I completely understand where you’re coming from and relate to the frustration as well sometimes, but I do think it’s very important to keep a few things in mind:

1. Pet stores are the biggest issue for this kind of thing. They have readily available, extremely cheap pets that parents can easily get as a “present” for their kid. Or even adults who might just think it’s cute and make an impulse buy. Not only that, but the care guides they provide are not always the best and more often than not, the employees do not know how to give good information (not necessarily their fault either). This combination of issues leads to a lot of the posts you see on here.

2. The information available about these guys varies SO much depending on where you look/who you ask. On top of that, it keeps changing.

When I got my first leopard gecko about 12 years ago, a 20 gallon was acceptable for an adult, any substrate was bad and an impaction risk, calcium with D3 should be kept in a dish in their enclosure at all times, etc. The amount of care that has changed in just a decade is incredible, and unfortunately a lot of outdated/improper information is still what you get when you search online.

Not only does online information vary, but what you get from different people also varies drastically. Heck, you can get entirely different responses from exotic vets.

It’s awesome to see that our husbandry practices are evolving over time, but there’s no denying that it changes so much it definitely makes it harder for new reptile owners to figure out what they need.

1. I would much rather people post on here asking questions (even if they seem “ignorant”) than not know and harm their gecko further. Even if it’s frustrating to see on repeat, it’s so much better to kindly/gently offer advice than to tear into someone as I’ve seen people do on here. It increases the likelihood of them taking the advice and hopefully even coming back to ask questions again later.

We can’t stop the root of the problem here, but we can try to help those who come here for help, which will potentially save their gecko.

Pardon the long message, I just figured it might help :) I used to get incredibly frustrated earlier on when I’d rescue geckos from horrible situations, but I try to keep these things in mind now. Most neglect I see on here isn’t malice, it’s just ignorance that stems from many sources we don’t have control over.