Doing my Research on Leopard Geckos and Enigma Syndrome

It's good to have friends who are more specialized in other reptiles because then I can ask them for information. I sent pics & the videos of the female leopard gecko to my friend Chris who sent it to his friend who is an expert on Leos. She wrote back and said that the female definitely has Enigma syndrome and, on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being mild and 5 being severe), my girl has a level 4.



It's a neurological disorder caused by genetic abnormalities that show up in specialty morphs called the "Enigma" morph. So remember how I said that the specialty breeding to get Flame's colors and translucence caused his neurological disorder? Like a form of Inbreeding? Same exact thing with Enigma syndrome.

Here's an Excellent Article on it.  From that article:

What is ES?

Enigma Syndrome (ES) is a neurological disorder that affects the balance and cognition of leopard geckos.  The severity of this genetic mutation varies from relatively mild symptoms, such as: ‘star gazing’, head tilting, and occasional circling to debilitating effects such as: seizures, ‘death rolls’, and incessant circling in place (similar to diagnostic symptoms in autistic individuals).   Affected individuals with the same mutation will manifest different degrees of severity of this disorder, because of environmental factors and their individual genotype.

Environmental stressors such as bunking with an aggressive cage-mate, being vacuumed up by a distracted breeder, or just the normal rigors of shipping can be enough trauma to activate this syndrome.  Enigma Syndrome is a misnomer, as all morphs are susceptible to this disorder; however, it is more prevalent in the Enigma morph.  Balance disorders seen in non-enigma morphs may, in fact, be one and the same disorder.

Stress activates the neurological disorder which is why the female is worse when I'm cleaning her wounds and such. It can't be fixed. She'll always have it and we can only lessen it by keeping her in a calm, stress-free environment.

UGH. It reminds me of something I've said many times-- just because you CAN breed certain morphs doesn't mean you SHOULD!

I have a "Fancy" bearded dragon morph that has constant tremors. I have a "Specialty" morph leopard gecko that has serious balance disorders. I have a purebred Maltese dog that has terrible hips and knees because of her specific genes. Genetic specificity (I made that up just now and don't know if it's an actual thing) can create a whole host of problems. It's like diving in the shallow end of the gene pool. :(

Muscle & Neurological Problems

Years ago, when I first started rescuing, I took in Squiggy and thought his lack of coordination and poor muscle control were caused by MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease).

But as I've gained more experience and rescued more bearded dragons, I'm realizing that something else was going on with him. I've rescued (or help rescue) almost a dozen beardies who have this same issue. It's like Muscular Dystrophy for dragons. I've even chatted with my vet about it, and there's not on the vet literature sites yet. I imagine it will be.

Unfortunately, most of the rescues with this problem come to us without a good history so it's hard to pinpoint what is the cause. I know of one beardie who was the only survivor of his clutch after they all ate poisoned crickets; she had this problem badly. The rest appear to be genetically messed up through poor breeding practices. There is no fix, no tests to run, no medicine to give. It is permanent. You can help them gain a bit more strength through swimming, but there's not much else you can do. They often are malnourished because they can't chase their insects down.


My rescue partner and I have taken in two beardies recently with this problem. Let me tell you about them.

This is Tristan, a juvenile beardie who is slowly learning to control his limbs enough to chase food. It's sweet and tragic at the same time to watch him. He's come a LONG way with my rescue partner who has him swim in the bath to gain arm & leg strength.  It's hard to say how much more he will grow.

This is Harry. He was "Found" in a neighborhood near here. When we watched him walk, we realized there was NO way that he escaped. He had to have been dumped. Poor thing. He's really struggling to walk. We have to tong feed him so he can catch the roaches. :(  He is fully grown, but because we have no history, we don't know if he has always had spastic muscles or if he recently developed it.

Eventually, we will be looking for special homes for these two. They will always need a great deal of care because of their muscles, including handfeeding. I suspect they will have shortened lifespans if their conditions continue to deteriorate. If you are interested in adopting a very special needs dragon, please contact me using the form to the right side of my blog. I can discuss the possibility with you.

New Girl, rescue 107

I picked up this 4 year old female yesterday. She was in better shape than I feared. 

Today I took her to my vet who was puzzled by her. She appears to have no perception of her limbs and where they arare at. Her legs and arms flap around when she's moving (sometimes even going backwards). 

There appears to be some sort of neurological damage that is preventing her from having total limb control. 

Because we have no history on her, I'll have to watch her for awhile to see if her problems are really impacting her quality of life. 

She does eat great and doesn't have any problems catching her food. She's underweight, but I can get her fattened up quickly. 

I'm still trying to think of a name for her. Would it be rude to call her Gumby? ;)