Enigma syndrome is a neurological disorder that is prevalent in Enigma morph as well as Enigma crosses of leopard geckos. Enigma syndrome, or ES is not curable an is an effect of breeding two leopard geckos, in which at least one parent is affected or is a carrier of the dominant gene. The severity of an Enigma Syndrome can be different in each affected leopard gecko. Both male and female leopard geckos can be affected.
In this post, we will discuss what Enigma Syndrome in a leopard gecko is, what are symptoms of ES, how it is inherited and how to care for a leopard gecko with ES.
What are the symptoms of Enigma Syndrome in leopard geckos?
- Going around in circles until interrupted
- Poor coordination, unsteady walking
- Problems with catching insects (even when they are close), removing its shedding own skin or accessing the vent for licking
- Head tilting and bobbing, ‘going backwards and looking around’, when standing or walking
- Seizures
- Less defensive behavior, making them seem more friendly
- Stargazing and staring
- Twitching
- Falling and laying on the back
- Death rolls, especially when you pick up a leopard gecko
- Worsening of symptoms when a leopard gecko is stressed
Enigma syndrome (ES) in leopard geckos can be compared to autism in people, because severity of the disorder is different, and severely affected leopard geckos cannot hunt themselves and make lots of repetitive motions/behavior.
Please remember that not all leopard geckos that show these behaviors will suffer from Enigma Syndrome. Sometimes, leopard geckos can be stargazing or laying in different spots, but they are healthy.
If the symptoms persist, then the chance of ES is higher. Below you can watch a video of a leopard gecko showing ES symptoms.
How serious can ES symptoms be? Is Enigma Syndrome deadly?
Most mild to moderate symptoms will not cause the death of a leopard gecko. But however, leopard geckos with a homozygous genotype (both dominant genes inherited) are likely to die before hatching.
Some leopard geckos will also have very severe symptoms, that will make them very weak (eating, digestion etc.) that will eventually lead to death. This is why this syndrome is serious.
How is Enigma Syndrome inherited in leopard geckos?
Enigma syndrome is passed with affected genes to the offspring. ES can be both mild (if a leopard gecko is heterozygous) or severe (homozygous). Leopard geckos with very mild symptoms can be still carriers, so that is why it is not recommended to breed two Enigmas unless they are perfectly healthy.
Let’s discuss it in more detail. Enigma syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder, which means that only one dominant gene will override a recessive gene and cause a disorder. Some leopard geckos that are carriers of the gene will have no symptoms, but which can worsen due to stress.
For example, you breed two enigmas, and both mother and father and are gene carriers (they might or might not have severe symptoms). We will do the math: Father is Aa (A – dominant gene and a – recessive gene), and Mother is also Aa. If they have offspring, babies can have genotypes of AA, Aa, Aa and aa.
So, because A is dominant, 3 out of 4 offspring will have a disorder (75%). This is very high. The babies that have a genotype of AA will be severely affected and are probably going to die before hatching.
How can you help fight enigma syndrome?
Even you can help fight the Enigma Syndrome disorder if you have a leopard gecko that has this syndrome. Don’t breed Enigma leopard geckos at all as they might be carriers and not show any symptoms for years.
Breeding your ES leopard gecko increases the risk of affected offspring, and spreading of these genes. Due to breeding interest and mixing of different morphs, ES has been spread significantly without breeders thinking much about it.
Many irresponsible breeders try to create new beautiful morphs to make money, and compromise on well being of leopard geckos.
There is nothing wrong with leopard geckos that have Enigma syndrome, and you can keep them and care for them! But breeding them will spread the genes and will only make more leopard geckos suffer.
This especially applies to breeders that plan to sell their leopard geckos. Affected genes can be passed even if you breed enigma and any other morph. If we don’t start thinking about responsible breeding, leopard gecko market will suffer.
What is more, make sure not to support irresponsible breeders. If you want to buy a leopard gecko, especially an enigma or enigma cross, make sure that the leopard gecko is not showing any symptoms of the disorder.
If a breeder is honest and reduces the price, you can get a leopard gecko with ES (mild or severe). But again, be responsible and don’t breed an affected leopard gecko with others! Leopard geckos with ES can still produce offspring.
Even if your Enigma morph leopard gecko is not showing any symptoms, don’t breed it with other Enigmas or related leopard geckos. This is because they can carry the genes which are in the silent mode, but can be passed to the offspring.
Planning to get an enigma morph leopard gecko?
If you decide to buy an enigma or enigma cross morph leopard gecko for future breeding, it can be a good idea to buy a baby leopard gecko. This way you will be able to watch its behaviors and understand if it has ES.
However, in general, it’s a good idea not to breed two Enigmas as they can be carriers even with no symptoms. But if you want it just for yourself, getting a juvenile might be better because the breeder will already know if it has the ES.
You should always ask your breeder if the leopard gecko is affected before buying. And this also applies to other morphs, or cross Enigma morphs. These are Mack Snow Enigmas, Tremper Albino Enigma, Tangerine Enigma and more. By asking straight away, you can make right decisions.
But remember, that babies might not show any symptoms, so the breeder might not know if the leopard gecko is affected (only if a breeder is responsible and bred two perfectly healthy Enigmas or crosses).
But if the breeder is irresponsible and only wants to make money, he/she might have bred one affected and one normal leopard geckos. Or even two affected leopard geckos. In these cases, inheritance rate is very high.
Care for leopard geckos with Enigma Syndrome
Tip 1
It is highly advised to house leopard geckos with ES alone. This is because they are more vulnerable and have trouble eating, and other leopard geckos can bully affected leopard gecko and cause it stress.
Tip 2
Stress will worsen the ES symptoms in your leopard gecko, so try to avoid it fully.
Tip 3
Don’t handle a leopard gecko with ES too often, even though it will be friendly and confident due to a disorder.
Tip 4
Don’t have any loud music or TV around your leopard gecko’s tank.
Tip 5
It can be a good idea to cover some sides of the terrarium so your leopard gecko can’t see other animals/passing people that can cause it stress; You can also have a background picture.
Tip 6
Train your leopard gecko to eat from tongs. This way you can feed it with tongs if the symptoms worsen. If your leopard gecko can’t properly hunt, it will be getting tired too quickly and will eat less.
Force feeding might be needed if your leopard geckos can’t eat and is getting skinny.
Tip 7
Don’t have any bright UVB or other lights in the tank.
Tip 8
Provide a healthy diet and make sure to supplement it. Supplementation could play an important role in ES. Under supplementation could cause stress, hence worsening of the symptoms.
Tip 9
Have a simple setup, don’t include any high branches as they can fall from them. Include at least 3 hideouts.
Tip 10
Don’t transport your leopard gecko unless very necessary, as it will cause lots of stress.
Tip 11
Some affected leopard geckos won’t like the sensation of water or water droplets. In this case, don’t bathe it and don’t have water droplets on the substrate. It can be a good idea to have paper towels or tiles as a substrate.
Tip 12
Even if your female Enigma leopard geckos doesn’t show symptoms, don’t breed her as her symptoms might appear after breeding. Breeding is very stressful.
Read more about optimal lighting, heating and humidity in a leopard gecko’s tank in this post.
Enigma syndrome in leopard geckos still needs further research. Each leopard gecko owner and especially breeders need to breed their leopard geckos carefully (all Enigmas and enigma crosses) to prevent spread of these genes.
Only time will show the results of crossing various morphs, and hopefully one day, we will be able to wipe out these unwanted genes that make leopard geckos suffer.