True or False - A Leopard Gecko can fall over 5 feet without injury

cassicat4

Member
Messages
151
Location
Alberta, Canada
Annnnnd go!

This is a curiosity query, and not something I've personally experienced or have any intention of testing out.

I was discussing reptiles with a friend last night, and we got on the topic of our first reptile. Mine was a Leopard Gecko, whom I purchased from an out-of-province breeder at a large reptile show.

I didn't know much about geckos at the time - my gecko was really an impulse purchase, and I bought all of her supplies and such from different vendors at the show, then came home and spent the rest of the day researching their care.

One of the things the breeder told me is that Leopard Geckos are very hardy, and can take falls very well. She said that she's over 6 ft tall, and if the gecko happened to be on her head and fell
(she even held up a gecko head-high to demonstrate), the gecko would be just fine, assuming it fell to the floor and didn't hit a table or something in the process or land on its head.

I know it comes up on a lot of forums where people are panicking because their Leo fell, and they want to know if it will be ok.

So curiosity question - assuming a gecko fell from that height and landed on its feet, on solid floor, what are the chances it would be injured in the process? Are they (anatomically) really built to take great falls?

I know over the years I've had a couple of heart-attack moments when a gecko has tumbled onto the floor from my lap or hands and been just fine, but we're talking a height of 2-3 feet, at most, on carpet.
 

GeckoCrossing

Member
Messages
577
Location
Hampton, GA
I don't think they're really built for it. Witnessed a few pet store employees have a leo jump from about 4 ft from their hand and hit the hard linoleum floor, and noticed them kind of act funny afterward. Almost like Enigma syndrome afterward.
 

Fatal_S

Mel's Exotics
Messages
147
Location
Winnipeg, MB
Sometimes you drop a mouse and it goes scurrying off under the couch. Other times it starts having seizures and dies. One foot or ten feet - falls are not safe for ground animals. Even a cat can have a bad fall and get hurt.

I suppose the answer is true and false. Ya, sometimes it won't kill them, but that doesn't make it safe. In the same way I can hit you with a car - you may live but that doesn't make you "hardy" enough to get hit by a car regularly.

Sounds like the breeder deserves a kick in the nuts (or girl-nuts, gender dependant). You don't tell people, or even imply, it's safe to drop an animal :(
 
Last edited:

SC Geckos

New Member
Messages
854
Location
here
One of the things the breeder told me is that Leopard Geckos are very hardy, and can take falls very well. She said that she's over 6 ft tall, and if the gecko happened to be on her head and fell
(she even held up a gecko head-high to demonstrate), the gecko would be just fine, assuming it fell to the floor and didn't hit a table or something in the process or land on its head.
Odd thread. As others have already said, leopard geckos are not built to take a large fall. One gecko may take a fall from a few feet and be fine while another falls from the same height and dies.
That is a terrible way for a breeder to give an example of a gecko being "hardy" by saying they can take large falls well. Probably someone I would shy away from buying animals from.
 

Ozy

New Member
Messages
732
Location
Kansas City, Missouri
Yea, definitely wouldn't buy from that person. Now Ozy has suicide dived from my hands *I am 5 feet tall* and landed on a pizza box. She was ok. She also did a suicide dive into her cage onto the slate tiles a couple of times.. She's always been ok, but I try to limit her handling since I know she is prone to do this.
 

cassicat4

Member
Messages
151
Location
Alberta, Canada
I agree with all of the above. At the time, I admit I didn't know any better so I was just fascinated by the concept, and it didn't deter me from buying from them. I definitely haven't since though.

I know there are some reptiles that are well-known for leaping from great heights in the wild and more often than not, have no problems with it as they are somewhat built for it. They spend a lot of time jumping from trees to the ground and it wouldn't serve the species well to limp off after every jump.

However, I can't exactly see Leopard Geckos even being in a situation in nature that would require large leaps or falls, so it doesn't make sense that they'd really be designed for it.

I guess I was mainly curious what would cause a breeder to say such a thing to begin with??? What were they hoping to accomplish/prove?

They're a fairly large breeder and have been attending this show for years. They're certainly not new to the hobby, so should know better. There were also quite a few newcomers to the hobby purchasing geckos from them and quite a few witnesses who observed the "gecko above the head" trick.
 

DrCarrotTail

Moderator
Messages
3,590
Location
Ridgewood, NJ
While leopard geckos are sturdy little guys I think simple physics applies in most falls. There's only a certain amount of impact skeletal systems and internal organs can take before bones break and organs rupture. The higher the fall the larger the impact and greater the chance of injury. Some animals have legs that are built to absorb some of the impact, some animals have legs that can break to absorb some shock and save the main organ systems. Leopard geckos are squat and fat and not among these animals. They fall on their stomachs, heads, backs, sides, etc. with nothing to absorb shock so I would assume falling is quite painful and dangerous for them.
 

chastity

New Member
Messages
111
Location
CA
i feel like a terrible person right now but i have dropped one of my younger ones. or rather she suicide dived out of my hands after months with no incident. she fell about 3-4 feet but she landed on carpet. i still felt like a jerk but they're unpredictable sometimes. fortunately she wasn't hurt at all and it scared me enough to never hold younger ones too far up, and if i do i cup them so they cant run.
 

telliott4

Member
Messages
56
Location
Georgia
One of my adult (90g) geckos jumped off of my shoulder ~5 ft. She made a splat sound, was dazed and motionless so I immediately picked her up. She was alive so I put her in the tub and was fine after a little while. Basically I would say they can take falls but not something I would intentionally try.
 

Lindz0518

Member
Messages
356
Location
Missouri
My girl is notorious for suicide dives, especially when I start to put her back in her tank, she has plopped down several inches multiple times. If I take her to another room I hold a shoebox underneath her and it has saved her several times.
 

pmkent1

Ephesians 4:1-6
Messages
305
Location
Columbus, OH
Sometimes you drop a mouse and it goes scurrying off under the couch. Other times it starts having seizures and dies. One foot or ten feet - falls are not safe for ground animals. Even a cat can have a bad fall and get hurt.

I suppose the answer is true and false. Ya, sometimes it won't kill them, but that doesn't make it safe. In the same way I can hit you with a car - you may live but that doesn't make you "hardy" enough to get hit by a car regularly.

Sounds like the breeder deserves a kick in the nuts (or girl-nuts, gender dependant). You don't tell people, or even imply, it's safe to drop an animal :(

:main_thumbsup:
 

Ghostoftangerine17

ヒョウモントカゲモドキ
Messages
335
Location
Tokyo, Japan
I don't see leopard geckos as having the correct physiology to be able to survive drastic falls (such as one from 6ft). Especially not onto a hard surface.

A nice carpet might be OK, but it isn't like leos are animals that make jumping part of their usual locomotion. Even from 3ft I'm very conscious of what I'm holding my lizard over (usually my futon) because I'm worried it will jump. Luckily I have never had one take a dive yet.

Very unusual that someone would make that claim :s
 

Ellie_A

New Member
Messages
45
Location
Saskatoon, SK
Cassi, can you PM me the name of this breeder (only if you feel comfortable sharing the information). I attend a lot of the same shows as you do and also don't want to support this person!

On the topic, I once had a baby leo jump off a table (my own fault and I felt awful) on to a concrete floor. I was watching her and she was just sitting still while I cleaned her tub and she suddenly just ran and jumped. Unfortunately I had something in each hand and couldn't catch her in time. I now clean tubs on the floor or contain the lizards in some way, lesson learned. She appeared to not even notice the fall and is still going strong. However, it is ridiculous for a breeder to suggest that they are built for it. Just by looking at their legs you can see that they are a ground dweller. Other lizards, such as water dragons, have legs that are designed for running and jumping and naturally spend a lot of time in high places such as trees, they would be much better adapted to jumping from heights (although I don't recommend dropping them either!)
 
Last edited:

cassicat4

Member
Messages
151
Location
Alberta, Canada
Ellie - PM sent!

Any time any of my animals have ever taken a fall, it's scared me half to death, even when it's the ones that can normally take falls just fine. When my water dragon was younger, for example, she bolted and jumped up on a railing. My roommate was sitting in the way and I told him not to move so I could scoop her up, but he decided to take it upon himself to try and get her instead and she freaked and jumped off the railing...6 feet down onto carpeted stairs. Of course she was perfectly fine, being that they can take large falls quite easily, but it still scared me nonetheless because all it would take is for her to land wrong (on her tail, on her head) to break something that can't cushion the fall so well. Case in point - she later injured her leg in her enclosure by falling wrong (at a distance of less than half a foot) onto her waterfall.

As for Leopard geckos...yes, my one female has taken a couple falls before and it's scared me every time, even though it was only from a few feet each time. As it is, I am much more careful with all of my animals now and whenever I have her (or most of them) out for handling, it's always done right over my bed or me sitting on my carpeted floor. I could never imagine boasting to anyone about their hardiness and saying with confidence that falls are no big deal.
 

Fatal_S

Mel's Exotics
Messages
147
Location
Winnipeg, MB
My baby skinks often try to suicide-dive. Especially newborns. They just get scared, and I guess they see the risk of diving to be less than the risk of me eating them (they do look tasty...). As they get bigger they seem to become a bit more height-smart, and I'm more willing to let them peek over edges and decide for themselves if they want to fall, but only short distances. Usually a short fall just shocks them, and they think twice about trying it again. Adults however, are usually too mellow to suicide-dive. Instead, they just wander off the edge in I never fully trust any reptile though - sometimes they just go stupid and decide that falling seems fun. And I know of skinks who've broken bones/backs falling because people trust them as shoulder-lizards :(

My leo is a complete spaz and has to be held extremely securely at all times. He has no concept of heights. He and I have reached an understanding that I'm allowed to pick him up and move him around for food-reasons, but that's it. Any prolonged holding results in him flipping out. I could see him being one of the ones who'd get maimed from even a minor falling incident.

My favourite falling story happened last year at an expo. One of my skinks was really upset about being locked in his bin (he loves biting) so when it was a bit quieter I took him out and had him on my lap. He kept trying to suicide-dive. Eventually, I decided to just let him (it was about 2 feet) so he'd learn. He leapt, bellyflopped, and seemed shocked. All normal. Back on the lap. He kept looking over the edge. Then he leapt again. Bellyflop again, back up he goes. He sat quietly for a bit, and I thought maybe he'd finally learned. Nope. He took off, went over the edge... and managed to use his tiny little legs to cushion his landing. He'd figured out how to jump safely. I was shocked. Since it didn't hurt, he took off. I had to chase him around the expo. He stayed in his bin after that. Too bloody smart -.-'
 

pilsboy

New Member
Messages
62
Location
Canada/quebec
ya talk about suicidal geckos... was in the basement yesterday with wife and kids.. maybe a little too much sounds/stress for my little male... took him/jumped on the desk where is tank is , grab him again to check if hes ok/jump down on the floor... manage to get him back.. check him real quick... putted him back in his tank.. to let him calm down... turned the light off.. got scared.. he looks ok.. hopefully no troubles will come out of it.. just gonna make sure next time i want to handle him or the others that the kids are calm.... -_-
 

proBie3

New Member
Messages
190
Location
Minnesota
I get a little scared even when I'm trying to put Echo back in the tank on top of her tree thing and she has to be stubborn and tries to get down the opposite side I'm aiming for and dropping 1 or 2 inches lol.
 

zeki692

New Member
Messages
15
Location
Indiana
This is actually How I lost my Gecko. :(

She suicide dived from my hands onto tile floor. She landed flat on her stomach, and the shock made her drop her tail and she began running. I caught her and put her back in her cage and the next day she was dead. There was a huge pool of blood on the inside of her stomach and a little had drained from her mouth. I felt so bad :(
 

Visit our friends

Top