Hi All, I have a strange situation regarding a U. guentheri. It had been eating less over the past month or so, which I did not find unusual as it is nearing adult size and is growing slower. A few days ago I noticed it was having trouble eating. It would watch insects go by without striking or it would lunge with mouth open in the general direction of the prey but would fall short by a full inch or two. It is usually very accurate and a good hunter. I hand fed it several crushed crickets, which it ate, so it must have been hungry. Normally if I tried to hand feed this gecko, it would back away as soon as it saw the forceps coming. Two days later I noticed the animal seemed lethargic and disoriented. I got the impression that maybe it wasn't seeing well, but it's hard to say.
I'm checking for parasites, but doubt that this is the problem. The only thing out of the ordinary is a mold problem I found a week earlier. I went to clean out a small spot of moldly substrate and found that about 1/3 of the substrate had gone moldy below the surface. I replaced the moldy area with new and put a potted plant under the misting nozzle to catch drips and keep the area dry. While removing the old substrate, I noticed a strong acrid odor that burned the back of my throat. As some mold spores can be toxic, I'm wondering if this may be linked. The gecko is now quarantined and is doing slightly better. Anyone know what sort of physiological/neurological effects mold may have on geckos? Thanks, Neil -- Neil Meister Semaphor Design Company Inc. 6450 Young St. Suite 4, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3L 2A3 Phone: (902) 455-0133 Fax: (902) 455-0212 http://www.semaphor.ca ########################################################################### THE GLOBAL GECKO ASSOCIATION LISTSERV WebSite: www.gekkota.com Archive: [EMAIL PROTECTED]/ The GGA takes no responsibility for the contents of these postings. ###########################################################################
