Interesting Article

[Western Gecko]

Here's an interesting article from one of our local newspapers...
This begs the question; what happens to these guys once they pull the tail off? :main_huh:

 

[puckett26]

Thats very interesting. It would be really cool and life saving if they can figure it all out. But then again it kinda sucks because they are gonna be 50 leos getting their tails plucked off, probly alot more! Thanks for posting that

 

[Tsks7205]

We must save them! GECKO LEAGUE ASSEMBLE!!! haha jk jk. It says none of the geckos were harmed and that the appendages shed naturally. Id assume they will watch the growth process of the tail too for scientifical research. I hope they mean they are waiting of them to naturally fall off... But I highly doubt it.

 

[puckett26]

I dont see a Natural way for gecko tails to fall off. The only way I really see to do that isnt COMPLETELY cruel is maybe picking it up by the tail but still thats kind of un necessary but the research is kind of necessary. Lose one to save many I guess (the many being human kind)

 

[VampyricAngelX]

Eh, interesting but not thrilled to hear about all those leos getting their tails taken off. I don't see how they naturally come off, not without something stressing them out enough to make them drop. But I guess things could be worse :/

 

[HugeGenes&LoLa]

I think when they say "naturally" they mean it is a trait they carry to lose their tails if needed. I'm sure it doesn't feel good, I feel really bad that they are doing it... but I think what they want people to know is that the scientists aren't doing terribly cruel things to the leos that would eventually result in death. I think it is more "natural" for a leo to lose it's tail than a dog's tail to pop off.

 

[puckett26]

I think when they say "naturally" they mean it is a trait they carry to lose their tails if needed. I'm sure it doesn't feel good, I feel really bad that they are doing it... but I think what they want people to know is that the scientists aren't doing terribly cruel things to the leos that would eventually result in death. I think it is more "natural" for a leo to lose it's tail than a dog's tail to pop off.

Very good point but to the average person who doesnt keep leos or understand how the tail dropping works, it sounds like a great deal. When you throw that word "natural" in, that makes it sounds like those geckos will never have a worry in the world. But thats not the case, like you said there has to be a good amount of stress put on the leo for that to happen. Just kind of misleading in my opinion.

 

[Western Gecko]

I found a little more info here...

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090909/gecko_090909/20090909?hub=Health

Mother nature does equip leopard geckos with the ability to shed the tail so I guess you could say it's natural...

 

[BGalloway]

It may be natural, but losing a tail causes stress. The upside is that the research is associated with a university so IACUC is probably involved and approved the research protocol, meaning the research causes the least amount of stress possible to the animals for what is being done to them.

The last sentence in the article could read "permanently harmed" but that sounds negative and people would get up in arms and storm the university's labs. I look forward to finding a copy of this article after it comes out.

 

[Tsks7205]

I wouldnt go as far as saying the are "permanently harmed". Alot of geckos loose their tails and yes it does cause stress on them but they are not permanently harmed. Im sure the geckos thats are being used for study are also being treated well (I hope). Im sure they will watch the regrowth process too cause I bet they are wondering if a regrown tail will react the same way as the original tail.

 

[BGalloway]

The article says "None of the geckos- which grow back complete tails in 13 weeks- is harmed" (hey a grammatical error!) When I said "permanently harmed" I meant in the context of the last sentence, implying that there was no permanent damage done to the geckos in the course of the research, but that in my opinion causing enough stress to make a gecko drop its tail could be considered a form of temporary harm.

Sorry for any confusion.