In Memory of Hope

I lost one of my absolute favorite geckos today. She did not appear to be sick - although she hadn't been eating well the last week or so. Even last night she was still cruising around and looking alert, nothing unusual. This morning as I was about to leave to teach my class I went in to check for eggs from one female due to lay and noticed that she was moving kind of strangely as she climbed down from a hide. This quickly progressed to convulsions. I rushed her to the vet, but she didn't make the trip.

The vet just called with necropsy results. Apparently her reproductive system may not have developed quite normally. Her follicles were asymmetrical and were odd colors. She had a large cyst in her reproductive tract that was just full of blood - this is probably why she went so quickly.

She was way more to me than just her genetics. She was one of the sweetest geckos in my collection. I just loved her eyes and her smile. I am just heartbroken.

Here she is in better days.
Shortly after she arrived last summer:


And here are a couple of more recent pictures:



She will be greatly missed.

Oh, Nancy! I am so very sorry you lost your precious girl. I remember how you came to have her, and why you named her... Hope. I can imagine how you must be feeling, and please accept my most heartfelt sadness for you.

Nancy, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Nancy, I'm very sorry to here about your loss. As one life perishes, another is unfolding. So I hope you will pull through this and have much better times to come.

Nancy, I'm very sorry to hear about your baby girl. She was very pretty indeed.

At least you can rest assured that she's in a better place full of waxworms and pinkies. I'm sorry that you lost her, it's really difficult losing an animal we love so much.

Nancy, I am so sorry. I too understand the meaning of your Hope. She meant a lot to many of us in the leo community. Again I am sorry for your loss.

Nancy, I am so sorry for your loss, I know how special she was.

Sorry to read such sad news. She is absolutely beautiful. As I looked at her picture the thought came to me of how lucky we are to have cameras to take pictures of those we love and admire. Times like these you can look back and still have those memmories in plain view.

Nancy, I am so sory to here of your loss, she was a very beautiful girl.