Bubbles under skin?

AlexaG

AlexaG

New member
Hey all, I was just wondering if any one can help me with this new issue;
I've had my Tangerine carrot-tail baldy for about 3 years now. And she has shed countless times with out any issues.

However, this morning while I was washing out their dishes and replacing them with new ones, I realized she was in mid shed. The skin that was peeling off her was dry and brittle, so I assume it has been "flaking" off for a while. Also, my boyfriend mentioned that when he was feeding them last night that she was in shed...so I assume she has been in shed for a while...

Then I decided to pick her up, and put her in a small deli cup with some warm water in it. It usually helps with the shedding, but she wiggled out of my hands before I got her out of the tank. When I reached in a second time to get her, she nipped at me several times. I finally managed to get a good hold on her and placed her into the deli cup.

Thats when I realized, where she had already shed, there were bubbles underneath the skin. So the newer "fresh" skin had bubbles(blisters?) underneath it. They're behind her two front legs...

So I let her soak in the water for a few minutes...I removed her carefully and placed her back in her cage. She ran straight for the hide.

I checked on her a couple of hours ago; she had shed fully but the bubbles were still there...Help please? I might take her to a vet tomorrow if they dont go away... :[ Shes usually timid and sweet and gives me little gecko kisses when i pick her up...but she acted so strangely...I hope she isn't in too much pain.

I will post pictures if anyone needs them. Thank you so much!!
 
EBH

EBH

New member
Allee Toler said:
Do they look like this? http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...-eublepharis/43473-weird-bump-gecko-help.html

If yes, then they're calcium deposits. Simply stop dusting with calcium for a few days and they'll go away.
Click to expand...

Is it fat, calcium or water??
Fat should be yellow and calcium should be solid (and white). Inside is a clear liquid... Can it be a water storage? I think yes, but what do you all think???

( I've never seen in on a gecko who has no water for a few days)
 
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Allee Toler

Allee Toler

Member
I give water to my geckos daily, and from personal experience (and others' on this, and many forums) removing the calcium dish and not dusting calcium for a few days makes them go away. I have never once removed their water dish. I do not believe it's a water "pocket". Because removing the calcium from the diet results in the "bubble" going away, I'd have to say it's pretty solid evidence that they're directly related.
 
EBH

EBH

New member
Allee Toler said:
I give water to my geckos daily, and from personal experience (and others' on this, and many forums) removing the calcium dish and not dusting calcium for a few days makes them go away. I have never once removed their water dish. I do not believe it's a water "pocket". Because removing the calcium from the diet results in the "bubble" going away, I'd have to say it's pretty solid evidence that they're directly related.
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It would be nice to know how it works... Yes, it looks like there is some relation...
But i think it's still strange the fluid is clear as water... (?)
 
Allee Toler

Allee Toler

Member
Calcium when dissolved goes clear, at least that's what happens when I put powder calcium into my special needs' water bowl. You can't even tell it's there, because it dissolves.
 
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geckoluv0816

New member
Plz help!!

I am having the same problem with my leopard gecko, I've had him for just over a month and noticed about a week ago a bubble under his armpit, just like the pictures I have seen on this site. The first thing I did was look up solutions. I've tried not dusting with the calcium because that was one of the most common answers but unfortunately, the bubble has not gone down at all, and its been more than a few days with no change. Please note that I currently have Vita-Sand Sonoran White in his tank right now and that includes calcium in it, should I change this? I am wondering if it could be a fatty bubble, and have heard that this is good from a few articles I've read. I am willing to try putting my gecko on a diet to see if the bubble will go away at all. Has anyone gone to a vet for this sort of problem? That will be my next step if nothing works. Also wondering how expensive that trip is going to be...

If anyone has any suggestions or advice, anything at all...PLEASE HELP!!!
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
I responded on the other thread you posted. First get rid of the sand. It might be contributing to the problem. Please respond to the other thread.
 
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SamanthaLovely

New member
I have a chubby orange leo who's "bubbles" haven't ever gone away. I've had her since December. Is it bad if they never go away? I cut down on the dusting but I figured since she's just all over chubby that it's not a problem.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
SamanthaLovely said:
I have a chubby orange leo who's "bubbles" haven't ever gone away. I've had her since December. Is it bad if they never go away? I cut down on the dusting but I figured since she's just all over chubby that it's not a problem.
Click to expand...

I am not sure what you chubby means to you. Some people say chubby and in reality the geck is overweight and that itself can cause future health problems along with shortened life span. It can be a combination of things, not necessarily just supplements. Temperature being too low can lead to slow digestion and so your gecko will accumulate more fat. Fatty diet can contribute as well.
 
Mardy

Mardy

New member
They are actually protein bubbles. Few people have had them tested, and they came out to be liquid protein. To reduce the bubbles you mostly just have to cut back on feeding and/or supplementing. Overfeeding and over-supplementing are the most common cause of it.

If you have a breeder female then this is somewhat of a common and natural occurrence. Reason being that female breeders tend to overfeed prior to the breeding season in anticipation for the extra nutrients they need to develop eggs. So having female breeders pig out and seeing the bubbles develop should not be alarming.

But overall if you have a chubby gecko, and by chubby you can tell the size of their tail and how proportionate it is. If you have a gecko with a large fat tail + protein bubbles, then chances are you are overfeeding and over-supplementing it. Cut back on the amount you feed and reduce the number of times you dust with multivitamin dust will really help. The bubbles won't disappear overnight, it'll take some time.

And yes, please do stop using sand, especially vita-sand.
 
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geckoluv0816

New member
Response to cricket4u

Gender: Not Sure
Age: Not sure, was not told how old it was when I bought it but I have had it for about a month
Weight: Do not have the materials needed to weigh it
How big was the reptile when you first acquired it? Does not look that much bigger than when I got him, tried to show pictures but not sure how to upload from my computer
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner): Pet Store
Captive bred or wild caught? Captive Bred

Enclosure:

Cage: type, size: 10 gallon tank
Substrate provided? Vita-Sand but will be changing it to Play Sand
What types of hiding places are provided? Small cave like shelter
Is there a humidity hide? Yes, but I was told it’s not necessary, please tell me your thoughts on this
Please describe any other furnishings: Small tree

Lighting:

Artificial lighting?
incandescent (“screw-in” bulbs): wattage(s) ? 50W Red infrared light
fluorescent (tube bulbs)?

Temperature:

Do you have a thermometer(s) in the cage? what type? Aquarium thermometers that stick to tank, one on each side

What is the temperature in the warmest part of the cage? In the coolest part? The warmest part is about 80 degrees and the coolest part is about 70 degrees, I have been wanting to buy an under the tank heater to increase the temperature, but have heard good and bad things about them, please tell me your thoughts
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature? Red light heating lamp 50W


Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much? No

Humidity:

Is the humidity measured? No, please explain how I would do that


Diet:

Insects, list type? Meal worms
Are they “gut loaded” or dusted before feeding to your reptile? Dusted
How often do you feed your reptile? Meal worms are in dish at all times, fed once a day as recommended
Please list any supplements used. How are they given and how often? Was using the calcium powder Repti-Calcium with D3 as recommended by pet store
Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet:

Looking at these questions I feel like there are a lot of things that I was not told at the pet store. I asked them specifically what I would need (they gave me the vita-sand and a regular UV light which I learned wasn’t right for leopard geckos and it would stress them out which is why I bought the red light) I have done a lot of my own research online to try to figure out the ideal environment. Your help with this is greatly appreciated.
 
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geckoluv0816

New member
pictures

here are the pictures, the one with the red light in it is just after I got him, and the other two were taken today, sorry for the quality, they were taken with my cell phone and I had to shrink them to upload them onto here
 

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cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
You have too many mistakes to correct, so save yourself the stress and future vet bill and just forget about using sand completely.

1) I recommend you buy at least a 20 gallon. A 10 gallon is too small and almost impossible to achieve an ideal gradient.

2) Leopard geckos first heating source should come from underneath. Buy a UTH and a thermostat to control the temperature.

3) Your gecko needs a total of 3 hides(absolute mimimum) one in each end of the gradient including a humidity hide.

4) You need at least a thermometer with a probe to read the surface temps accurately.

5) Temp: 75 cool side- 85 air temp, Belly heat (surface temp) in the warm end 90-95 for proper digestion.

6) You need a hygrometer to measure humidity, It's not a must, but I recommend it. Levels of 40-45 will help keep your gecko hydrated and reduce shedding problems.

7) You gecko needs plain calcium, calcium w/d3, and multivitamins.

Mealworms are too fatty and should not be fed as a stable. In reality they should never have to live off of one insect. Variety is the key to good health!

It is important to your geckos health that you make all these adjustments and you will not see decrease of pockets unless all these mistakes are corrected. There is more specific information on the caresheet provided in this link. Please update us after you make all these corrections. :)

http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...dations-nutshell-19-february-2012-update.html
 
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cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Please feel free and chime in everyone. I do not own the website:biggrin: You can use the questionnaire if you wish.
 
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SamanthaLovely

New member
cricket4u said:
I am not sure what you chubby means to you. Some people say chubby and in reality the geck is overweight and that itself can cause future health problems along with shortened life span. It can be a combination of things, not necessarily just supplements. Temperature being too low can lead to slow digestion and so your gecko will accumulate more fat. Fatty diet can contribute as well.
Click to expand...

I just weighed her and she's at 60 grams. I call her chubby in comparison to my regular morph. She has the biggest tail I've seen on a gecko in person. And her fatty pockets have been there since I got her 4 months ago. I've been feeding them just crickets until now because they wouldn't have anything else but they seem to like horn worms and I'm going to try silk worms tonight.
 
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