Crested Gecko randomly freezes? Halp

[Steffan]

Hello everyone!

My crested gecko Timone recently started to stiffen up as if he’s frozen. I’m not sure if I should be worried or not because after a little bit, he’s back to normal and moving around his terrarium like nothing happened. I was hand feeding him for a few minutes and all of a sudden he just stops eating/responding to me trying to feed him. He is a fairly healthy little dude and he’s almost 2 years old. Any idea why he might be doing this? I’ve only come across “your crested gecko might be dead” posts on Google and they’re not very helpful. Just to check, I shined light into his eye and his pupil still dilated. He is unresponsive when I pet him and he is still breathing normally.

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[Zoodulcis]

Wow, that’s bizarre. It sounds like a seizure. I will do some research and get back to you shortly.

[Zoodulcis]

Ok, and I’m not an expert in this, but it makes sense to me. He may be in the early stages of MBD, metabolic bone disease. Lack of calcium or improper calcium to phosphorous ratio is the likely cause. Some crested geckos first display a seizure-like episode shaking and spasms. Some begin with paralysis, and then get worse, with spasms or even hind leg paralysis occuring. Eventually the bones will soften in the jaw and the spine. Death is a strong possibility.

What sort of vitamin powder and calcium supplement do you have him on? Does he have a UV lamp?

[Steffan]

Oh noooo. I hope there’s a way to fix this before it gets any worse! Right now all he’s been eating is the zoo med crested gecko food. I’ve been trying to incorporate calcium powder on mealworms but he doesn’t like eating them anymore, even if I hand feed. He is also not a fan of crickets too. I am not currently using a UV light, I only have a heat lamp that turns on whenever it gets lower than 77 degrees in his tank. From what I researched online, I didn’t think having a UV light was necessary. The calcium powder I have is the repashy brand.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by Steffan.

[ABMoore22]

They also need a multivitamin with D3 so they’re bodies can better break down and use the calcium powder. (Unless your calcium powder already has D3 in it.) Best thing is to use calcium powder without D3 and them also, less often, a multivitamin with D3. The powdering schedule would better be answered by Zoo.

Another possibility, If he’s not used to your hand being near him, he may be freezing up to try and blend in or not let the predator (you) draw attention to him. Though, given that there’s no UV I’m agreeing with Zoo on this one. Calcium powder won’t work as well without D3, so even if you’ve been using it he may not be getting enough between that and no light. There’s a channel on YouTube called Leopard Gecko with a cartoon picture of a gecko as channel picture, they tell you all you need on crested geckos and leopard geckos. Great info on her channel.

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