How to recover overheated crested gecko after 30-40min on 39 degrees celsius?

D

devoar

New member
Hello,
I think I overheated my crested gecko. It is still young - about 13 grams. Unfortunately I kept it at around 39 degrees Celsius for maybe 30-40 minutes. When I went back and saw it, it was on the floor of the vivarium in the last wet spot. I took it out to normal room temp and we gave it a little water. At first it was like a rag, but when it took some water and after being for a while in normal temp (22 degrees Celsius) it started moving a little bit more. Now it s back in it s vivarium it walked around it once and it looks like it s asleep now.
My questions is will it survive this overheating, could there be permanent damage to it and what can I do to help it survive? Also how long will it take to be certain that it will not die?
Thanks a lot, all kind of help is appreciated!
 
Yoshi'smom

Yoshi'smom

New member
Exactly what Jess said! Please remove whatever is causing such high temperatures! Overheating and dehydration can be life threatening.
You'll want to hydrate you gecko as much as possible. Get a deli cup or old Tupperware with some small holes cut in and lay down a paper towel on the bottom. Spray down the papertowel and sides and place your gecko in for about 10-20 mins with the lid on. Hopefully your little one will re-hydrate it's self. I would repeat this daily until you know the gecko is back to normal.
Please keep us updated!
 
D

devoar

New member
Thanks, I already removed the heating and it is now constantly 22* C, but I am worried it might be already too late.
 
D

devoar

New member
Thank you all. The gecko is still on the same spot ever since it was returned to the vivarium. It is currently on a wet kitchen roll. It looks like it's sleeping. I'll keep monitoring and moisturizing it.

Thanks again!
 
D

devoar

New member
Hello everyone. An update - the gecko is still alive, I can see him breathing and it reacts when I spray it with water. What concerns me is that it haven't moved at all for the past 6-7 hours. Should I be worried?
 
D

devoar

New member
Another update - we took it out of the tank (vivarium) and fed it with pangea/repashi today, just 30 mins ago. It eat a little and it moved a little. Now it's back in it's home, stuck on one of the glass walls. It does looks like it's going to be fine, but it is still not as active as it used to be.
 
Yoshi'smom

Yoshi'smom

New member
Just give it a little time to heal. High temperatures were likely a little traumatic as well. I'd let it be for a few days and not over stress it.
 
D

devoar

New member
Thanks, this is what I figured. I'll keep you posted if there are any changes.

Thanks a lot to everyone!
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
devoar said:
Hello everyone. An update - the gecko is still alive, I can see him breathing and it reacts when I spray it with water. What concerns me is that it haven't moved at all for the past 6-7 hours. Should I be worried?
Click to expand...

devoar said:
Another update - we took it out of the tank (vivarium) and fed it with pangea/repashi today, just 30 mins ago. It eat a little and it moved a little. Now it's back in it's home, stuck on one of the glass walls. It does looks like it's going to be fine, but it is still not as active as it used to be.
Click to expand...
Hi ~

Welcome aboard!

I would not spray him at all. That would create more stress.

It's good news that he's clinging to the glass! :D
 
D

devoar

New member
Thanks for your help. Actually the first time we took it out of the hot vivarium, we only gave it water from our fingers, we did not spray it. It is still alive and looks like it's getting better, my main concern now is that it's not as social as it used to be. It's hiding behind things and doesn't even want to hunt the water drops on the glass wall like it used to do.
 
JessJohnson87

JessJohnson87

New member
It will pull through, I'd give it about 2 weeks of some downtime without handling or anything unless you have to. A hiding crested is always a good sign, I can never find mine in his tub but that's how I know that he feels safe and secure.
 
D

devoar

New member
Here is a picture of the little dude/dudes shot few days ago.littledude.jpg

The strange thing is, that we have two geckos. One is about 35 grams (male) and he lives in a big tank (about 18x18x24 inches). He always walks around the tank and is very active during the night. So active that we can't take him out cause he starts jumping to any direction etc. The other one is the little guy (or gal - not sure yet). It lives in a small tank for now as it is only around 13 grams, but both tanks are next to each-other and sometimes the geckos stick on the glass exactly on the same spot. Since I overheated the little one, the big one stayed on the glass where the little one is the entire night. Like they were communicating or something.
 
Yoshi'smom

Yoshi'smom

New member
devoar said:
Here is a picture of the little dude/dudes shot few days ago.View attachment 37541

The strange thing is, that we have two geckos. One is about 35 grams (male) and he lives in a big tank (about 18x18x24 inches). He always walks around the tank and is very active during the night. So active that we can't take him out cause he starts jumping to any direction etc. The other one is the little guy (or gal - not sure yet). It lives in a small tank for now as it is only around 13 grams, but both tanks are next to each-other and sometimes the geckos stick on the glass exactly on the same spot. Since I overheated the little one, the big one stayed on the glass where the little one is the entire night. Like they were communicating or something.
Click to expand...

I have a lot of crested geckos and I catch them in the middle of the night staring each other down between their enclosures. It's natural. They're interested in what's going on and who the stranger next door is. I have Gargoyle geckos that do this too.
 
JessJohnson87

JessJohnson87

New member
My leopard gecko frequently checks out my crestie's tub when I'm spraying it for the night and feeding, when Axel comes out and is lurking about, I catch him stalking him and his flap on his neck starts going faster and faster. If you hear chirps and other noises, then they would be communicating with each other.
 
D

devoar

New member
Thanks all, the little gecko is fine and it looks like it has recovered completely.

One quick question - We bought an IR IP cam, but I wonder if the IR LEDs will hurt the geckos or their eyes? I know we use IR heating light bulb for both of them, but I am not sure if the camera IR LEDs won't hurt them.
 
JessJohnson87

JessJohnson87

New member
Is the camera a digital one or one for filming at night? The IR could hurt their eyes because it's probably one that you can't see unless you put your cellphone camera up to it.
 
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