I believe my gecko is dying..

[Completeleopard]

Hello,

Great news that she is pooping and that both are eating!

Its normal for a juvenile Leo to devour anything that is put in front of them, its a good sign!

How about some pictures of your Leo's ?

 

[LostTogether]

Ill have to post the pictures when I get on my laptop again, if the pictures even show up.

One thing I'm worried about is Apple has really dry skin for some odd reason. The last time she shed, I noticed that she still had skin stuck on all of her legs and I soaked her for a half an hour and she skin was still really stuck onto her normal skin. She's starting to get skin stuck on her toes too. One of her toes are bloody because I couldn't get the skin off it because she kept flinching a lot and I tried to get it off for more than a half an hour.

Now she's about to shed again and the shed skin is so flaky on her feet and two of her feet look so dried out even though I soaked her yesterday for about 45 minutes while I cleaned her tank out.

I'm kinda wondering if I should take her to the vet or not so the vet could take off Apple's shed instead of me.

 

[Completeleopard]

Hello,

I would wait until her new shed unless her toes/ legs are going discoloured and the stuck skin is constricting blood, you may be lucky and when she sheds, the old skin may come off as well, make sure to keep the moist hide moist.

If you are worried, take her to a vet.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Please refresh my memory on what type supplements you use and what you are feeding Apple and Junior. Thanks.

Is it really dry in the enclosures, less than 40-50% relative humidity? Lack of humidity impacts shedding.

 

[LostTogether]

Ill see how the shed goes. I'll continue soaking her to see if it improves any.

Both Apple and Junior are being fed crickets from Petsmart. They are dusted with ExoTerra calcium (no d3 because we have UVB bulbs in use).

I still don't have a humidity meter because we lack money for one, but I've been spraying the tanks almost daily and Apple has the humid hide right next to the log.

 

[LostTogether]

Well, I decided to take off her shed tonight myself because she looked pretty bad. Her mouth was open slightly and she couldn't close or open her left eye fully. I managed to get most of the skin on her back off, and her neck skin off. I got the upper part of the tail off. When I tried to take the skin off her head, she scrunched up her head slightly, not bad, so I put her back in hwer tanl. All that is left to pull off is her leg skin, feet, belly, and head skin.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Ill see how the shed goes. I'll continue soaking her to see if it improves any.

Both Apple and Junior are being fed crickets from Petsmart. They are dusted with ExoTerra calcium (no d3 because we have UVB bulbs in use).

I still don't have a humidity meter because we lack money for one, but I've been spraying the tanks almost daily and Apple has the humid hide right next to the log.

Well, I decided to take off her shed tonight myself because she looked pretty bad. Her mouth was open slightly and she couldn't close or open her left eye fully. I managed to get most of the skin on her back off, and her neck skin off. I got the upper part of the tail off. When I tried to take the skin off her head, she scrunched up her head slightly, not bad, so I put her back in hwer tanl. All that is left to pull off is her leg skin, feet, belly, and head skin.

Thanks, LostTogether.

1. What do you feed the crickets after you bring them home?

2. Does Junior have a warm humid hide too? That is a necessity. Many leos find spraying stressful. :-(

If you'd like, I can post very clear instructions from Conched on making your own humid hide.

3. What Apple and Junior seem to be missing is a multivitamin. :-( It is very important to get some source of vitamin A acetate. Vitamin A acetate is necessary for healthy eyes and skin.

For about $7.50 you can get a bottle of Zoo Med's Reptivite (plain...no D3). Please buy some quickly. You may notice that that really improves their sheds.

We are doing our very best to help.

 

[LostTogether]

The crickets are fed ZooMed's natural adult bearded dragon food immediately after they are bought.

Is this multivitamin you speak of a powder?

 

[JIMI]

Is this multivitamin you speak of a powder?

It is: Amazon.com: Zoo Med Reptivite without D3 8oz: Pet Supplies

Dry or flaky skin and poor sheds can be a result of poor nutrition. Where I live, it is very difficult to maintain the humidity above 25% (though I really try by using a humidifier), yet my leo sheds flawlessly and quickly. He also has bright and visibly well hydrated skin. Are you still leaving the UVB lamp on during the night?

 

[MistyBleil]

My vet recommended adding plastic plants and misting them to add humidity. Just a thought

 

[LostTogether]

Misty- Thank you for the suggestion.

Apple's skin looks fine under the shed, besides her feet that is. I don't want to hurt her by pulling off her skin on her feet and toes.

The UVB light is only on during the day, like what you guys told me to do.

 

[Completeleopard]

Hello,

So, there is still stuck shed on her toes and her eyes?

 

[JIMI]

Apple's skin looks fine under the shed, besides her feet that is. I don't want to hurt her by pulling off her skin on her feet and toes.

The UVB light is only on during the day, like what you guys told me to do.

Good! Just wanted to make sure. As soon as you have the money to, you should really get a UTH and thermostat. You may not think so, but it will really make a difference in their appetites and overall health. If there is stuck shed on her eyes, it needs to be removed by a vet. You can injure her if you attempt to do so yourself. If it is just on the feet and toes, you may wish to try a a warm soak and very gently rubbing off stuck shed with a q-tip if you haven't already tried it this way. Be careful when pulling off stuck shed of the body as well. Also, try adding collard greens, dandelion greens, or mustard greens to your crickets' diet every now and then. Choose foods with high calcium to phosphorus ratios (here's a helpful chart: The Iguana Den - Iguana Diet - Vegetable Calhos Ratios). Occasionally adding things like butternut squash or yams will help boost the nutritional content. Variety is key to proper nutrition and good health.

My vet recommended adding plastic plants and misting them to add humidity. Just a thought

I'm going to try this!

 

[LostTogether]

There is no stuck skin on her eyes, but there is some on one of her eyelids and between both of her eyes on her head and nose. She also has stuck shed on one side of her mouth.

I think she might have mouth rot or something from her mouth not being able to close. Her mouth. Is a normal pink color, but close to the inside outline of her mouth are tiny little brown dots. It might just be part of her mouth shed in there, but I dunno.

She does have skin stuck on her toes and feet and even a long soak will not make it any easier pulling it off than pulling it dry. Meaning, it wont come off no matter what.

 

[LostTogether]

Apple shed again today while I was gone at an all day concert. She didn't get all of it off, but she got most of the skin off and there's skin laying around the tank.

 

[LostTogether]

Mostly good news

That recent shed really helped her a lot. I could now easily get off all toe shed besides two toes. I saved 4 toes that were starting to turn pink from the loss of circulation. Would those toes turn back to normal color now that the skin is off them? There are some blood spots visible inside two of those toes though.

Two feet are missing the tips of one of their toes though :\ one of the toes that lost the tip looks a little bit swollen.

 

[Booplesnoot]

My leopard gecko has no claws because of previous bad sheds with her previous owners. My gecko still has trouble shedding sometimes, even with her moist hide, so to help her we just put her in a tub of warm water up to her belly, wet a q tip, and rub it gently until the skin comes off.

Even if their toes are gone, they will be okay, just try to keep it from happening.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

My leopard gecko has no claws because of previous bad sheds with her previous owners. My gecko still has trouble shedding sometimes, even with her moist hide, so to help her we just put her in a tub of warm water up to her belly, wet a q tip, and rub it gently until the skin comes off.

Even if their toes are gone, they will be okay, just try to keep it from happening.

Just curious, Booplesnoot. Have you both your leo's warm moist hide and her warm dry hide BOTH on the warm end?

Good idea to keep that soaking water lukewarm and at temps no higher than 86 F, a leo's preferred body temperature.

 

[LostTogether]

Soaked Apple again today. While I put her down on my leg (to dust some crickets for her), she was trying to bite off the tip of one of her bad toes. It didn't come off though when she did it. But I did notice that when I first took her out of the tank, that one toe was bloody, so I'm guessing she tried biting it off before. She ate two crickets today when I fed her myself.

It looks like the humid hide is her be poop area haha. She's been only pooping in there from what I've noticed. Her poop has been looking normal now. Normal size and normal color.

I think a couple mornings ago, I heard her trying to catch one of the crickets in her tank o.o I was really surprised. But that's good.

Also, I put some fake plants next to the log in front of the humid hide. It's fake leaves. She slept under the leaves one night she likes it.

Also, Junior is doing good also. He ate two huge calcium dusted crickets yesterday. He also drank some water too. His skin is good and bright colored.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

:yahoo: on adding cover to your leo's enclosures and lightly dusting their crickets with calcium.

:banana: on the normal size and color of their feces! How are the urates?

To me it sounds as if Apple, Junior, and their vivariums are getting better and better. :cheer:

Does the bloody toe look like it had old skin stuck to it? Maybe that is why Apple tried to bite it off? That behavior is natural in order for a leo to remove the discomfort!

I recently had a similar experience. One of my geckos (not a leopard gecko) had remaining shed stuck to end third of her tail. She dropped her entire tail, because she apparently "felt" unable to remove just the skin in any other way! :-( I added a water bowl to increase the humidity.

Vitamin A acetate found in a multivitamin like Zoo Med's Reptivite might help Apple's sheds go more easily. Certainly worth bloody toes. With bloody toes infection is a possibility.

A 2 oz container of Zoo Med's Reptivite costs only about $7.50.