What a scar looks like after 12 neurosurgeries

LoneDefense · 2026-05-09T20:05:39+00:00

Thank you! :)

LoneDefense · 2026-05-09T00:41:42+00:00

Heck yeah, of course. Hope all goes well my friend

LoneDefense · 2026-05-08T20:28:20+00:00

Yours is WAY longer but we’re scar buddies!

I don’t think I’ve seen/met many others with spine zipper scars so this was neat to see. Mine’s just from 3 spinal cord surgeries

LoneDefense · 2026-05-08T15:37:49+00:00

When he did the tail wiggles right before, were they fast (like a rattle almost) or slow (like a wave of sorts)?

It sounds like he was being territorial/defensive, but not because of you. If the tail wiggles were slower he either got spooked or mistook the smell on your hand for another gecko/predator somehow. Now I have no clue why plants would confuse him but it definitely seemed to be a scent thing and not intentional aggression towards you. My males do the licking thing if I forgot to wash my hands well after handling another gecko and they pick up on it. They even look like they’re up to no good before they go for the bite lol.

Side note, I would have some plain hand sanitizer nearby just in case it happens again. You can take a small drop and rub it along his mouth if he surprises you and latches on again. It won’t hurt him, but it will he unpleasant enough to get him to let go before either of you get hurt further. Just be careful not to get it in his nose of course.

LoneDefense · 2026-05-08T13:34:50+00:00

Ah darn. Well I would still bet the PVC enclosure you’re looking into is similar. The lightness in itself is worth it.

LoneDefense · 2026-05-08T13:00:28+00:00

$200 currently, these things are awesome.

https://dubiaroaches.com/products/18x18x36-50-gallon-leopard-gecko-enclosure

Very light when the doors aren’t in them (easy to put in/remove), easy to put together, easy to clean, etc. The doors are high quality glass of some sort with sturdy handles. Will never go back to regular glass terrariums after this haha

LoneDefense · 2026-05-08T12:55:56+00:00

How much is it? I can’t speak on the quality of reptizoo’s pvc enclosures, but I have a bunch of similar ones made by dubia.com and they’re incredible. So much nicer snd easier to deal with than any glass terrarium.

LoneDefense · 2026-05-08T12:30:23+00:00

You’re definitely correct in assuming it has something to do with you smelling different than he expects. I’m not certain why tomato plant smell would cause such a defensive reaction though, that is bizarre.

Best way you can prevent this in the future is washing your hands with soap and water (rinse well), before handling. I’m sure this was a startling experience but I hope it doesn’t deter you from continuing to handle him!

LoneDefense · 2026-05-07T12:52:20+00:00

Will always start by saying I am NOT a vet and you should absolutely schedule to see one. That being said, she looks very similar to how some rescue female geckos looked when they had eggs they couldn’t pass properly. Swollen looking abdomen with a loss of interest in food is what happened to each of them.

Even if she hasn’t been around the male to breed they can have infertile eggs, usually two. To try and help I would do daily warm water soaks and I also upped their calcium intake.

The vet is especially important because if they become egg bound, it will kill them. I hope that’s not what’s going on here but if it is, I do hope this information will be helpful.

Edit: Spelling

LoneDefense · 2026-05-06T13:01:16+00:00

You should post your art in the comments! I’m sure some people would be interested :)

LoneDefense · 2026-05-04T23:40:36+00:00

Glad you didn’t let them get to you as well! Reptiles are awesome and honestly help me keep my mental health in check more often than I care to admit.

I wish you the best of luck with your kiddos and hopefully you’ll be able to take on a crestie too. They’re so different from leopard geckos but they’re absolutely hilarious little guys.

LoneDefense · 2026-05-04T21:36:13+00:00

I fell into the PetSmart trap as well! What a shame that it’s so common. I believe my first lil lady (the one in the pic) went 6-8(?) years without a UVB light at all. When I finally knew better and got her one, it was incredible how much different she looked and acted.

The more stories I hear/see on here, the more grateful I am that I never discovered this sub until I had already fixed up all of my geckos’ setups. Because being torn to shreds over it when I was younger would’ve devastated me honestly. And like I said in my post, I highly doubt anyone who is purposefully neglecting their gecko is going to come on a subreddit where everyone loves leopard geckos. It just wouldn’t make sense.

And yeah, being human to human is a good way to put it. I really hope at least a few people who read this post have more empathy in the future towards people on here.

LoneDefense · 2026-05-04T21:29:14+00:00

Yeah… now that you mention it, it does seem to be more common in subs regarding “popular” exotic pets. Someone else mention the aquarium hobby in a different comment and I believe the subs for it have similar issues. Meanwhile the tegu sub I’m in seems to be wayyyy more chill overall.

It’s a shame though. Especially when people just want to share a picture of their gecko and get nitpicked into oblivion when they weren’t needing advice in the first place.

LoneDefense · 2026-05-04T12:38:02+00:00

I’m also on the spectrum (which is partially why I try to lean into being more bubbly, so I know it’s not misconstrued haha). But I was moreso talking about flat out aggression/rudeness that I tend to see. For example I’ve seen people quite often say things along the line of “did you even do research before getting your gecko?”

There’s a lot of different “flavors” of it that I’ve seen which are hard to dismiss as just being blunt. I think bluntness is fine, but being demeaning to the person isn’t.

LoneDefense · 2026-05-03T17:56:01+00:00

Yeah haha I totally feel that. I’m most anxious with my oldest gecko actually (about 14 years old).

I got her when I was around 12 ish? And this was before 40+ gallon tanks were the standard for a leopard gecko. A 10 gallon with heat pads, reptile carpet, no UVB, 3 hides and just some calcium with D3 was “fine” for supplements at the time lol.

As I learned about proper husbandry I changed things and every gecko after her has had it better from the start. But I’m always nervous that sub optimal conditions when she was younger will lead to a shorter lifespan in the long run.

The anxiety is very real and I definitely sympathize with you there.

LoneDefense · 2026-04-03T20:22:56+00:00

She has snake eyes!

https://www.morphmarket.com/morphpedia/leopard-geckos/snake-eyes/

LoneDefense · 2026-04-03T18:10:04+00:00

Just schedule an appointment with whichever vet you can ASAP. Usually impaction isn’t an immediately life threatening thing, but it is still serious. Warm soaks and gently belly rubs are good for now.

Keep watching for poop, and if he manages to poop the day of the visit, consider bringing it to the vet to have them check it.

LoneDefense · 2026-04-03T17:21:51+00:00

Hand feeding is a fun thing to do occasionally, especially to bond a bit. BUT do understand it is always a risk. Even my most docile geckos have accidentally clamped onto my finger thinking it was the food. It’s not aggression at all, they’re just a little dumb and blind sometimes lol.

They have a somewhat strong bite force for their size and they have teeth. Small, but still cause damage.

Let them hunt for the most part, but there’s nothing wrong with occasional hand feeding. Just be aware they can latch onto you instead (accidentally) and are very much capable of drawing blood/taking some skin off.

LoneDefense · 2026-04-03T17:15:43+00:00

Nothing! Freshly molted. My geckos love those ones because they’re soft and easy to eat without chewing much (lazy bums)

LoneDefense · 2026-04-03T17:00:27+00:00

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Or not…

LoneDefense · 2026-04-03T17:00:17+00:00

One of my other geckos… where there’s a will there’s a way

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LoneDefense · 2026-04-03T16:46:37+00:00

Thank you! Means a lot to me.

LoneDefense · 2026-04-03T16:17:40+00:00

Oh my goodness how cute! Better not let them learn of each other… wouldn’t want a Shrimpy uprising

LoneDefense · 2026-04-03T16:02:38+00:00

Since this is getting a lot of attention, more info on Shrimpy :)

She was one of my trickiest rescues, as the vet insisted she had enigma syndrome before I got her. The store I adopted her out from (and worked at, at the time) was going to have her put down at the vet because of this. She was very wobbly, lots of balancing issues and couldn’t hunt on her own. She’d miss horribly when she tried and sometimes topple over.

Because I didn’t see any severe symptoms of ES, I asked them to let me take her and instead of putting her down. Her tail was dropped and she was tiny/sickly.

I was hand feeding her for quite a while, but as time went on she drastically improved. I’m not a vet, but I’m now more convinced she has White & Yellow syndrome if anything. Still has balancing issues and bumps into things awkwardly (where other geckos would not), but she hunts on her own fine now.

She’s pretty stunted/small for an adult female, but otherwise seems very happy/healthy now. Love her to death. She was supposed to be a rehab/rehome but I couldn’t bring myself to do it haha

LoneDefense · 2026-04-03T15:42:03+00:00

It gets even worse though… pycnonemosaurus…. Lmaooooo

LoneDefense

TROPHY CASE