Dear Dr. Baum —
When I got up this morning, both legs on my leopard gecko were broken! What could have caused this, and what can I do? I see his legs are dragging. I just don’t know what could have caused him to break both his legs at the same time. He was just like this when I woke up and he has a small cut on his leg, too! It’s weird.
Bethea, Rochester, New York.
Dear Bethea:
Obviously, trauma to the back or legs is responsible. The question is, how much trauma did it take? Many reptiles suffer from metabolic bone disease resulting from a diet which is too low in calcium, or in which the dietary calcium cannot be adequately absorbed due to lack of the sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D-1. This deficiency causes the bones to weaken resulting in pathological fractures. You can make sure you are providing enough Vitamin D-1 for your gecko by exposing him to sunlight, and there are also special full light spectrum light bulbs you can install over the terrarium.
Dr. B