My Gecko Swallowed a Piece of Activated Charcoal

[lfreday42x]

Hello,

I was wondering if any of you ever had the happen to your gecko. He found a cricket that I had dropped on the bottom by mistake. When he went to grab it, missed and ended up getting a piece of charcoal (part of the substrate mix) that was about the size of his mouth. He seems a bit sluggish and reluctant to eat anything. He has taken a cricket (that I hand fed this morning) but still seems not himself. Can geckos break charcoal down? The piece was so big i am worried that he may not be able to pass it through. Thanks if anyone has any information.

 

[the funky gecko]

WHY IN THE WORLD WAS A CHUNK OF CHARCOAL IN THERE!!! As few as I know no and unless you take him to the vet for a surgery he might die. Can you post a picture of his belly?

 

[CrestedL]

Er, much agreed with funky, why does your gecko have a substrate with charcoal? Definitely not suitable, how do you even know he hasn't eaten any before then? Get him to a vet asap

 

[lfreday42x]

NEHERP 'Original' Vivarium Substrate
Our special blend is our best-selling substrate for tropical live vivariums with humidity averaging 75%+




A carefully pre-mixed substrate blend that's designed specifically for tropical vivarium applications. Our mix holds up long term and resists compacting while staying nice and "airy" to support plant & microfauna health. Coconut fiber is used in place of peat (an ingredient used in other mixes) to offer higher micronutrient contents, a more neutral pH, and a better ability to resist breaking down even in highly humid enclosures. Our NEHERP substrate supports plant life & microfauna populations with ease long term, and is the highest quality pre-mixed vivarium substrate on the market today. Tons of our vivarium substrate has been used by hundreds of customers in thousands of vivariums. We're confident that you'll love our mixture's performance, consistency, value, and quality.


New England Herpetoculture LLC - Vivarium Substrates


Since you guys have a concern with what substrate I have used, check this out. It was recommended for safety. I received an email today and one of the NE Herp reps says that they do not put activated charcoal in there. Either it's tree fern fiber or just plain old charcoal. They threw in a disclaimer stating that no matter which substrate to go with, there will always be a risk (this person claims to be a breeder/enthusuist).

Yes I am a beginner and yes I thought I did my research. That's why I went with this substrate for a natural vivarium. I did this because I wasn't confident that the guy I spoke to at my local pet store was steering me in the right direction because he said to add sand to the mixture. I have read countless bad things about sand and geckos. Apparently this has pet grade stuff in it. Anyhow, today Dinky was hungry and ate some crickets and licked some honey from my hand three times. I spotted him basking and drinking water and 'goofing off' if you will. I will continue to monitor him/her. I will throw a picture up here as soon as I can. If need be I will take him/her to a vet.

In the meantime I will figure out a way to feed them in a separate enclosure. Most likely it will have to be sized right to fit inside the vivarium I have them in.

 

[Mohkia]

If you put a layer of leaf litter or sphagnum moss over top of your substrate it should reduce the risk of the gecko picking up anymore pieces. I mix my own substrate and use a mixture similar to what NEHERP sells minus the charcoal as I don't find it necessary. I do however use fir bark which can pose a similar risk of impaction to the charcoal chunks so I cover it with various sized leaves and the moss.

 

[lfreday42x]

I am waiting for NE Herp on the leaf litter as we speak. Thanks for the info Mohkia. As soon as I get back home I will post some good pics I got of Dinky. I think he is going to be alright. He seems to be doing ok. Close call? Quite possibly.

 

[lfreday42x]

These were all taken about two hours ago. September 22nd, 2015 10:30am Central Time. This is approximately 72 hours after the incident occurred.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Can you see or feel anything hard in Dinky's belly? Have you someone to help with a picture of his belly?

One way is to take a clear plastic party cup (or something glass like the side of his vivarium) and gently press him against that for a picture. I know how skittish these guys are, so I don't know whether that's worth it.

I hope that it was just a close call.

 

[lfreday42x]

Well earlier today I managed to get him out and with the help of my wife we felt around on his tummy and I could not find anything that felt hard or sharp. Dinky actually looks slimmer and sleeker now. My guess is, if he had indeed swallowed anything it has passed by now. He seems to be doing very well now. He is probably just a little pissed off I had to do that to him. hehe I am sure he'll get over it. Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[Tamara]

Glad to hear he is feeling better.
Most likely he didn't even swallow it in the first place, they aren't stupid and if during hunting they get something in their mouth that's not food they usually tend to spit it back out.., atleast that's what we have observed with most of our animals over the years.
If you are riding your bicycle for example, and you get a fly or some other bug in your mouth you also don't want to eat it and spit it back out, it's a natural reflex, unless you have a taste for bugs.

For all of those that don't seem to get it, active charcoal is added to substrates because it detracts the, for your animals harmfull toxins out of the substrate and neutralizes it.
I could go into much further detail abouth this, giving a talk abouth aerobic and anaerobic bacteries and such, but i don't think this is the right thread for that...

In any case, charcoal is a good additive to any natural, bioactive substrate, just as treefern fibers, spaghnum mos and bark chips can be a part of it as well, they just have a different function and don't do the same job the active charcoal does.
Just google ABG substrate and you will see that it has been used as part of substrates in vivariums in the dart frog hobby for several years now, which is the same basic principle as a naturalistic gecko enclosure.

 

[lfreday42x]

I used leaves off of a rubber tree we had. I cut them, boiled them for a few minutes, then dried them out. i placed them over parts of the substrate that have pieces of charcoal present. It gives it an ever better look to it and hopefully should help reduce the chances of accidental ingestion of whatever lay on the bottom. Boiling the rubber leaves gave off a cinnamon like smell which was a bonus for the apartment hehe.