There’s nothing as confusing and overwhelming as not knowing whether your leopard gecko is dead or sleeping. When you bring a leopard gecko home, you form a formidable bond that makes you worry whenever you think something terrible has happened to them.
However, things sleeping, brumating, and playing dead might get you alarmed and make you believe that your leopard gecko is dead.
Suppose you find your leopard gecko unresponsive and wonder whether it’s dead or asleep. Check out these things. First, you should investigate to see whether your leopard gecko is breathing. Also, check whether the lizard responds to touch, whether its eyes are sunken and if its pupil is non-responsive to light. Lastly, investigate whether they have any sign of injury.
How do I Know that My Leopard Gecko is Asleep and Not Dead?
One unique thing about leopard geckos is that they sleep during the day. These scaly reptiles will look for dark and hidden places to sleep. The lizards will rest on their side or stomach.
When a leopard gecko sleeps, it will slow its breathing and lower its metabolic rate to conserve energy.
However, you’ll still be able to feel their breathing when you place your fingers near their nostrils. Conversely, you’ll notice your fingers moving in a rhythm that follows their breathing when you put them on the ribcage.
And since the lizards are deep sleepers, don’t be surprised if they take their time to wake up when you touch them when sleeping.
Is My Leopard Gecko Dying?
Since leopard geckos are some of the hardest reptiles, they delay showing signs of sickness and will only display symptoms when the disease is at an advanced stage.
However, if you’re observant, there are tale-tell signs of illness that can help you know when your reptile needs immediate intervention. Here are signs that may indicate that your leopard gecko is dying:
Sudden Weight Loss
Rapid weight loss is the first sign that your leopard gecko is experiencing a problem of some sort. If your lizard starts to lose weight rapidly, it might be having severe health complications.
Your leopard gecko may shed some weight due to poor living conditions, the wrong diet, parasites, and infections.
The tail is the first place you’ll notice a weight change. Leopard geckos typically store fat in the tail and live off this reserve when they don’t get food. The tail growing thinner is the first sign that your leopard is losing weight.
Lethargy
You’ll always see your lizard moving up and down in its enclosure when it is healthy. These creatures also stay active, enthusiastic, and curious.
If your pet becomes stationary, sluggish, and remains in one spot for too long, it might be sick and must be taken to a vet.
Abnormal Droppings or No Poop
If you notice a significant decrease in your leopard gecko defecates, observe abnormal poop, or the pet doesn’t poop for days, there’s something wrong in its digestive system. Such symptoms indicate that your leopard may be suffering from impaction.
You should move with speed to investigate and make an intervention. Unfortunately, this condition is hazardous and is the number one reason for sudden deaths in leopard geckos.
Lack of Appetite
In many animals, including geckos, lack of appetite is a tale-telling sign that they are sick. However, it may also mean that the food Is bland, and the lizard wants you to change it. Extreme temperatures in the cage may also make your leopard gecko lose its appetite.
Before you consider taking your pet to a vet, you need to ensure that the temperature is correct, there is adequate humidity, and the lizard is not stressed.
If everything else is ok and the creatures won’t eat, you’re dealing with something serious that may cause the death of your leopard gecko.
Sunken Eyes
Leopard geckos usually have sunken eyes when they become dehydrated. When this is accompanied by a wrinkled appearance in the skin, less elastic skin, sticky mouth, dry skin, and muscle loss, the pet is in a tough spot.
Since dehydration comes with many other complications, pet keepers should ensure that their lizards have access to clean water and that humidity levels are maintained at optimal levels.
Is My Leopard Gecko Dead?
In the section above, we have covered signs that may indicate that your leopard gecko is about to die. However, how will you know if your leopard gecko is already dead? Essentially, you should check a few things to confirm whether your leopard gecko has already passed. These include:
Touch your Gecko to See if It Will Respond
When your leopard gecko sleeps, it’ll respond to the slightest touch by moving its body or opening one of both eyes. However, if your gecko is dead, it won’t wake up even if you try to handle it for hours.
Check the Eyes
Eyes are one leopard gecko’s most distinguishing feature. You can tell whether the animal is dead by checking the eyes. First, your pet might be deceased if the eyes appear sunken and look like they are staring.
Conversely, if you shine a light on the eyes, a live gecko will respond by reducing pupil size or moving away from the light. However, if your pet doesn’t react in any way, then your worst fears might be confirmed to be correct.
Determine Whether the Gecko is Breathing
When animals die, their breathing is the first thing to stop. You must check whether your leopard gecko is breathing before pronouncing it dead. Place your fingers in the nostrils and see if you’ll feel it breathing. Alternatively, put two fingers on the gecko’s ribcage to determine whether they’re breathing
You can also turn the leopard gecko over and observe whether there’s any movement under the throat. If there’s no movement, your pet might be dead.
Do the Belly Check
When leopard geckos die, their gall bladder spills bile to the nearby tissues. Therefore, the tissues next to the gall bladder are stained by the bile leaks in a matter of hours.
If your lizard is non-responsive, turn it over and try to observe whether the region around the gecko’s belly has a characteristic bluish-green hue. The bile leaks in the stomach tissues are also another sign that your pet is dead.
Check for Signs of Injury
Because of their delicate nature, leopard geckos may also sustain fatal injuries that may lead to death. When you find your lizard lying still on the ground, inspect its body to see whether they have suffered injuries, especially on the neck and head.
Falls and attacks from other pets can cause trauma and lead to loss of life. You should visit the vet for conclusive answers if your pet has clear signs of injury.
However, if the damage leads to graphic scenarios where the head is separated from the body, you won’t need further explanation.
Which are the Common Causes of Death in Leopard Geckos?
Now that you understand the signs of a dead gecko and the symptoms of dying, let’s shift our attention to the possible causes of death. Of course, understanding what killed your gecko will help you know what to do if you find yourself in a similar situation. In most cases, leopard geckos die from:
Impaction
One of the leading and typical causes of death in geckos and many other domesticated lizards is impaction. This is where lizards ingest something they can’t digest in the gut. These include moss, pebbles, loose substrate, and overgrown insects.
If your leopard gecko has an impaction, it will display signs such as:
- Loss of appetite
- Abnormal or no droppings
- Sluggishness and lethargy.
However, since geckos are hardy creatures, they might display any signs when they get impacted, and you’ll be surprised to find them dead in their enclosures.
Therefore, you must avoid using loose substrates in the gecko’s terrarium and ensure that you feed them relatively with fresh insect feeders.
Infections
Like other animals, leopard geckos are prone to parasitic, bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. While reptile vets can help treat all types of illnesses, leaving the leopard geckos to stay with the condition for a long time can result in death.
One thing that makes it difficult to know when geckos are sick is that they only show symptoms after an extended period. You’ll come to realize that your lizard is suffering when the disease has progressed to dangerous levels.
A perfect example of parasites that cause infection in geckos is Cryptosporidiosis or Crypto, which generally affects the gastrointestinal system. The typical bacterial infection that attacks the leopard gecko is caused by salmonella.
Wrong Temperature and Humidity
If your leopard gecko dies unexpectedly for another reason besides impaction, infection, or parasites, incorrect temperature and humidity could be the real culprit.
The lizard can die from overheating if the gecko’s terrarium has extremely high temper. The situation becomes worse if the humidity is high as well.
Leopard gecko keepers should maintain a stable and optimal temperature inside the tank. Conversely, they should assert that the humidity levels are at the recommended range.
Installing digital thermometers and a hygrometer will help you monitor the temperature and humidity inside the leopard gecko’s terrarium
Dehydration
Dehydration also contributes to significant deaths in leopard geckos. Although not many people know this, water is one of the essential resources for leopard geckos.
Providing these creatures with clean water will save them a lot of trouble. You also need to ensure that their enclosures have the correct humidity levels.
Dehydrated leopard geckos will exhibit signs such as:
- Dry skin
- Less elastic skin
- Flaky and dry skin
- Wrinkled skin
- Starvation
- Muscle loss
- Sticky mouth due to loss of saliva
What Should I Do with a Dead Leopard Gecko?
Apart from having a tough time accepting that your lovely leopard gecko is gone, another daunting task for pet owners is deciding what to do with their dead bodies. To get closure, owners must get rid of their pet’s bodies correctly. Here are some of the ways of dealing with a dead leopard gecko’s body:
Burying the Body
Suppose you want to put your leopard gecko in a permanent place where you can visit whenever you want; in that case, you should bury them in the backyard or public cemetery. This will provide closure and allow you to keep them close.
Cremation
Most pet owners prefer cremation when disposing of their dead pets. If you want to take their ashes for safe storage or spreading in their favorite place, you’ll need to look for a private cremation.
You can also take your pet for communal cremation, but here, you won’t get the ashes as pets are cremated as a group.
As the Vet for Help
If you don’t want to handle the leopard gecko’s body, you can ask the local vet for help. If the death left you traumatized, seeking veterinary disposal services is the best option.
Ask the Dead Animal Removal Services Authority to Help
If the animal dies from an illness that makes you uncomfortable handling its body, you can ask for help from your local authority.
Can Leopard Geckos Play Dead?
Yes, a leopard gecko is one of the animals that play dead when threatened by a predator. When the leopard gecko perceives danger and learns it’s about to get attacked, it can drop its tail to create a diversion or play dead.
These creatures darken their skin and make the patches on their neck more pronounced, making them look more like a snake. If the predator isn’t moved and continues to edge closer, it can roll over on its back and play dead.
When playing dead, these lizards will open their mouth wide, stick their tongues out and make their eyes glassy. They may also roll on their back and release a foul-smelling liquid from their anal glands to try and scare away the predator.
However, it’s important to note that leopard geckos don’t always play dead whenever they are threatened. Sometimes, they’ll take flight or attack the predator.
Is My Leopard Gecko Brumating or Dead?
Another instance when leopard gecko keepers might think that their lizards are dead is during brumation. During the colder months, geckos can enter a period of dormancy when they spend time hiding without eating or drinking anything. The period allows them to conserve energy and escape harsh conditions.
Since leopard geckos enter into brumation during the colder months, you can tell whether they are dead or just brumating in various ways.
First, you can check their breathing by placing your fingers in the rib cage or observing the throat’s lower side for any movement.
If you still can’t decide whether they’re dead or not, you need to place the lizard in a warm environment.
If the leopard gecko is brumating, it will slowly get its energy back and start responding. If it doesn’t respond, it might be dead.
FAQs Whether Leopard Geckos are Sleeping or Dead?
How Will I Know Whether My Leopard Gecko is Sleeping or Dead?
Although leopard geckos slow their metabolism when sleeping, they’ll still be breathing and respond to touch. More importantly, they’ll react if your shine a light on their eyes. Therefore, your lizard might be dead if it doesn’t respond to touch or light or isn’t breathing.
Can I Revive a Dead Gecko?
Unfortunately, there’s no way to revive a leopard gecko once pronounced dead. However, if you suspect your leopard gecko is still alive, don’t hesitate to contact your local vet and schedule an appointment.
Is My Leopard Gecko Playing Dead?
One of the leopard gecko’s defense mechanisms is to play dead when threatened. Therefore, it’s also possible that your gecko is playing dead because of imminent danger in the cage. However, don’t try to wake or handle your leopard gecko when it’s playing dead, as it might think you’re a predator and bite you.
Why Did My Gecko Die?
Your leopard gecko might die from extreme temperatures in the terrarium, parasitic and pathogenic infections, impaction, or injury from falls or attack by a lousy roommate.
Final Thoughts
Thinking that your leopard gecko is dead is one of the most frightening things for pet owners. Unfortunately, these creatures have peculiar habits that might give you the scare of your life.
Besides playing dead when threatened, leopard geckos sleep deeply during the day and brumate during the cold season.
If you don’t know the difference between sleep, brumation, and death in leopard geckos, you’ll keep worrying when they sleep.
However, as detailed in this comprehensive guide, there are several things that you can consider to determine whether your leopard gecko is sleeping, brumating, or dead.