HELP: Phelsuma keeps biting himself!

Freddy&Maris

New member
Hello, my name is Mariska and I live in the Netherlands. I own a phelsuma grandis male named Freddy since he was a youngster and now he is 7 years old. Last year he got injured and ever since he keeps biting himself almost every day. I’m getting pretty desperate. Can you please help me?

I contacted serveral veternerians specialised in reptiles but no one knows... :cry: I am very wel informed about these animals and Freddy has a huge terrarium of 1,5 meters long. Also lighting, humidity and food were good and did not change since I first got him in the beginning, now 7 years ago. So all that should be OK and I do not think it is the cause of him biting himself.

It started with a small scrape wound. I don’t know how he got injured in the first place, but I suspect he fell of a loose bamboo branche since there was one laying on the ground of the terrarium when I got home from work. It scared me, because he never had problems before, but ever since that small wound he is biting himself.

How the injury started on June 20th 2016:
20 juni 2016.jpg

July 30th 2016:
3 juli 2016.jpg

I put some homeopathic honey ointment on the scap in order to try and stop him from biting himself. But not much time later he bit off his tail. I know phelsuma are supposed to be able to do this, but this was very aggressive and there was much blood. I saw him do it himself and I could not stop him. His tail definetaly did not just fall off easily like it is supposed to.

Ever since it’s a downward spiral. His tail does not get a chance to grow back because he bites it almost every day. I started putting lidocaine ointment on his stumb, which is a painkiller, but also this does not help very much. Have you ever heard of something like this? Is there anything I can do? He must be in so much pain :cry:

October 30th 2016:
3 oktober 2016.jpg

This is going on for 1 year now and he clearly cannot heal himself. He keeps biting himself alsmost every day. Sometimes the skin is starting to close, but before his tail can grow back he chews on it again. It never grows past a little stumby. Other than his open wound injury he is doing very well; he eats very good, he sheds his skin super fast just like he always did, he is responsive and active. I really hope someone can help me. My veterian is thinking about putting him out of his missery... :cry::cry::cry:

June 9th 2017:
9 juni 2017.jpg
 

Freddy&Maris

New member
Hi! Thank you for your reply! I will ask my vet about the silver stuff. Thank you Very much! I was also thinking maybe Prednison? For the itch? It is meant for inflamations.

Freddy already has uvb lighting and I feed him insects, fruit and phelsuma food porridge from Aves/Beaphar. It is very well known in my country with phelsuma lovers. It is a vitamin powder you mix with water.
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Hi! Thank you for your reply! I will ask my vet about the silver stuff. Thank you Very much! I was also thinking maybe Prednison? For the itch? It is meant for inflamations.

Freddy already has uvb lighting and I feed him insects, fruit and phelsuma food porridge from Aves/Beaphar. It is very well known in my country with phelsuma lovers. It is a vitamin powder you mix with water.

You are welcome! Is there any chance of mites in the tank?

Mostly it's important for reptiles to have cremes with no petroleum products added.

What brand UVB? How often does the company recommend switching the bulb for a new one?
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
The Cream have no petroleum and the lamp is exo terra reptile uvb for phelsuma

Solarmeters measure the strength of UVB rays produced by bulbs and tubes. Since Solarmeters are expensive, I rely on research, my personal experience, and the experiences of breeders I know. Arcadia bulbs and Zoo Med bulbs & tubes are very highly rated in the USA. I've been using Zoo Med Reptisun tubes for my Phelsuma for over 12 years.

Since Freddy's problem has continued for over 13 months, try switching the UVB source. Switching may help. It is much better than putting your gecko to sleep. It is worth trying.
 
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Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Hi! Thank you for your reply! I will ask my vet about the silver stuff. Thank you Very much! I was also thinking maybe Prednison? For the itch? It is meant for inflamations.

Freddy already has uvb lighting and I feed him insects, fruit and phelsuma food porridge from Aves/Beaphar. It is very well known in my country with phelsuma lovers. It is a vitamin powder you mix with water.
Please share a link for your Phelsuma fruit porridge from Aves/Beaphar.

Is it a multivitamin or a food powder you mix with water?
 

Freddy&Maris

New member
The same as always... The lights are switched to Zoo med and that's all I've got.. The vet recommended not using the silver stuff on his tail because he will lick it off and is bad for him. I also stopped the ointments alltogether to try and not use some for a while. His tail is growing back very strange again so I think it won't take long before he will bite it off again :( back to where we started... again...
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
The same as always... The lights are switched to Zoo med and that's all I've got.. The vet recommended not using the silver stuff on his tail because he will lick it off and is bad for him. I also stopped the ointments alltogether to try and not use some for a while. His tail is growing back very strange again so I think it won't take long before he will bite it off again :( back to where we started... again...
Thanks for your update. I'm so sorry, Mariska. I wish we could help Freddy!

Could some stretchy, non-stick fabric/mesh protect the tail as it grows? Maybe that would be just as irritating?

How often did you replace the former Exo Terra UVB bulb?

Did you buy the Zoo Med 10.0 UVB lamp/bulb?

[MENTION=10316]mkschaefer[/MENTION] Have you ever seen a problem like Freddy's?
 
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Nika

New member
Have you tried to change the diet completely? From my experience, with other animals too, if there's anything in the food that the pet evolves allergy to, it may cause some strange problems. Given that the problem with eating itself is not new, I'd try to change completely 100% EVERYTHING that I give to the Phelsuma G. It wouldn't hurt to try, I saw similar things in other pets, changing food helped.
 
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Freddy&Maris

New member
Yes, that's the lamp I bought. And I used to change my UV lamps every year. But I'll change his food! Thanks!
I also stopped the creams and I really whish he will get better soon. He has grown a very strange little tail again. This time it's growing crooked so I hope he won't bite it off...
IMG_2200.jpg
 

Nika

New member
I wrote about the food, because I had a somewhat similar situation with one of my cats. I understand, that a cat is not a reptile, but the reaction to food may be similar. If anything changed in the pet's system, it may develop allergies to almost anything.

We feed our cats with only the best formulas from trusted brands. But one of our cats sustained some kind of system bug, and developed allergy. It was a very strange allergy. Another cat of ours is allergic to different stuff, so I know how it looks. But this time even an experienced veterinarian couldn't find the allergy. My cat not only was tearing huge pieces of skin from his head, he was chewing his tail too! So veterinarian defined it as infection and treated with antibiotics. It didn't help. After that the process of inflammation continued and we applied some kind of skin ointment, which helped only locally. The cat continued to tear skin and chew his tail. Finally, he started getting completely bald. Only at that point I started to suspect the food. Due to the changes in his body, he probably developed strong allergies to several components which is common to cat food. For several months I tried to eliminate that component, but ended up simply changing everything he eats, 100%. And it helped! Within a few weeks there was a huge improvement, until full recovery after few months.

So all this is brought just as an example, maybe it will help your Freddy too...
 
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Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
The Cream have no petroleum and the lamp is exo terra reptile uvb for phelsuma

I just phoned a friend who has bred Phelsuma mad mads and other Phelsuma for years. Here's what she shared regarding UVB lighting specs.

Ratio of UVB : UVI (Ultraviolet Index)
  • Exo Terra compact fluorescent bulbs = 14 :(
  • ***Zoo Med Reptisun compact fluorescent bulbs = 31
  • ***Zoo Med Reptisun fluorescent tubes (T 8 ) = 34
  • ***Arcadia UVB compact fluorecent bulbs - no rating available
  • Sunlight = ~40-50
She recommends
  • a horizontal basking bar (bamboo is fine) about 6 inches below the bulb
  • 29.4-32.2*C (85-90*F) right underneath the bulb
  • thermal gradient from top to floor of enclosure
  • floor of enclosure: 23.9-26.7*C 75-80*F during the day
  • temperatures 10*F lower at night
  • she suggests that Phelsuma might choose their location by temperatures rather than by UVB rays
Melody also shares:
"I have info on reflectors too, which can make quite a difference! Arcadia sells a good reflector, but you can make one yourself by bending cardboard in an arc and covering it with tinfoil. Surprisingly, the dull side of tinfoil reflects UVB better than the shiny side! And white paint reflects light but not UVB!"
 
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Freddy&Maris

New member
I already have those lamps and reflectors... today I found a lot of blood and his tail is bitten off again :'( im so sad. I don't know what else to do! I tried everything.IMG_2283.jpg
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
I already have those lamps and reflectors... today I found a lot of blood and his tail is bitten off again :'( im so sad. I don't know what else to do! I tried everything.View attachment 42557

WOW, Maris, not again! :cry:

I'm very sorry about Freddy and his tail. I wish that the Phelsuma and gecko communities had additional answers.

Did you try completely changing his diet like Nika has suggested? Maybe he's now allergic to some preservative? Maybe making him a homemade blend of fruits and other nutrients that you could freeze?
 

Nika

New member
No (((, bad news, but please be strong.
Try new food, please.

I found information from the russian vet hospital, sorry for my translate and English:

1 - Reaction to food. One of the first signs of improper feeding is itching in a tail area.
2 - Fungal infection = Strong itch in a tail area.
3 - Stress, neurosis.

1 - So, please try totally new food. If Freddy has allergy for a long time, you can see good results no earlier than 4-6 weeks.
2 - Please, change your terrarium - substrate and soil, wash all plants and branches. If you have fungal infection in a terrarium, Freddy will has problem with tail.
 
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