How Much Does It Cost to Euthanize a Leopard Gecko?

Euthanizing a leopard gecko isn’t something that any owner wants to go through but unfortunately, it happens. It’s never an easy time in an owner’s life when they have to make the decision to do so, but despite how hard it can be to do, it’s much better than just letting your leopard gecko suffer until they eventually meet their fate on their own. That said, here’s how much it can cost.

How much does it cost to euthanize a leopard gecko? Honestly, the price it costs to euthanize a leopard gecko depends on the veterinarian you call to. But, you can expect to spend anywhere between $40 to $80 at most vets to have it done.

While $40 to $80 isn’t a ton of money, for a lot of people, it’s definitely not chump change. If you don’t have the cash, then borrowing it or picking up a quick side job should be something to consider so that your leopard gecko no longer has to suffer. It’s unfortunate that it costs so much to have our leo’s put down, but for their own sake, it has to be done. Read on for more info.

Check If It’s Treatable

If you have the funds, first check if the reason you want to euthanize your leopard gecko is treatable first before you follow through with it. Leopard geckos pass away every day from different injuries and diseases but sometimes, some of the things they catch or sustain can be treated if you caught quickly enough.

The best way to check if the problem can be treated is to visit a herp veterinarian. If you’re not sure what a herp veterinarian is, then it’s a vet that specializes in caring for exotic animals like leopard geckos.

Here in my city, we don’t have a herp vet nearby. But, depending on where you live, you might just have one in your town and not even know it. Before traveling to the vet closest to you, call them first or check out their website to make sure they care for exotic animals.

The reason you want to do this is because regular veterinarians aren’t educated in caring for reptiles such as leopard geckos, so you’ll want to make sure you know where you’re going so that you don’t accidentally end up driving a long distance just to find out that you’ve visited the wrong type of vet.

If your leopard gecko does happen to have something wrong with them that’s treatable and you don’t have the full amount of cash to treat them at the moment, keep in mind that some vets offer payment plans so that you don’t have to pay for the bill all at once.

Veterinarian bills a lot of the time aren’t cheap, so if possible, get on a payment plan so that you’re not losing a large chunk of money at once or if you just simply don’t have the money at the time.

If getting on a payment plan isn’t an option then at that point, you’ll have no choice but to euthanize them even if the issues they’re having are treatable due to the obvious fact that vets won’t work for free.

Also, before visiting the vet, call around to a few of them, explain the issues you’re having with your leopard gecko and get quotes to compare prices so that you can go with the one that costs the least amount of money.

In addition to that, check the reviews for the vet you plan on visiting as well so that you can verify whether or not they take good care of other people’s reptiles. Veterinarians take care of pets for a living, but you’d be surprised how many of them don’t care about the safety of your pet when brought in.

Most people who take their leopard gecko to the vet have good experiences, but even though this may be true, it’s always good to be safe than sorry when handing your reptile off to any business or person.

Vets can be just like some doctors. Even though they’re professional, some aren’t and simply don’t know how to treat the patient or in the case that you’re going to a vet, your exotic animal.

Don’t Do It Yourself

Because the price to put a leopard gecko down is quite a bit for a lot of owners out there, the temptation to try and do it ourselves creeps in so that we don’t have to worry about coming out of pocket or figuring out a way to get the money just so we can have our lizards put to sleep.

There are many ways to put down a leopard gecko that people on the internet have suggested but from what I’ve seen, almost none of the ways I’ve run across are humane and in fact, some of them are actually very cruel.

For that reason, I don’t suggest trying to ‘euthanize’ your leopard gecko yourself. Euthanization is painless, clean, and fast. But a lot of the ways that people have recommended as an alternative are not.

That said, it’s best to just spend the money so that you can put your leopard gecko down the right way. Leopard geckos don’t have emotions, but they do feel pain, so that is likely what they’ll experience if you try and put your leopard gecko down yourself.

I’ve seen people recommend running over, freezing, and even smashing their lizards as an alternative to taking them to the vet and honestly, it’s bothersome how some owners can bring themselves to do that whether it’s quick or not.

Sell Something You Don’t Use or Need Anymore

In addition to picking up a quick side job or borrowing the money from a friend or family member, selling something that you don’t use very often anymore might be another thing to consider if the other two options just don’t end up working out.

You could sell old clothes, video games that you don’t play anymore, old jewelry to a pawn shop, or almost anything else of value that will give you enough to properly put your leopard gecko down.

I understand that most people probably don’t want to go through the hassle of searching for things to sell just to get money to euthanize their leopard geckos, but if you really love and care for your gecko then doing so shouldn’t be a problem.

Before you sell anything though, be sure to call your local herp veterinarian and check to see how much it will cost to put them down so that you know exactly how much you need before selling your things.

If you’re lucky, you might even be able to sell the tank that your leopard gecko was housed in for the money so that you’re not losing any of your personal possessions. If you plan on buying another leopard gecko in the future then selling your tank is probably not the best idea, but if you don’t have plans to, then getting rid of it only makes sense.

There’s no point in having a tank if you’re never going to use it again. After you’ve figured out what you want to sell and you have a price for all of the items you plan on getting rid of, post your things online and maybe even in the advertising section in the newspaper so that you can get what you want to sell in front of people’s eyes as soon as possible.

Aside from putting your items in the paper, sites like Craigslist and eBay are also two very great places for people looking to buy items a little cheaper than what they’re being sold for brand new. Not everyone has a ton of disposable cash, so selling something you don’t need or picking up a few odd jobs should give you enough to euthanize your leopard gecko humanely.

Conclusion

Euthanizing a leopard gecko isn’t extremely expensive but for a lot of people, it’s not cheap either. You’ll find that there are many suggested ways to euthanize your lizard at home posted in online forums and on sites like Reddit but unfortunately, a lot of these ways are extremely inhumane.

On top of that, for those who have an emotional connection with their lizard, euthanizing them yourself can prove to be quite difficult once it comes time to do it.

Between selling old items that you don’t use anymore, picking up a few odd jobs or offering a service to someone in exchange for a little bit of cash, it’s very likely that you will find the money to put your leopard gecko down the right way in no time.

Unfortunately, people like me don’t have herp vets nearby. So once it comes time to actually take your lizard to the vet to be put down, keep in mind that you may have to do a little bit of traveling to get there.

Herp vets will sometimes be located in your city, located 30 minutes away, or sometimes even hours away depending on where you live. If you have a true connection with your leopard gecko though and you want to end their suffering the right and humane way, making a trip like that shouldn’t be an issue.