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Runtly is exactly that- my little runt. I purchased her from Evergreen Reptiles on 9/26/04. She was hatched there on 5/11/04.
When I went to the Unique Animal Expo on 9/25/04, I went to the Evergreen Reptiles table, and oogled away at the leos they
had. Two in particular caught my eye. One was a healthy little girl. The other was a little 'boy' who was two months her
senior, and smaller than she was! I talked to Brice Logan (the owner), and he told me that the little guy had been eating,
but wouldn't eat enough to really grow. I decided to try and block out the instinctive liking i felt for the little guy,
bought the girl (Gamble), and went home. That night, though I was thrilled with Gamble, I kept thinking about the tiny Runt.
The next day, there I was again- I ran right over to their table and bought the tiny guy. Once I got home with him, I discovered
that his little jaw was slightly deformed (perhaps why I was so charmed by his smile). I'm guessing it's from not having
eaten enough. But the story is a happy one- I housed 'him' alone, and spoiled him with all kinds of prey items, all the time.
Soon enough, he caught up with Gamble, and has reached a respectable size. Runtly is close to being 'speckled,' and has
a slightly lighter background than his half-sister. S/he is also possibly het for blizzard and Tremper albino.
This first set of photos (including the one above) was taken on 11/16/05, when s/he was 45g.
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In terms of personality, Runtly is a real gem. I can tell that, if s/he were a person, s/he'd be very soft-spoken. Runtly's
sweet, and a little shy. S/he's not very out-going, but still friendly. Now the suprise part- though Runtly was a temp-sexed
male, I have yet to notice any hemipenes. I suspect "he's" a female. To have a tsm turn out to be female is rather
rare. I do wonder if her/his lack of nutrition in the early months led to some sort of stalling of sexual development. Either
way, I'm going to wait to house Runtly with anyone else until I'm sure. S/he will not be bred.
| Runtly's baby picture! |
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| Photo copyrighted to Evergreen Reptiles. Used with permission. |
**10/28/07** When I took all of my geckos in for a check-up recently, the vet suggested that Runtly's jaw was more likely
a congenital issue than a result of nutritional problems. It was also officially confirmed that Runtly is female.
Shortly
after the vet visit, she started laying the most gorgeous looking slugs you ever did see. What a pain! Here I have a gorgeous
gecko, laying eggs without me even asking, and she's too deformed to ethically breed! Sheesh!
| Runtly's Mother |
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| Photo copyrighted to Evergreen Reptiles. Used with permission. |
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| Runtly's Father |
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| Photo copyrighted to Evergreen Reptiles. Used with permission. |
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| Runtly's Common Grandmother |
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| Photo copyrighted to Evergreen Reptiles. Used with permission. |
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| Runtly's Common Grandfather |
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| Photo copyrighted to Evergreen Reptiles. Used with permission. |
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Muftin Geckos * Portland * OR * USA
All photos and text copyright Marla Blaney 2011
(except where explicitly specified)
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