gecko with a small wound on tail

[FoxGeckos]

as i was cleaning out my gecko's viv, i noticed one of my females, jesse, had a small scrape-ish looking would on the middle of her tail along with a small superficial looking scratch on her head and mid-section of her body

the ones on the head and body look to be healing already, the one on the tail seems a bit more fresh
now, i have a few guesses on how they might've happened, one is that she might've gotten a scratch from the moist hide, which is a plastic tuppaware container (one that you might get from take out) and when i first put it in, i checked for sharp edges on the opening, didnt feel anything too bad, but maybe i was wrong? (if that is the problem, would there be a way to coat the edges in something to smooth it out?) and another idea is that she might've gotten it from accidentally being stepped on by a viv-mate.

i'm not too worried about it getting infected, since i keep their tank clean (spot cleaned every other day and then a big clean every week, and i keep them on tiles)

but should i take any extra precautions? seperating her until the wounds heal, use some diluted neosporin/rubbing alcohol, ect? or should i just let the wounds heal on their own?

and on a separate note she looks like shes going to shed soon (dulling in color) would that change the rate of which the wound heal?


i dont have access to anything i can take a picture of her with right now to show off what they look like, but heres a little sketch of about where the marks are and about what size they are

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dim.../storage/fss/6b914b704e07a8e57e0d45e0c070cf21

(i'll promise ill try and find a camera though so you could get a better idea ^^; )

i also hope its not something i'd have to go to the vet for, the nearest herp-vet is a 2+ hour drive into the city, and we're currently having a snowstorm (though its not so strong in my area) i'd hate to have to go in this weather

 

[kholtme]

How many leopard geckos live in one enclosure? What sex are they all? How much does each individual weigh? How big is the enclosure? How many hides are in the enclosure (please specify warm dry hide, warm moist hide, cool hide, ect.). This info will help us give you a better answer and solution

 

[FoxGeckos]

How many leopard geckos live in one enclosure?
four

What sex are they all?
1 male 3 females (all are adults)

How much does each individual weigh?
gecko in question is around 60 grams
my smaller female and male are also around that weight, meanwhile my newest female is nearing 70 grams

How big is the enclosure?
30 gallon breeder

How many hides are in the enclosure?

there are 2 on the cool side (one of which has a moist sponge in it which can be used as the moist hide), one in the middle, a tuppaware moist hide (on the warm side), and the warm side also has a large wood piece that sits on another one and it causes a shady area which they like to hide under, there is also a little rock thing they crawl under on top of the wood piece

also they have been eating a little less than usual, but thats only because i lowered their temperatures for the winter (in hopes that it'll make the females ovulate) i'll make them normal once spring comes around

also something else: i never see any rough-housing between them, unless you would count them 'tug-o-war-ing' with their food when i feed them, even though i feed each their own, haha. if it is inflicted from a viv-mate, it has to be from them accidentally stepping on them

hope this extra info helps !! ^^

 

[kholtme]

Everyone has their own opinions, so here is mine

4 geckos in one inclosure is a lot, especially in a 30 gallon tank. But since you are trying to breed them I see why. Do you have seperate enclosures for when they arent in breeding season? The recommended minimum for one gecko is a 20 gallon long tank. Leopards usually dont like to live together, some are successful with it some arent. Its your choice to house them together, but i would recommend having seperate tanks for when they arent breeding. I would also recommend have a seperate warm moist hide, warm dry hide, and cool dry hide for each individual. So you would need 4 of each, which would be hard to fit into a 30 gallon tank. Breeding may be a different story which I do not know about the standards of housing when trying to breed. But it is important to have multiple hides so every gecko can be alone when they want. Also, fighting can be random, even if they live together for years, so keep a good eye on them. I bet the scratches are from the other geckos. Hopefully someone who knows more about breeding can leave their input.

 

[FoxGeckos]

i do have a spare 20 gallon tank that i can use to separate them if needed

i've heard that with a tank, for 1 gecko you need 10 gallons, and for every extra gecko, add 5. i have a 30 gallon breeder, so it is longer than it is tall, but again, i can seperate them if absolutely necessary.

i think the place they might've accidentally hurt eachother is from when i put them in one of those plastic vivariums (its about 16x8x8 ) for when i clean out their main tank, my best guess is that they dont understand their reflections/the plastic and try to crawl out, and end up climbing on top of eachother, since in their viv, they seem to be very spread out, there'd be no more than 2 geckos in one hide at a time.

one of the only times i've ever seen anything to be considered rough housing between them is when my male left a little 'love bite' on one of my females, but by the time i realized she had the bite, it was already healing

but again, thank you for your viewpoint !!

 

[kholtme]

Many people have different beliefs on tank size. Online sites that are easily found on google recommend 10 gallon tank for one gecko. But it seems 99% of people on here agree 20 gallon long tank is the minimum for 1 leopard. I would trust the people on this site over any other "geckos are cheap and easy to care for, heres how" site or what the pet store say. There is no such thing as a cheap pet. Some are just cheaper than others. I currently have one gecko in a 40 gallon breeder! Im not saying that you need a tank that big, but the bigger the better. But whenever I see successful breeders make youtube videos and they have leopards in racks, I dont know how they get the right temps in one little plastic drawer. But i think it may have to do with its a temporary home until they are sold. Maybe put each leo in its separate container when you clean, even if they are card board boxes. This way they dont crawl on top of each other. When not in breeding season maybe try putting 2 in the 20 gallon long and 2 in the 30 gallon breeder, but again I know nothing about breeding these animals so I could be completely wrong.

Again, even if your geckos live together for 5 years, a random fight could lead to a lost tail or badly injured leo. You never know when it will happen no matter how closely you watch them. Also some leos can be intimidated by others forcing them not to eat or lay in a hide where they would be most comfortable and least stressed out. So keep a good eye out for bullying, but it can be very hard to tell if a gecko is being bullied.

If the scratches are as small as they are in your picture and not deep and do not bleed, they should be fine. If they are already healing I wouldnt use any ointment.

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask

 

[FoxGeckos]

the wounds are pretty tiny and dont seem to be deep, i barely noticed them until i was giving my geckos the bi-weekly 'stuck shed' check, haha !

i'll take your advice and separate them while cleaning, see if that helps ^^

thank you for your help though !!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Please keep an eye on this group and especially the injured female. Bullying can also cause subtle problems like a failure to eat because of threats from any other gecko in the group.

Bullying can happen at any time, even with 2 similarly sized females who have been housed together for ages. The results can be fatal.