The Rescued Reptiles - August 2025

A breeder's advert. An opportunity for a new pet. What we found was horrific.

Too good to be true

Recently an opportunity was offered to us that we couldn’t pass up - a reptile breeder was looking to retire a number of his adult crested geckos. The price quoted was reasonable and we were so excited to get in the car and meet our new beastie (or two).

We were not prepared for what we saw when we arrived.

But we ended leaving with as many as we could. Thirteen in total. We would have taken them all if we could have.

What we found

• Deceased Geckos left in the same vivariums as the living.

• Numerous Geckos crowded in the same vivarium.

• Overbred.

• Deformed / Diseased Geckos. (MBD etc)

• Vivariums filled with faeces.

• Inadequate or inappropriate feed.

• Little or in some cases no UVB light at all.

• No heating.

The Rescues

All Geckos will have to be quarantined with us and once we are satisfied with their condition we will be seeking new homes for them. ALL of these geckos were kept together in two small enclosures but they will NOT be rehomed together; the ladies have served their time and deserve a quiet retirement as solitary pets. Some have obvious signs of MBD (metabolic bone disease) due to never being given UVB lighting.

Right now I’m just getting to know them, I can say they mostly all hand tame and very friendly. The ladies could do with gaining weight as they have never had a break from breeding their condition is not optimal. The males are wonderful - very easy going which is I can say from experience is not too common in peak breeding season! I am worried about Krinkle; the mossy gecko as she is in very poor condition.

Speaking of Krinkle - she was kept in a small vivarium with Romeo - one of the male crested geckos, I highly suspect this was done to produce hybrids. Whisky has a very suspiciously shaped head and I suspect that she may be a crested gecko mossy gecko hybrid.

I’m looking forward to seeing their personalities shine through and will of course keep you updated on their progress.

Keep an eye on our Current Adoptions page HERE.

Donate towards the work we do rescuing and rehabilitating Beasties HERE.

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Meet the rescued Geckos

"It's a truly horrid situation and we all have our fingers crossed."

Romeo

1. Adult Male 1

Name - Romeo

Weight - 30.7g

Condition - Good

Temperament - Friendly

Morph - Harlequin

Tail - Intact

*Romeo is currently in foster care in Dundalk. collection will be from there.

2. Adult Male 2

Name -Toad

Weight - 31.7

Condition - Good

Temperament - Friendly

Morph - Red phantom

Tail - Tailless

August

3. Adult Female 1

Name - Wanda

Weight - 25.27

Condition - Poor

Temperament - Friendly

Morph - Red phantom

Tail - Tailless

Currently gravid

4. Adult Female 2

Name - Whiskey

Weight - 24.25

Condition - Emaciated

Temperament - Friendly

Morph - Red phantom

Tail - Tailless

Currently gravid

Toad

5.Adult Female 3

Name - August

Weight - 44.71g

Condition - Good

Temperament - Spicy!

Morph - Harlequin

Tail - Intact

Currently gravid

*August is currently in foster care in Dundalk, adoption will take place from there

6.Adult Female 4

Name - Amber

Weight - 25.3

Condition - Fair, MBD

Temperament - Friendly

Morph - Harlequin

Tail - Crooked

Currently gravid

Amber

7.Adult Female 5

Name - Cookie

Weight - 39.9

Condition - Fair

Temperament - Friendly

Morph - Possibly Dalmatian

Tail - Intact

Currently gravid

8.Adult Female 6

Name - Crumble

Weight - 32.6

Condition - Fair

Temperament - Friendly

Morph - Harlequin

Tail - Intact

Currently gravid

Whisky

9.Adult Female 7

Name - Stella

Weight - 34.43g

Condition - Good

Temperament - Friendly

Morph - ?

Tail - Intact

Currently gravid

"Heart-breaking. Just heart-breaking."

Keep an eye on our Current Adoptions page HERE.

Donate towards the work we do rescuing and rehabilitating Beasties HERE.

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The Baby Gecko Rescues

We will not be incubating any eggs these ladies produce, (please don’t ask).

With these beauties came three lovely little babies, (already born);

NOVA

Sex - Unsexed

Weight - 3.19

Condition - Good

Temperament - Jumpy

Morph - Lily-white

Tail - Intact

Little Nova was rescued as a hatchling, she will be staying with us until she reaches 10g.

PEANUT

Sex - Unsexed

Weight - 5.18g

Condition- Good

Temperament - Jumpy

Morph - Lily-white

Little peanut here was rescued as a hatchling, he will be staying with his foster home until he reaches 10g.

HOPE

Sex - Unsexed

Weight- 4.37g

Condition - Good

Temperament - Jumpy

Morph - Tiger

Hope was rescued as a hatchling, she has fabulous markings! She will be staying in her foster home until she reaches 10g.

These little cuties are in great condition and are quarantining with us before they are available for adoption.

Keep an eye on our Current Adoptions page HERE.

Donate towards the work we do rescuing and rehabilitating Beasties HERE.

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And then there is Krinkle…

Adult Female Mossy Gecko

Name - Krinkle

Weight - 33.56

Condition - Emaciated, MBD - bad!

Temperament - Friendly

Tail - Very crooked, multiple kinks

For those of you not familiar with Mossy Geckos, an adult female should average between 50-70g. At four years old, Krinkle is extremely underweight and emaciated.

Her spine, arms, legs and tail are all severely deformed due to MBD (metabolic bone disease). This was caused by lack of nutrition and no access to UVB lighting. Her condition was entirely preventable. There is no cure for MBD but we can prevent it from getting worse simply by giving her a complete diet high in calcium and providing her with a UVB light to bask under.

Heart-breaking. Just heart-breaking.

But GOOD NEWS! Krinkle climbed a tree branch today and was actively basking under her UBV light - she’s showing natural behaviours! This is huge. She’s a fighter.

An X-ray of poor Krinkle following her rescue by The Reptile Room.

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Krinkle update!

Krinkle is in far worse shape than we initially thought (above).

She was taken to the vets last week as we were concerned about her movement and we discovered that she is heavily gravid (pregnant). Unfortunately because of her physical condition the vet was unable to determine whether or not she would be able to pass the eggs naturally; either due to her lack of strength or due to her bones being misaligned due to the MBD.

We have been given two weeks. If Krinkle does not pass her eggs by September 13th then we will have to make a decision - surgery or euthanasia. Realistically if she is not strong enough to pass eggs then I don't think she will be strong enough to survive surgery. It's a truly horrid situation and we all have our fingers crossed.

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The Reptile Room- Rescue & Rehabilitation

I’ve mentioned before the importance of quarantine and we continue to take no chances when it comes to the health of our resident beasties.

Our quarantine room has a basic set up for ease of cleaning/disinfecting and observation.

Each vivarium has a bare bottom, plastic hides, plants and vines for climbing that can be removed easily for disinfecting. They each have branches from our apple trees that will be disposed of once the geckos find their forever homes.

It’s not optimal but it is necessary, hopefully they all pass with flying colours and can be moved to bioactive set-ups in a couple of months.

If you are interested in offering any of these darlings a home please contact us via email or on our social media platforms.

An adoption fee will be required to cover food and housing expenses.

Keep an eye on our Current Adoptions page HERE.

Donate towards the work we do rescuing and rehabilitating Beasties HERE.

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Important words & Phrases we use at The Reptile Room

• Gravid: Pregnant

• MBD: Metabolic Bone Disease. Also known as nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism.

• UVB: UVB lighting is essential for reptiles as it enables them to synthesize vitamin D3, which is crucial for calcium absorption and overall health.