In mid-October, Ellen Rutz received a frantic call from her sister in Germany. She’d stumbled upon a leopard gecko left alone in a park — a pet lizard who clearly didn’t belong in the chilly outdoors. The little reptile was weak, cold, and in desperate need of help.
“I told her to take him, stopped work and drove there,” Rutz told The Dodo.
When she arrived, Rutz was heartbroken. The gecko, later named Leo, was so frail that she doubted he’d survive the night. With veterinary offices closed for the weekend, she brought him home and did what she could.
“His condition was so bad, I wasn’t sure he would make it through the night,” Rutz said. “He was too weak to drink by himself, so I offered him water drops from my finger. He refused to eat.”
To her relief, by the next morning Leo seemed just a little stronger. With patience, she coaxed him to eat — gently feeding him with tweezers since he couldn’t manage on his own. She searched for an owner who might have lost him, but no one came forward. That’s when Rutz decided: Leo had found his new home.
She threw herself into his care, creating the warm environment he needed to heal. Daily baths soothed him, proper heat lamps restored his strength, and consistent love gave him the chance to recover. Two months later, the transformation was stunning.
“He has a healthy weight, his colors are coming back and he just acts like a normal leopard gecko,” Rutz said.
Now fully recovered, Leo’s personality shines. Curious and lively, he’s fascinated by everything around him — and his new mom couldn’t be happier to watch him thrive.
Thanks to one act of compassion, a fragile abandoned gecko not only survived but found a forever family.
You can follow Leo’s adventures on TikTok.
