Hi guys, it’s my first time posting on this forum.
I decided after a few years to get a reptile for the first time- a leopard gecko. I got him at an expo back in April with the label ‘Fancy’ on his cup and the seller didn’t mention anything was of issue for him and that he was raised on mealworms. He was barely the size of my thumb!
I brought him home and had the setup completed a few days prior and stabilized temps. He has these habits since the day I purchased him- flailing, stargazing, ‘tripping’ while turning, and walking while seeming right side heavy. I did research on these issues and learned that he has enigma… and it seems pretty moderate to me :/ I ended up covering his tank with paper towels to reduce visual stress.
Fast forward- he started eating after 10 days. I noticed that there are calcium streaks on the bottom of his cage so he must be getting some benefit. He stays in his warm hide nearly all the time unless he’s walking around.
Last night, checking on him before bed, I’d found him on his back with all his legs up on his first shed I'd seen. He wasn’t moving at all. I definitely panicked- and didn’t know what to do because he wasn’t responsive even to being poked to which I normally don’t touch or handle him. I did some panic googling and couldn’t find anything that I thought was pertinent to my situation.
I read that enigmas had trouble shedding- and as a last ditch effort because he seemed pretty gone- I had prepared a warm temperature checked water to warm at 90 degrees or so, set shallow into a takeout Tupperware container. He wasn’t moving at all when I picked him up and placed him into the container. I soaked him for 10 minutes and used a q-tip to gently ‘moisturize’ and nudged down some of the shed.
He started to just lick the water for a few minutes and let me continue working with the q-tip. I didn’t really take off any shed I just moistened it because I figured he has to be able to do it himself. I didn’t get much thought on this because he suddenly started flailing all around the container. He did it three times before he was calm enough for me to take a paper towel to soak up all the water and let him back into his tank without handling him. I set him up under his warm hide once again. I checked back on him after a few minutes and saw him ‘scraping’ himself on the inside of the hide and got the shed down to his shoulders.
I went to sleep and checked on him this morning and he’s just sleeping in his hide- it’s too dark to check how much more shed he’s gotten off. I just don’t want to bother him too much at this point unless I have to start poking at him with wet q-tips again because after that last bath I’m not exactly sure I want to do that to him again.
Sorry for the big story- it’s my first leopard gecko and I truly can’t find a lot of information on enigma care.. so I’m at a loss of how to handle this situation.
Some sticky stuff I filled out :
Tank Size : 10 Gallon
Regular diet fed to the insects: Gutload cubes
How often do you feed your gecko? I leave food every night ~5 mealworms
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often? Reptivite Multivit dusted on mealworms 2x a week
Reptivite Calcium + d3 or just calcium dusted on mealworms 5x a week
Number of hides: 3
Location of hides: Moist Hide on cool side, warm hide on top of UTH, cool hide in the middle
Please describe any other furnishings: 1 water bowl, 1 calcium bowl, 1 mealworm dish
List recent changes in the environment, if any:
Lighting : 12 hours with the room light on
Heating
Ventilation space for your UTH by elevating the tank above the shelf (some UTHs come with sticky feet for the tank corners): Yes it's now sitting on a dresser with the sticky feet holding the tank up
Are you using a thermostat(s)? No- I use a light dimmer
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time? Warm Hide at 90 degrees or so
Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much? 2 degrees or so for the warm side
Humidity
Is the humidity measured? 40% or so is the room's ambient humidity
Diet
Are the insects and worms formally “gutloaded” 1-2 days prior to feeding off to your gecko? If so with? some Gutload gel cube I get from petco- the label was thrown away :/
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without? without
General Health
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased? normal
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased? increased
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight (loss or gain): no
Discharge from the eyes or nose: no
Increased breathing rate or effort: no
Change in the droppings:
Urates
---white or yellowish: white
---size of urates as compared to size of feces: 1/3
Abnormal skin color or shedding: shed is white
Parasites on the skin or in the feces: none that I'd seen
Regurgitation: none
Here is what he normally looks like:
I decided after a few years to get a reptile for the first time- a leopard gecko. I got him at an expo back in April with the label ‘Fancy’ on his cup and the seller didn’t mention anything was of issue for him and that he was raised on mealworms. He was barely the size of my thumb!
I brought him home and had the setup completed a few days prior and stabilized temps. He has these habits since the day I purchased him- flailing, stargazing, ‘tripping’ while turning, and walking while seeming right side heavy. I did research on these issues and learned that he has enigma… and it seems pretty moderate to me :/ I ended up covering his tank with paper towels to reduce visual stress.
Fast forward- he started eating after 10 days. I noticed that there are calcium streaks on the bottom of his cage so he must be getting some benefit. He stays in his warm hide nearly all the time unless he’s walking around.
Last night, checking on him before bed, I’d found him on his back with all his legs up on his first shed I'd seen. He wasn’t moving at all. I definitely panicked- and didn’t know what to do because he wasn’t responsive even to being poked to which I normally don’t touch or handle him. I did some panic googling and couldn’t find anything that I thought was pertinent to my situation.
I read that enigmas had trouble shedding- and as a last ditch effort because he seemed pretty gone- I had prepared a warm temperature checked water to warm at 90 degrees or so, set shallow into a takeout Tupperware container. He wasn’t moving at all when I picked him up and placed him into the container. I soaked him for 10 minutes and used a q-tip to gently ‘moisturize’ and nudged down some of the shed.
He started to just lick the water for a few minutes and let me continue working with the q-tip. I didn’t really take off any shed I just moistened it because I figured he has to be able to do it himself. I didn’t get much thought on this because he suddenly started flailing all around the container. He did it three times before he was calm enough for me to take a paper towel to soak up all the water and let him back into his tank without handling him. I set him up under his warm hide once again. I checked back on him after a few minutes and saw him ‘scraping’ himself on the inside of the hide and got the shed down to his shoulders.
I went to sleep and checked on him this morning and he’s just sleeping in his hide- it’s too dark to check how much more shed he’s gotten off. I just don’t want to bother him too much at this point unless I have to start poking at him with wet q-tips again because after that last bath I’m not exactly sure I want to do that to him again.
Sorry for the big story- it’s my first leopard gecko and I truly can’t find a lot of information on enigma care.. so I’m at a loss of how to handle this situation.
Some sticky stuff I filled out :
Tank Size : 10 Gallon
Regular diet fed to the insects: Gutload cubes
How often do you feed your gecko? I leave food every night ~5 mealworms
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often? Reptivite Multivit dusted on mealworms 2x a week
Reptivite Calcium + d3 or just calcium dusted on mealworms 5x a week
Number of hides: 3
Location of hides: Moist Hide on cool side, warm hide on top of UTH, cool hide in the middle
Please describe any other furnishings: 1 water bowl, 1 calcium bowl, 1 mealworm dish
List recent changes in the environment, if any:
Lighting : 12 hours with the room light on
Heating
Ventilation space for your UTH by elevating the tank above the shelf (some UTHs come with sticky feet for the tank corners): Yes it's now sitting on a dresser with the sticky feet holding the tank up
Are you using a thermostat(s)? No- I use a light dimmer
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time? Warm Hide at 90 degrees or so
Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much? 2 degrees or so for the warm side
Humidity
Is the humidity measured? 40% or so is the room's ambient humidity
Diet
Are the insects and worms formally “gutloaded” 1-2 days prior to feeding off to your gecko? If so with? some Gutload gel cube I get from petco- the label was thrown away :/
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without? without
General Health
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased? normal
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased? increased
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight (loss or gain): no
Discharge from the eyes or nose: no
Increased breathing rate or effort: no
Change in the droppings:
Urates
---white or yellowish: white
---size of urates as compared to size of feces: 1/3
Abnormal skin color or shedding: shed is white
Parasites on the skin or in the feces: none that I'd seen
Regurgitation: none
Here is what he normally looks like:
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Sometimes it's a fine line between hydration/nutrition and not stressing a leo out.