Baby leopard gecko. Help!

Question
Hi, I accidentally dropped my leopard gecko in the vent and I don't know how to get it out. I've tried crickets, mealworms nothings working.

Answer
Hi Alexandra,

Oh dear, that was a terrible bit of bad luck. I'm very familiar with leopard geckos but less familiar with vents and ducts but I'll try to help.

I doubt that he would be able to crawl back out on his own even if he wanted to. The inside surface of the duct is likely much too smooth for him to get enough traction on. He is likely sitting inside along the horizontal part of the duct. Leopards hunt by sight rather then scent so if you placed the insects outside the vent in an attempt to lure him then it is doubtful that he even knows they are there.    

I'm am picturing the vent dropping straight down into a duct which I assume then travels horizontally toward the furnace. It is difficult for leopards to climb straight up but if you could remove the vent cover and place something with a rough texture (like a piece of wood with rough bark) on an angle in the vent opening he might be able to use that. Of course, you would have to put some type of container over the vent opening to keep him from then just being loose and lost in your house!

If this is a house where you have access to the basement and the ducts are exposed then the easiet thing would probably be to disconnect them at one or two spots where they are horizontal. With any luck you might just be able to bend the duct down a bit and shake him out!
You may have to ask at one of the big Home Depot type stores how to reconnect them but I don't think that is very complicated or dfficult.

Good luck, I know it must be terrible to think of him being down there somewhere.