nadine's indo-pacific house gecko

[nadinelovesgeckos]

Hello GU. I am new to GU and collecting geckos. My cat brought me my indo-pacific house gecko when it was about the size of a dime. The little girl has grown almost triple that and is going through her first shedding. She seems to be less active than normal, but I have heard they do that. I am concerned though because it seems to be taking her a long time to get all the shed skin off of her feet. Is this normal? How long does the shedding process take? Should I be looking for anything?
She seems to still be eating, just not as much, and she is drinking normal. Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks.

 

[thorrshamri]

Hello GU. I am new to GU and collecting geckos. My cat brought me my indo-pacific house gecko when it was about the size of a dime. The little girl has grown almost triple that and is going through her first shedding. She seems to be less active than normal, but I have heard they do that. I am concerned though because it seems to be taking her a long time to get all the shed skin off of her feet. Is this normal? How long does the shedding process take? Should I be looking for anything?
She seems to still be eating, just not as much, and she is drinking normal. Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks.

First, a hearty welcome to GU from over the pond.
All geckos shed within a few hours. These remains of shed skin on her feet are typical of a lack of humidity in her environment. Do you keep her in a glass enclosure? If so, I would recommend to use a spraying bottle and spray at least every other day. Live plants also help to keep the humidity up, though you have to be careful. Many garden centers use chemicals on plants and they have to be rinsed thoroughly with clear water prior to being put inside a gecko vivarium. My last hint would be: geckos need more or less rough surfaces such as bark (cork oak bark is perfect, avoid bark from cedars and pines as it is toxic to reptiles) to help tearing their skin during the shedding process. Some rough branches of f.e. oak or fruit trees would also help. Avoid willow tree, it is also toxic to reptiles

Hervé

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Welcome to Geckos Unlimited! "One gecko is only the beginning......":biggrin:

 

[nadinelovesgeckos]

Thank you Herve for your help. I do have her in a glass enclosure with a medium/small plant as well as several hides and branches, moss, ext.. She seems to like it best, eats well, very active, when I keep the temp. around 72-80. I usually spray the inside of her enclosure twice a day and keep the humidity around 70-80 also. She does not like to be sprayed directly but after reading your post I did spray her a little before she ran and hid. I use bottled water with no added chemical in it for her sprayer. The other day she got her first mealworm which she seemed to enjoy, but i usually feed her crickets or small, white, lawn moths.(which she LOVES) It is no longer moth season though so I had to get a substitute that she'll eat. My cat caught her and since she was so small I decided to see if I could keep her. I have had her for about 6 months now and she is doing great. We live in Florida and there are several types of Geckos here on the walls at night but they are usually Meditaraniun House Gecko's. Indy is a Indo-Pacific House gecko, which is why I named her Indy.

 

[thorrshamri]

Nice. Just avoid mealworms, they are too chitinous, contain too much fat and lots of phosphore, thus they are really not the best food for geckos. I would suggest a cricket-based diet only, provided you gutload the crickets with a variety of greens, veg and fruit 24 hour or more before feeding them to your gecko.

Everything else seems fine, have you tried to use a small basking spot to have a very localized point at 85°F inside the enclosure? According to the species original range, I am just surprised your Indo-pacific geckos would not like to bask under higher temps than the actual 72-80°F range

Hervé

 

[nadinelovesgeckos]

I usually feed Indy gut loaded crickets. (actually the whole cricket diet is very healthy-they get Blue cat food and fruits and veggies) From what I have read the Indo-pacific House Gecko does not bask and is nocternal. She certainly does not like day time and hides until nioght where I can then usually check on her when she hangs face down from the side of her enclosure. I was suprised that she didn't want it warmer because they are tropical, but I thought maybe she was cycling to their habitat here in Fl which is warm during the day and cold at night this time of year. She seems more stimulated in cooler temps??? There is not alot of information that I have found regarding the care of Indo-pacific House Geckos so I have been reading tons about Geckos that live in the same climate types. Through some trial and error though we are getting it together.(I think since she was a newborn when I "rescued her" it made her more tollerant. lol) I wish I could find a place to buy lawn moths because those are her favorite, but I am having no luck. I would like to give her a variety in her diet like she would eat in the wild. I do not think she eats too many crickets in the wild since she hangs from the top of walls to eat but that is the only consistant feed food that seems to have the most beneficial effects, so I feed her mostly those. Any other feeding ideas would be most welcome???? I have heard that certain insects she can not digest so I have been cautious of what I give her. Any ideas????

 

[nadinelovesgeckos]

I have provided Indy with a basking spot but I have seen no evidence that she ever has used it. I also use a glow light that is suppose to simulate the light from the moon since she is nocternal. Thank you everyone for your help.

 

[thorrshamri]

Well these geckos have a HUGE range in the wild, so yours may come from a cooler area than other specimens. This must be the explanation
As for alternative feeder insects: silverfishes, which are very easy to breed -I will give you some tips if you can find a starting colony.
I would also think about the first (small) stages of "red runner" roaches (B. lateralis) which also breed very well. Same, I can provide info about breeding these insects fairly easily.
Small silkworms might work well too, contrary to most other worms and caterpillars, they are properly balanced for the geckos' nutritional needs.
Now I would advise more to use insects from insect breeders or pet shops rather than insects collected in the wild- you never know if and how far they have been exposed to pesticides and other harmful substances. If ever there are termites in your area, many small geckos love them, but you might not want to bring some in your house

 

[nadinelovesgeckos]

I usually get the crickets ad mealworms from a reptile pet store. I have caught some termites and lawn moths for her but I usually hold them for 3-7 days. Not that this garentees they have not come in contact with anything toxic but it also gives me a chance to feed them healthy food/ gut load. ( I know, I'm a bit over the top. My neighbors that see me running around catching moths in summer would agree.lol) Great idea about the Silverfish, I never even thought of them. I would love to know more about raising them to feed her. Indy is a bit upset with me right now. I took some advice about her shedding and sprayed her with tepid/warm water and now she has been hiding. I usually manage to catch her out and about but she is tucked away somewhere. I will look into the silverfish, not sure about the roaches though. I think my husband may divorce me if I start that. lol
Thanks for all your help!!

 

[thorrshamri]

Silverfishes can be kept in colonies of 50-100 adults in 8"x5"x5" opaque plastic boxes pierced with air holes.
They shun the light, so place egg crates inside the boxes.
They can be fed with fish flakes and wheat bran. Keep them a little moist and with temps in the high 70s.
That's really all what you have to do. They will breed after a few weeks and are very productive.

 

[nadinelovesgeckos]

hemidactylus garnotii baby shed still stuck.

Poor Indy is still having a hard time with her shed. I increased the humidity in her enclosure, have been spraying her more often with tepid water (which she hates), and given her a sauna/bath. I was able to remove some of the shed around her feet but she still has some stuck on her foot and back that I am scared to pull hard on. Indy is only about two inches long nose to tail end and I am worried that I will pull off her toes with the shed. She is so tiny! It doesnt seem to be affecting circulation but I don't want it to either. Any additional advice would be most welcomed. I am starting to panic a bit.

 

[thorrshamri]

Tip: when bathing your gecko, use a camomile tea bag in the water you use for that bath, which should be around 80-83°F. That helps making old shed skin softer and easier to remove and it is a totally risk-free method

 

[nadinelovesgeckos]

Thank you soooo much Thorr!!! You are awesome!! Indy will have her relaxing bath with camomille tonight!

 

[nadinelovesgeckos]

After some more warm baths, a few with camomielle, we have success!! Almost all of Indy's shed is off. Just a bit more to go. Such hard work for such a tiny girl. lol

 

[thorrshamri]

Great news!

 

[nadinelovesgeckos]

:yahoo:Thank you so much everyone, especially thorrshamri for all of your help. Indy has finally got all of her shed off and she is back to being "sticky" and climbing the walls of her enclosure. She is very happy to be back in her regular house and out of her hospital enclosure. Going to a reptile store this afternoon to try and find some silverfish or small roaches toadd to her diet today.

 

[thorrshamri]

Great news! If your quest for silverfishes or roaches was not successful, there are professional or amateur insect sellers all over the Internet with delivery at home- much better than the looks of a pet store seller who has no experience with reptiles when you ask for a box of roaches :lol:

 

[nadinelovesgeckos]

emidactylus garnotti, Indy, Buration??

I am going to give the internet a try. The store I go to is a local Reptile breeder, not a chain like Petsmart. Seems because roaches are considered an invasive species insect they are not allowed to sell them. Seems weird that they can sell "pet" insects and reptiles that are invasive but not feeders.
Indy is eating less than normal. I thought at first it was the stress of the shed and me helping her get it off, then I thought it was because she was back in her bigger enclosure. Now???Brumation/hibernation??? I have been watching the local population of other area geckos outside and have not found them out and about. It has gotten colder here lately. Do common house geckos go through natural hibernation??

 

[thorrshamri]

Shorter days and illumination certainly plays a role on food intake. When you say Indie eats less than normal, what precisely do you mean? Have you noticed any weight loss?

 

[nadinelovesgeckos]

Indy usually eats one or two appropriately sized crickets or mothsevery day or every other day. When she was shedding it dropped to only a couple a week. She does look a little thinner to me and has not eaten in three days. She is drinking water and has some "output", mostly white. She is small so it doesnt take many days without food for her to look smaller. I am starting to warm her enclosure very gradually, like when those who brumate "warm them up". After doing some more reading this morning on the subject of brumation that is done on purpose, I think local area house geckos are sort of hibernating because I have not seen them out for a month now. Our local temps here in Jacksonville, Florida, USA have gotten cooler slightly in the 60's day and 50's at night. More importantly it has been overcast with very few sunny days. Although I turn on her nightlight in the evening to simulate the moon, I do not normally put a light on her during the day. Maybe she is just following her instinctual desire to hibernate as she was wild caught.?