Hi Russel,
I was sort of thinking the same thing. I did not see any injury
or swelling
near the base of the tail, but a compromised blood flow to the
tail could explain it.
This species is not particularly aggressive, but I suppose the
cage mate could have
landed on the male while moving about or lunging at prey.
This genus drops the entire tail, rather than just a part. I
wonder if something
may have happened at a fracture plane that restricted
circulation?
Neil
Hi Neil
"The odd thing is that it affected the whole tail all at once, rather than starting in one spot and spreading."
That is a pretty typical symptom of blood loss to the tail. Some things that may cause it are a broken or injured tail, swelling (not externally visible) from an infection (visible by x-ray) can restrict or stop blood flow. I have never kept sikorae and I'm not that familiar with their habits, but maybe it was trauma induced by the cagemate?
Russel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Neil A. Meister" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, 10 April 2002 1:52
Subject: [Gecko] Uroplatus tail rot/death
> Hi all,
>
> I recently lost a long term (at least 3 yrs old) cb U. sikorae to a
> rather severe necrosis that started on the tail. The odd thing is
> that it affected the whole tail all at once, rather than starting in
> one spot and spreading.
>
> The gecko had trouble shedding only on the tail for the last several
> sheds. I removed the old skin each time but noticed that some areas
> had an odd sheen when turned to the light. The animal ate well and
> seemed otherwise healthy. About a month ago I noticed 2 small areas
> where the skin seemed to have been scraped off, but there seemed to
> be no swelling or infection. Over the weekend the tail got much worse
> and appeared to be decomposing while still attached to the gecko. The
> progression was rapid and a strong odor of "dead gecko" was noticed.
> It's mate appears fine so far.
>
> Anyone ever seen anything like this?
>
> Neil
> --
> Neil Meister
--
Neil Meister
Promotions Secretary
Global Gecko Association
http://www.gekkota.com
President
Nova Scotia Herpetoculture Society
Promotions Secretary
Global Gecko Association
http://www.gekkota.com
President
Nova Scotia Herpetoculture Society
