[Michelle C.]

I have a 4-year-old fattie the just went through his first really bad shed. In fact, I didn't get to one of his little toes in time. I feel terrible about that. But I picked him up tonight and noticed a rough line going down the bottom of his tail. It looks like a long sore or scab. The rest of his tail is a little pinkish, like it's raw. Could this be from the shed? He also has a little skin left on his face. I've been doing warm dips to help the skin off the toes and face.

He's on paper towels only.
Eats crickets dusted with calcium and vitamins.
Tank stays in the correct temp range.

Nothing's changed in forever. I can't figure out why the bad shed and the sore under his tail. And I'm a very worried mama.

Thanks for any advice!

[Saille]

Sorry to hear about this! Can you post pics of his tail? Do you ever feed him anything besides crickets?

[MPLexus301]

It also sounds to me like you may need to bump up the humidity in his cage a bit. Do you ever spray it down? Is his water bowl full? Does he have a moist hide box?

A gecko should be able to completely shed on his own if the humidity is right. I keep my animals on coconut fiber substrate but know that paper towels can dry out very quickly- often only a matter of hours. I would probably recommend misting his cage down every evening since your substrate does not hold water or moisture very well. He should shed much easier with this. If you don't have a moist hide for him right now, let us know and we can tell you how to create one for him.

Good luck.