Hi, my son's thick-tailed gecko was egg-bound (we think) and the vet had been boosting her with vitamin and calcium injections. She got weaker and weaker though and last night the male gecko attacked her quite viciously. I removed him from the tank but the female just looked very weak and listless and she died in the night. My son is devastated. Does anyone have any advice whether we could have done anything more for her? She was only 8 months old and it was her second clutch. I wonder whether the male had been attacking her over the past few weeks and we hadn't known; or whether he sensed she was dying? any advice greatly appreciated.
Thick tailed gecko death
- Thread starter Eleni
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Brettix
Very Well-Known Member
You could of avoided it by not keeping the male with her at that age.
Sounds like she was too small and young too breed.
The male would of mated with her non stop,she would of been really stressed and not have eaten as much as she should of.She got egg bound from not been able to lay as probably being harassed by the male to mate all the time.
Sounds like she was too small and young too breed.
The male would of mated with her non stop,she would of been really stressed and not have eaten as much as she should of.She got egg bound from not been able to lay as probably being harassed by the male to mate all the time.
Walker
Well-Known Member
What he said.
Jay84
Very Well-Known Member
Agreed, these little geckos have a VERY strong drive to mate! They continually harrass the females and this affects their feeding. Also if the females dont have a suitable place to lay their eggs they can retain them, also being harrassed as said above. Unfortunate, but if you get another female, dont breed too early, and keep seperate from the male 
Thanks guys - really appreciate the advice. We originally wanted 2 females to avoid this whole breeding thing. I didn't know the males had such a strong / aggressive drive. Really sad, we'll keep this advice in mind. They were so great together for the 6 months we had them and she was much bigger than him so she seemed like she was in charge up until recently.
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