[Cyclurafan]

Well, search is my friend.
Looks like a few other people have witnessed their Uroplatus sikorae play possum:
HELP !! !! !

[cliff_f]

Cyclurafan what kind of calcium are you giving it?

[Dyesub Dave]

Originally Posted by Cyclurafan

Well, search is my friend.
Looks like a few other people have witnessed their Uroplatus sikorae play possum:
HELP !! !! !

First off I'm glad to hear that your gecko seems OK now. And cheers to you for finding the answers you needed with a search. I find it very ironic that you found the answers on the same forum that others were saying they had never heard of this behaviour before. Mind you I guess that it's highly improbable that members have read every post here!

I find that quite often when I can't get answers on forums a google search will help me find the information that I'm looking for. I will sometimes also do a google search myself when I don't have the answers for others to make sure that I have the correct information. It was also interesting to hear of other species that exhibit this behaviour. Good to know before you dispose of a supposed lifeless reptile.

Do you have any pics of your geckos?

Dyesub Dave.

[Cyclurafan]

Originally Posted by cliff_f

Cyclurafan what kind of calcium are you giving it?

I powerfeed my crickets with leftovers from feeding my vegetarian animals (Cycluras, Ctenosauras, Chuckwallas, Uromastyx, Corucia, sulcatta) and the fresh mix I feed my birds. So they get a base of collards, dandelions, mustard, turnip, and radish greens, wheatgrass, alfalfa, chopped radishes, carrots, apple, and pear. I supplement this with protein in the form of tropical fish flakes. They all get dusted with Reptical as well.

I also feed silkworms and hornworms. I tried superworms, but they seemed to bury into the substrate too quickly for them.

[miguel camacho!]

well i admit i must eat my own words, because i remember reading the thread you found. however, i would not discount the fact that your gecko is showing signs atypical to the genus. just because others have reported signs of seizures or something similar does not mean there is not some underlying factor at play that could ultimately be harmful to your gecko.

and as for the blood test, i do not know what it could show other than possible chemical imbalances. but certain chemical imbalances are known to cause seizures, so it's your choice.

you're the only one that knows exactly what was going on when the "seizure" originally occurred. but from what you described, there was nothing to provoke the animal to have a seizure, and for that i don't think you should just say your animal is "playing possum."

just my two cents.

[Cyclurafan]

Originally Posted by miguel camacho!

you're the only one that knows exactly what was going on when the "seizure" originally occurred. but from what you described, there was nothing to provoke the animal to have a seizure, and for that i don't think you should just say your animal is "playing possum."

Here's what happened, maybe I did not go into enough detail:

I saw a male in shed walking on the bottom of his cage.
*I was told that this is not normal, that it is usually a bad sign.*
I thought he might have been heading to the water bowl for a soak or a drink.
*Again, this is a new genus I'm working with and I live in an arid environment at high elevation. A week prior he was in Miami and two weeks prior was still in Madagascar. Despite what one other person believes, these animals have been observed drinking standing water in captivity and in Madagascar.*

I reached in to take him out
*because I wanted to better examine a potentially sick animal.*
I picked him up carefully and while still in the cage, he leapt from my hand, hit the floor of his cage..maybe a 14 inch drop and went stiff. I took him out and his body was totally rigid.
*At first I thought he hit a branch and broke his neck, but these guys leap all over their cages.*


The only time he moved was when I ran water over him, my reason for doing so was to clean off the coco-fiber/soil and in a sense to "shock him". He moved slightly but that was it. Then he totally froze up. I put him on a table, no movement. Turned him upside-down and did not see as much as a breathing movement. He remained in this half coiled fetal type position long enough for me to walk back to my animal room, grab a deli cup and put him in it because I did not want to go out in 30 degree weather to dispose of a corpse.

The next day he was alert and acting normal.

This is not a species that has been extensively studied and written about, my belief at this point in time is that he took me to be a threat and knew his natural camo would not work, so he "played possum".

[jadrig]

I had a wild caught female LTC U.sikorae. she started producing a lot of duds one season. I was away at school kind of in between living arrangements. At the time i wasnt able to give my collection the appropriate care. My female mossy that was producing these eggs was getting more lethargic and wasnt eating as much. i was hand feeding her crickets and water. One time i picked her up and she "appeared" to get startled, let out a deep shrilly squeak, stiffened up, and hit the ground. She wouldnt move for a couple minutes, and the she would come to. These seizures were due to a lack of calcium because of her egg production and me not tending to her properly.

Did the gecko let out any kind of noise before it "went limp"?