Non Enigma Enigma Syndrome

[KDesautels08]

Hey Guys,

So something happened recently that has me stumped, and I am not quite sure what to do about it. Recently I had a 100% pure eclipse (both parents were Eclipse with no hets), however while cleaning the tank I noticed that this hatchling was experiencing some very Enigma Syndrome like behavior. Running in circles, and sometimes it even rolls over.. This animal does NOT have any Enigma in it, has anyone else experienced this? Is this something it will grow out of?

 

[PanJaster]

So basically, you have totally regular Eclipse that has (maybe only when stressed) Enigma syndrome. I don't have any personal experience with somenting like this, but you should keep in mind, that random mutations can appear in every gecko, most of them will remain unnoticed for their life. It is a bigger chance of getting mutated gecko when incubating in incorrect temperatures (too cold or too hot, I have one with bend tail that was accidentally incubated in 25 C / 77 F) or when breeding close relatives together (this may actually cause some psychically - related issues like your gecko has). I would like to know how your gecko is doing when not stressed or when it is with other geckos, how good it is hunting etc. But regardless of it's normal behavior, it should not be bred to other geckos to have any eggs (just my opinion) ...

 

[stager]

I've seen videos of w&y s with enigma like syndrome, though I have never hatched one. I have a w&y female that I purchased some years back that will sometimes look up at you when your over her and fall over. She doesn't stress and this never happened till she was around 3. She was a super slow grower and when I breed her to offspring had short heads, so I never bred her again. Definitely something is not quite right.

 

[KDesautels08]

So basically, you have totally regular Eclipse that has (maybe only when stressed) Enigma syndrome. I don't have any personal experience with somenting like this, but you should keep in mind, that random mutations can appear in every gecko, most of them will remain unnoticed for their life. It is a bigger chance of getting mutated gecko when incubating in incorrect temperatures (too cold or too hot, I have one with bend tail that was accidentally incubated in 25 C / 77 F) or when breeding close relatives together (this may actually cause some psychically - related issues like your gecko has). I would like to know how your gecko is doing when not stressed or when it is with other geckos, how good it is hunting etc. But regardless of it's normal behavior, it should not be bred to other geckos to have any eggs (just my opinion) ...

That seems about right, unfortunately a couple weeks into the incubation process, my incubator spiked from 82 degrees to 90 degrees during a heat wave. He/She is also eating small amounts (as is only a couple weeks old).. In terms of being stressed, its every time I take him/her out to clean its bin, it looks like a breakdancing gecko.. It's never been housed with any other animals.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I have hatched a couple of odd looking geckos that act as tho they have balance issues like enigmas. I chalked mine up to genetic issues as the ones I have seen were all from the same pair which I no longer am breeding. As for jerky movements, I would check and make sure what you are seeing is not a calcium crash. A severe lack of calcium can cause an animals nerve cells to not function properly and make movements "jerky." A slight bend to the front forearms is usually the first sign of MBD which could indicate a calcium issue. Fingers crossed that your baby keeps getting stronger!