Oh Craigslist...

[CreepyCrawly]

I really need to stay out of the Craigslist Pets section. I scan it looking for husbandry equipment - maybe I'll find an awesome deal on an ExoTerra or ZooMed cage one day - but occasionally see ads for cresteds. The last one I took from a craigslist ad had issues, and needed a couple hundred dollars in vet care.

I Emailed someone about their crested gecko for sale this morning. The ad reads like this:

We are moving and need to find a home for flames. He is around a year old. Loves people. Lost his tail. Comes with 10 gallon tank, plants, heating pad, Bag of coconut shells. food rock, and small log. all for $80.00 if bought in pet store woulod cost over $150

Okay, so I Email them, asking about his age, sex, diet, and pictures. Then they send me this:

Jennifer,
We got him from store name here about a year ago. They said he is a male. He eats crickets and baby banana food. I will try to find a picture. We are getting ready to leave tonight for two weeks. If you decide you want him I could meet you this afternoon,Thanks, Jenny

Then they sent these pictures:




First off - he's SO fat! Secondly, I'm not so sure he's a "he". I'm not so sure that what I see is a bulge... he's bulging out everywhere.
And finally - I won't pay them $80 for a fat and likely unhealthy gecko and a totally inappropriate cage. Chances are after a year of banana baby food, he's got some sort of health issue other than the pudge. Plus, he'll have to be switched off of that candy to CGD which I am imagining to be a bear to do.
I Emailed them back, trying to gently tell them that the baby food is pretty bad, along with links to Bubba and Xavier to show just how bad it is, and a link to Petco showing the bottle of CGD that they should be feeding. I also mentioned that the cage was inappropriate, and that it should be more vertical in nature, and have plenty of climbing branches in it. I said that I understood that they surely thought that they were doing everything right, but that the gecko very likely could start having health problems soon.

I offered to give them some CGD to get him started on the right track, or if they wanted I would take the gecko off their hands - but wouldn't pay them for it. I understand that they probably want to get some of their money back for him, and his cage and setup, and told them that if they decide to just try to sell him that they should at the very least send along a copy of a good care sheet, and sent them links to two good ones.

They will probably just ignore my Email, and go on with what they've been doing, and sell him to someone else who doesn't know anything about them, and they'll continue to do wrong. I'm sure I sound like a crazy person to them, or someone who is just trying to get their gecko for free. I mean, if I'd had a gecko for a year, and was caring for it the way the pet store told me to, and he was so fat and cute, I'd probably think that whatever I was doing was right. I just feel bad, because I want to help them and this little guy, but feel like I can't do much.

[G's Geckos]

He looks like a she. That set up is horrible, people really piss me off!

[Saille]

I would say girl as well. Lol, do you live in my state? People up here can be sooooo ingorant about proper care/set up for these guys, its really sad that the animals are the ones that suffer in the end.

[CreepyCrawly]

I was thinking female, but wasn't sure without a top view - though that's the least of their problems.

Saille - no, I'm north of you a bit still, in AK. Most people in my state that don't know the first thing about reptiles - I think maybe you're just experiencing my state's ignorance overflowing into yours! Oh, I could tell some stories... but I'll try to refrain.

Also, looking at the pictures again, it's looking like there may already be some spine deformity starting. Either that, or the gecko is just kind of hunched over near the rump.

Part of me is hoping that they do decide to hand her over to me. But on the other hand, I KNOW that if I were to get her, it'd be a lot work, and could get expensive. I really hope that they don't just sell her to the first kid with $80 and tell them to keep her like they have been. But thinking about it, I really doubt they would be able to sell her if they were upfront about the information that I gave them. Their ad would have to read like:
"For Sale, Crested Gecko, $80. We've been feeding the gecko the equivalent of candy for year straight, so it's fairly chubby, and may have bigger health problems around the corner. Also, she probably won't want to eat healthy food for her, because she has such a sweet tooth now. You'll also get her current cage and setup, but you'll have to buy a new one anyway, because the one we have is all wrong."
I get the feeling they wouldn't have any takers...

[MoonriseGeckos]

The arms look swollen too, maybe MBD? The worst thing is that someone might buy that gecko with the enclosure, thinking everything's okay. How sad...

[Misskiwi67]

last time I offered to take a craigslist crestie off someones hands I sent them to my website to help back up my claims that they'd have a good home. They said thanks for the offer but they really wanted to get some money for the gecko... and never heard from them again.

The one I offered to take was better cared for than that little one though...

I'm not sure about MBD, the whole gecko looks fat... probably from gorging on sugary babyfood its whole life.

[CreepyCrawly]

I'm not sure if it's got swollen limbs from MBD (which I expect that if she doesn't have already - if she keeps on with her diet as it is, she will eventually) or if she's just fat. I think the gecko looks very fat. I have some thicker geckos, but none of them are fat like that. But then again, I don't know that I've ever seen a gecko with fat legs... I agree that it's likely fat from chowing down on banana baby food for the last year.

Part of what bothers me is that the pet store they say they got her from (the store that identified it as a male) I had thought was the better pet store in town. I've never seen them carry crested geckos though. So I'm kind of disappointed.

I get the feeling I won't be hearing from these people again either.

[Sublime Reptiles]

that gecko falls into the catagory big fat and ugly...poor girl having to live in that home, being set up like that isnt helping her chubbiness. Giving them the money is just like saying here ya go you did a good job!