed me this poorly treated gecko, I instantly fell in love.
Her skin was pale and her feet were severely impaired due to the tangled shed. You couldn't even see her eyes, and they explained how they were sure she was blinded. They were working with the vets to nurse her back to health, and hope that in a couple of weeks she will have shed. They're hoping her feet will be back to normal due to this, her skin will be its natural bright yellow with large black spots, and once she's shed she will open her eyes. They're not certain, but even if this is not the case, I truly don't care.
She could not see me as I held her in my hands. Most people would have looked at her with her mangled feet, glued eyes and pale skin and called her hideous or pathetic; but as she sat calmly in my hands, licking me to get a sense of me and truly getting close to my body, my heart went out to her. She was beautiful. I needed her, and she needed me. I had to nurse her.
So that was it.
Tomorrow, I'm going down to visit her again. I'm going to ask about housing, and whether he thinks it is suitable I can house her in my spare, tall vivarium. If not, I'm planning to get an RUB (Really Useful Box) approx. 48 liters to house her in.
I'm so excited, and I've completely changed my mind about leopards after his experience.
I will make sure pictures are taken tomorrow. Her condition will probably sadden you, and although you may not find her as beautiful as me, please respect her and what she has been through.
I named her Tigerlily after my following interaction with an adorable kitten in the store. She was very vocal and she was beautiful, and they had named her Tigerlily. I thought this was a gorgeous name, and was perfect for the leopard gecko. 'Leopard' reflected the 'Tiger' part of her title, and 'Lily' had several reasons. Lilies are memorial/funeral flowers, and so she is named in memory of her brothers. It's also generally a very pretty, feminine name, and I believe it reflects the beauty that I see in her.
I'm looking forward to showing you Tigerlily tomorrow.
Be open-minded in life, and things may surprise you.
Elly. x
I took Savannah earlier this evening to Pets at Home to double check her gender. We were 90% sure that she was female, but we thought it would probably be best to get her looked at by a professional. Thankfully she is female, and everything was fine. We saw the man at Pets at Home we usually see, one of the reptile specialists, and since we've had Rocco and Savannah we've gotten to know him quite well. Satisfied with his conclusion, I strolled off with Savannah to take a look at their collection of crested geckos.
When I returned, I seemed to interrupt some conversation between the reptile specialist and my mother. I just returned as he began a terrible story about a woman who mistreated her leopard geckos.
A woman had entered the store a few days earlier with her three leopard geckos. She didn't want them anymore. They were all in a terrible condition: their eyes had been glued shut and they were blinded, two of them were sick and could not eat, and they had all had significant troubles with shedding and so their feet were crippled and their skin was pale. They concluded that this was most likely due to the conditions they were put into: they had been given no moist/wet hide for shedding, they had been given the wrong bulbs and therefore were constantly squinting, and due to the fact they could not shed the overgrown skin had glued their squinted eyes shut. She had not sufficiently fed the geckos, and so two of them had taken to eating the sand in the enclosure and had become very sick.
Sadly, they hadn't been able to save two of the geckos, but the beautiful female Tigerlily was saved. The man explained that he knew we were caring and loving owners for our two cresties, and that he was hoping to find somebody like us to take on the leopard gecko and provide a suitable environment for her.
I was eager, and so was my mother, and we were heartbroken due to the story. We asked if we could see her, and he collected her from the back room. I was nervous, as I'd never held a leopard gecko before. I'd never really found them attractive creatures: their tails were fat and their bodies were bulky, they weren't soft like a crested gecko and one barely looked different from the other; but as the man handed me this poorly treated gecko, I instantly fell in love.
Her skin was pale and her feet were severely impaired due to the tangled shed. You couldn't even see her eyes, and they explained how they were sure she was blinded. They were working with the vets to nurse her back to health, and hope that in a couple of weeks she will have shed. They're hoping her feet will be back to normal due to this, her skin will be its natural bright yellow with large black spots, and once she's shed she will open her eyes. They're not certain, but even if this is not the case, I truly don't care.
She could not see me as I held her in my hands. Most people would have looked at her with her mangled feet, glued eyes and pale skin and called her hideous or pathetic; but as she sat calmly in my hands, licking me to get a sense of me and truly getting close to my body, my heart went out to her. She was beautiful. I needed her, and she needed me. I had to nurse her.
So that was it.
Tomorrow, I'm going down to visit her again. I'm going to ask about housing, and whether he thinks it is suitable I can house her in my spare, tall vivarium. If not, I'm planning to get an RUB (Really Useful Box) approx. 48 liters to house her in.
I'm so excited, and I've completely changed my mind about leopards after his experience.
I will make sure pictures are taken tomorrow. Her condition will probably sadden you, and although you may not find her as beautiful as me, please respect her and what she has been through.
I named her Tigerlily after my following interaction with an adorable kitten in the store. She was very vocal and she was beautiful, and they had named her Tigerlily. I thought this was a gorgeous name, and was perfect for the leopard gecko. 'Leopard' reflected the 'Tiger' part of her title, and 'Lily' had several reasons. Lilies are memorial/funeral flowers, and so she is named in memory of her brothers. It's also generally a very pretty, feminine name, and I believe it reflects the beauty that I see in her.
I'm looking forward to showing you Tigerlily tomorrow.
Be open-minded in life, and things may surprise you.
Elly. x
02/11/2013
I told you I'd be updating this post two days ago, and I'm sorry, but we didn't actually manage to see Tigerlily until yesterday evening.
When we got there, she was halfway through shedding. We could see her beautiful, natural yellow and pattern underneath. The 'pure leopard gecko', the man said. Her feet were still mangled, her eyes still shut and her mouth looked a little injured. He said, however, that she had been opening and blinking her eyes, which is very good news. He also said that her feet probably won't be of brilliant use to her in the future, as she has lost multiple toes and they will still be pretty crippled. Not to worry though, because she moves about brilliantly and seems to get around without any pain. She has been eating much, much better, and she's starting to gain more shape to her tail. This means that there is more fat and energy in her body, as the tail is where this is stored.
I'm so happy that she is getting better, and I'm hoping for her sake that her sight will return so that she can hunt again and not have to continue being hand-fed. I love watching Rocco and Savannah pounce at their prey!
I'm not sure whether my Dad is keen on having Lily in the house. I already have 2 crested geckos, and once they've mated I will soon have more. I know that she will be quite a responsibility because of her condition, but I feel like Lily needs me.
If Lily does not go to me, she will go to my boyfriend Jack, who I know you have all heard of. He's rather fond of reptiles, and he came with me to meet Lily yesterday. He loved her, although like me has never been fond of leopard geckos. I know that he will make a brilliant home for her and treat her kindly and lovingly if I cannot do this myself.
Below is one of the pictures of Tigerlily from yesterday evening.
It was difficult, with the man standing right there and waiting for us to finish, for us to get a really good picture off my phone, especially with her wriggling around. We managed to get a few, and enough for you to truly understand her condition.
I hope you think she is as beautiful as I do.
If anybody has any ideas for middle names (we have 'Savannah Sahara' and 'Rocco Woody') then please get in touch and let me know! Comment below.
She's so beautiful, and I'm very proud of her for doing so well in that short amount of time from when I had last met her.
Thank you for reading about Tigerlily's story.
I would really like to express that, if you plan to get a gecko, reptile or any pet for that matter, you know that you will be a loving and devoted owner. You have an animal's life in your hands the moment you take on a pet, and to hold a creation of God in your hands and care for it is surely the most rewarding thing in the world. Please, if you do take on a pet that is dependent of your care, care for it. Be there for it. If you can't provide everything you need for it, you should not be taking it on.
Make sure you know everything there is to know before you take on any animal, so you can provide the best possible life and give them everything that they will need for their health to be the best it possibly can.
Elly. x
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