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Newborn Leopard... deformaties?

T

TangerineKing

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Hi all!!

This is my first post here.... and I come with a serious question...


I just had a new leopard gecko born a week ago (January 11). The baby is doing fine. It shed on Friday (13th). But today I noticed some things... for one, I think it has an underbite. And 2, I think one of it's eyes is bigger than the other. I seriously doubt this is normal... I have attached pics for people to give their assessment. Also I wouldn't mind someone telling me the morph... thanks in advance..

my grandbaby (lol):

grandbaby2.jpg
100205Pix003.jpg
100205Pix002.jpg
100205Pix009.jpg




here's pics of mom & dad if you need them to determien the morph:

100205Eating1.jpg
Dad is the blizzard...
 
The smaller eye definitely looks abnormal...as does the jaw. So long as its healthy and eating otherwise I wouldn't worry about it....I just wouldn't recommend breeding him in case there is something genetic behind it. At any rate besides that he is cute and he is an abberant het blizzard and will probably end up high yellow as well.
 
Yeah, it is defenitely abnormal... Most likely if it isn't a genetic defect, then it was caused by fluctuating incubation temperatures... What did you use as an incubation method??
 
Well I'll assume it was temp fluctuation... I wasn't really prepared for eggs (considering I didn't even know the blizzard was a male at the time) so for the time being I put the eggs (there are 3 more fertile ones that haven't hatched yet) in a regular tupperware bowl with perlite and put it in a closet with a space heater. I kept a thermometer on the tupperware bowl and it hovered typically between 80 and 82 degrees. I don't think it got any higher or lower... not that I know of anyway....

it has yet to eat yet but it is pretty energetic... it often tires itself out because I've caught it breathing very hard at times...
 
I bet that at night, the temps dropped into the mid/high 70s... I'd also be willing to bet that going from 79 degrees to 81/82 degrees on a fairly regular basis could lead to such... Get ready for more eggs... unless you seperated them..
 
Just a little observation on the parents. The aberrant/high yellow parent appears to still have the "striping" of a juvenile. That is to say all of the bands don't seem to have broken up into the leopard spots some of us are sort of fond of :) How old are the parents? What are their weights? They may be a little young to start breeding. Other than that it could have been MANY factors that lead to the deformations: look at your incubation methods, your nutrient supplementation, feeder quality and maybe variety. Or it could have been just plain bad luck! Good luck with this little one, I hope its flaws don't make you adore it any less, they are all little cuties!
 
That pic of mom and dad is actually old... they were about 8 months old in that pic. They mated in November.. they were about 11 months old then. Like I said I didn't know the blizzard was a male at the time... but they are definitely separated now.


I don't think any less of this baby just because of a little abnormality. I plan to keep it and raise tit like normal and love it all the same. I just hope it's healthy... :)
 
I had a similar problem a few years ago when I bred my leos for the first time. I only had 2 babies hatch out from all the eggs i got, from the same mom (first time for her breeding), and same clutch. One of them was perfectly fine, and now is a normal sized adult. The other has a slight overbite, not under, and her eyes always looked odd to me. Like they are too small and dont open all the way properly. she is an adult now as well, but she is definately a lot smaller lengthwise then your average adult. she is very pudgey though, eats great, has a nice fat tail, and bulging fat pads under her arms. I'm of course never going to breed her, and will keep her as a pet only. She is a good little gecko too :)

My only guess was incubation temps, since while they were incubating, i wasnt expecting to have to move, but I ended up having to, so the incubator was turned off for the trip to the new place. Since her clutchmate hatched out fine, Im still not positive thats what happened with her.

Either way, your gecko is very cute and hopefully he/she will live a nice, full and happy life with you! despite her little abnormalities :)
 
Awww poor baby, Does sound like it could be from alot of temp fluctuations.
Can she close both eyes? If one doesnt close it can be prone to drying.
good luck with the little one.
 
Yeah I'm going to get a Hovabator for the next time I decide to actually breed them (since this was an accident).


Oh yeah and the baby took it's first crap last night... so the insides are workin ok :)
 
Good to hear! S/he should make a wonderful pet :) Let us know how the others hatch out.
 
Even tho she didn't hatch out perfect she looks nice :) I have also noticed that at 80 degrees its such a low temp for females that if it does drop at night it can be harmful to the embryo. Marcia brought this to my attention try incubating at 82, therefore if it does drop a bit it has more of a "pillow" :)
 
She is indeed a cutie pie and I can see that she will have a soft spot in your heart
:D
I have many "pet leos" and I love every one of them
good Luck with her
Sandy
 
1/23/06.... update on this baby..... s/he's not eating :(

I put 3 really small crickets in there with it and it runs from them. I also tried really small mealworms.... nothing :(

any advice is greatly appreciated...
 
Update 2/5/06: The baby died this morning :bawling:

It just wouldn't eat. I managed to force feed two times but besides those it always ran from the food. I had a vet appt planned for tomorrow but it didn't make it.

I am so sad....
 
Pool little one.

What ever you do, don't blame yourself. The little guy probably has some other issues inside that you would have not known about, and had no control over. I'm sorry for your loss. :(
 
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