Floppy tail...

[florida 87]

Has anybody ever dealt with this with their crested geckos? Mine seems to have it...I highly doubt that its a calcium deficiency, because I don't think he's ever gotten crickets that weren't dusted. I've been reading up about it a little bit, but all the websites that mention it say very little. All I've learned is that it can be linked to a lack of calcium in the diet, or it can happen to perfectly healthy geckos. None of the sites really say if its a bad thing, or if its going to cause some sort of long term problems. They all address the issue very nonchalantly. And he's one of those geckos that CONSTANTLY hangs upside down on the glass...I'm just worried, and was hoping that one of you guys has experienced it before and could give me a little bit more information about it...

Is there anything I can do to get him off the glass? Is it reversible?

[_Sam_]

I'm by NO means an expert, and I've never dealt with this personally (heck, 3 of my 6 dont even have tails... lol) But I am relatively sure it's not a huge problem. It IS irreversible, I know that. There doesnt seem to be a concrete cause for it- perhaps "improper calcium utilization or a weak joint structure".

Here's something I found:

Floppy Tail
Floppy-Tail Syndrome is most likely a naturally occuring artifact of being kept in captivity...an environment that crested geckos weren't "designed" to live in, namely resting upside-down on cage walls rather than resting upright on a branch.
Floppy tail can occur in geckos that have been properly cared for and fed a proper diet all of their lives. In and of itself, I've found that floppy tail is not indicative of any kind of past or present health problem, such as a calcium deficiency which has often been suspected. The first sign of calcium deficiency is usually a wavy tail. In severe cases, curvature of the spine and a rubbery jaw will become evident. Hypocalcemia affects the entire skeletal system, including pelvic bone, making a gecko more prone to developing floppy-tail.

A number breeders believe that floppy tail commonly occurs in healthy, productive geckos who are fed a proper diet (such as Crested Gecko Diet).

So what causes it? I believe FTS is an artifact of being kept in captivity for two reasons.

In the wild, these geckos rest on thin twigs in an upright position with their tails pointing downward. There is no glass for them to hang from in a head-down position. In captivity however, they tend to hang upside down from the walls of their cages, where gravity pulls on the tail, eventually causing the tail to droop.


As adults, crested geckos don't usually have tails in the wild...meaning their pelvis probably isn't designed to support the weight of such a heavy adult tail.

from Ciliatus.com - The Ultimate Crested Gecko Resource - Common Health Issues in Crested Geckos


I think he's fine, it just may seem a little unsightly. Everywhere I've read says perfectly healthy geckos can get it.

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[Xeikeness]

Do you have them under UV? UV lighting may help them utilize their calcium more efficiently. That would be an interesting thing to study... I realize the condition is irreversible, but maybe UV lighting could help prevent it from happening to others?

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[jtmoney]

Originally Posted by Xeikeness

Do you have them under UV? UV lighting may help them utilize their calcium more efficiently. That would be an interesting thing to study... I realize the condition is irreversible, but maybe UV lighting could help prevent it from happening to others?

Its not UV in my opinion, your feeding CGD right? Is it breeding and laying eggs? You can try liquid calcium but be careful on the levels that you give her. Are you dusting crickets? This can also be caused by not enough humidity. I have seen that. Humidity plays a HUGE role in rhac's health, as it does it most reptiles.

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[florida 87]

Thanks Sam. Thats one of the sites that I found when I was scanning the internets for some answers. I bookmarked it so I can check it out later...seems to be a pretty good source of info for cresteds in general. Their definition of floppy tail is pretty brief, and thats what I kept finding on all the sites I visited. Nobody makes it seem like a big deal, so I guess its not, but it still concerns me. Theres got to be something that I'm doing wrong...I dont think it would particularly happen in the wild often.

Xeike - I have UV on him, though its time to change the bulb. I was wondering if that might have something to do with it too. The bulb is a little over a year old, so I dunno how much good its actually doing for him.

JT - He's a boy (I think), and a little less than a year old. So no breeding. I do feed him crested gecko diet BUT I don't know how much he actually eats. He'll lick it off my finger, but when I leave it in the cage it appears to not have been touched. So I'm not really sure. His crickets are always dusted with calcium and multivitamins, but I've never mixed that in with his CGD. If you think it has something to do with humidity, that could be it. His old cage was an exoterra, and I just bumped him up to a larger cage. I've got gravel and dirt and then moss on the bottom to cycle the water better so humidity should be closer to ideal in this cage (I'm a victim of mesh lids...all of my cages have them )

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[jtmoney]

Originally Posted by florida 87

Thanks Sam. Thats one of the sites that I found when I was scanning the internets for some answers. I bookmarked it so I can check it out later...seems to be a pretty good source of info for cresteds in general. Their definition of floppy tail is pretty brief, and thats what I kept finding on all the sites I visited. Nobody makes it seem like a big deal, so I guess its not, but it still concerns me. Theres got to be something that I'm doing wrong...I dont think it would particularly happen in the wild often.

Xeike - I have UV on him, though its time to change the bulb. I was wondering if that might have something to do with it too. The bulb is a little over a year old, so I dunno how much good its actually doing for him.

JT - He's a boy (I think), and a little less than a year old. So no breeding. I do feed him crested gecko diet BUT I don't know how much he actually eats. He'll lick it off my finger, but when I leave it in the cage it appears to not have been touched. So I'm not really sure. His crickets are always dusted with calcium and multivitamins, but I've never mixed that in with his CGD. If you think it has something to do with humidity, that could be it. His old cage was an exoterra, and I just bumped him up to a larger cage. I've got gravel and dirt and then moss on the bottom to cycle the water better so humidity should be closer to ideal in this cage (I'm a victim of mesh lids...all of my cages have them )

You could get a piece of plexi or wrap foil around the top mesh to hold humidity in, see if that helps? It seems you are doin geverything right! No need to dust with CGD. Try feeding and paying close attention with his CGD to see if hes actually eating it. What is your feeding schedule? Crickets once a week or once every 2 weeks?

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[florida 87]

Originally Posted by jtmoney

You could get a piece of plexi or wrap foil around the top mesh to hold humidity in, see if that helps? It seems you are doin geverything right! No need to dust with CGD. Try feeding and paying close attention with his CGD to see if hes actually eating it. What is your feeding schedule? Crickets once a week or once every 2 weeks?

He gets crickets pretty much any time I work at the shop (that can be anywhere from 4 times to once a week). When I'm working a lot I'll grab a few and dust them before I leave, and if I'm only working once a week I'll grab enough to hold him over for the week.

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[jtmoney]

Originally Posted by florida 87

He gets crickets pretty much any time I work at the shop (that can be anywhere from 4 times to once a week). When I'm working a lot I'll grab a few and dust them before I leave, and if I'm only working once a week I'll grab enough to hold him over for the week.

Personally if it was my gecko I would cut crickets down to once a week. Hes most likely filling up on the crickets and not eating the diet. That is just my opinion though.

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[florida 87]

Originally Posted by jtmoney

Personally if it was my gecko I would cut crickets down to once a week. Hes most likely filling up on the crickets and not eating the diet. That is just my opinion though.

I started to think that as I was typing my response...lol. Maybe thats a good way to get him to eat more of his CGD; by cutting down on his crickets.

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