Hi, my leo has just done her first shed since we got her. She’s only 17 weeks old. She seems to have damaged her foot, it is very red, her toes are stuck together and she isn’t walking on it properly. We managed to give her a shallow bath last night and gently got some of the excess skin off but it was then broken skin and was bleeding and the toes are stuck together again this morning. Is this common? I don’t think we have any vets near to where we live which would know what to do for a gecko. Can anyone suggest what I do as it’s not nice seeing her in pain. Thank you
Leopard gecko sore foot
- Thread starter Adele H
- Start date
IHaveNoIdea
New member
Is she able to climb anything in her terrarium? She might have broken her leg. A picture or even a video would help. It sounds like she definitely needs a vet though.
No, there is nothing in her Vivarium apart from her hides. She has just done a full shed. I have given her a bath again this evening and her toes were stuck together, red and swollen. While she was in the bath, there was skin coming away from the toes and looking at them again, the skin is broken, it’s almost as though there is too much skin which has come away and it’s created a sore on a couple of her toes. I will call the vet tomorrow and see if they know what we can do with her. Thank you
Do call the vet. There is a medication a vet prescribed for one of my hatchling geckos. She also somehow got a sore on her leg and no matter what I did, the skin just kept peeling away. The vet called it "de-gloving", you can imagine why. The vet prescribed Silver Sulfadiazine Cream, USP 1% and it worked like magic.
Aliza
Aliza
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Here's a link for exotics vets. If you can't get there, perhaps you can do a phone consultation?
Hi,
I have taken my gecko to the vet today. We are in the UK and we had to drive over an hour away to see the nearest exotic vet. The vet has said that when she has shed, the skin around her toes has constricted the blood supply so even though we have been bathing her to get the skin off, the toes have become irritated and red. She has given us some iodine solution to bath her in, some cream and some antibiotics which we have to inject into her wax worms. We haven’t fed her wax worms before so I am hoping she will eat them. The vet also was adamant we needed sand substrate, although I completely disagree and said that she needs a UV bulb in her Vivarium. What are your thoughts on both of these? We have swapped to a kitchen towel and slate substrate as we can not seem to get the humidity down below 60-70%! And we have been advised by the breeder and other owners not to bother with a UV.
Thank you
IHaveNoIdea
New member
So did you manage to get the skin off? If not, you still have to. Just between us, it´s not really a biggie, they lose their toes all the time in the wild, but still.. you don´t want her to get them infected.
Definitely don´t put her on sand, that is the worst thing you can do right now. Some paper towels are your best bet now, because they are the most sterile. What did you use before?
Actually, I´ve been using UV with my leopards for some time now and I have to say they are doing better. It´s not a must though. If she gets D3 via multivitamin supplement, it´s fine.
Definitely don´t put her on sand, that is the worst thing you can do right now. Some paper towels are your best bet now, because they are the most sterile. What did you use before?
Actually, I´ve been using UV with my leopards for some time now and I have to say they are doing better. It´s not a must though. If she gets D3 via multivitamin supplement, it´s fine.
IHaveNoIdea
New member
So did you manage to get the skin off? If not, you still have to. Just between us, it´s not really a biggie, they lose their toes all the time in the wild, but still.. you don´t want her to get them infected.
Definitely don´t put her on sand, that is the worst thing you can do right now. Some paper towels are your best bet now, because they are the most sterile. What did you use before?
Actually, I´ve been using UV with my leopards for some time now and I have to say they are doing better. It´s not a must though. If she gets D3 via multivitamin supplement, it´s fine.
Definitely don´t put her on sand, that is the worst thing you can do right now. Some paper towels are your best bet now, because they are the most sterile. What did you use before?
Actually, I´ve been using UV with my leopards for some time now and I have to say they are doing better. It´s not a must though. If she gets D3 via multivitamin supplement, it´s fine.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Thanks for taking your leo to a specialist! (For me it's a 2.5 hour trip one way to get to my nearest exotics vet.) How have the iodine soaks been going? What type creme and antibiotics were you given? Can you inject the antibiotics into some food source that's more nutritious than wax worms -- like maybe mealworms or black soldier fly larvae (calciworms or Phoenix worms)?
I totally agree with you: NO sand for your leo's substrate! Kitchen paper towels and slate are excellent substrates! UVB for a leo is sort of a "science". UVB strength is dependent upon the height of your enclosure. UVB is just an option for leos.
Please share these things about your 17 week old leo:
- a picture of your leo
- a picture of her enclosure
- supplement brand, exact name, & supplement frequency
- Were you able to get her toes separated?
- How much stuck shed remains on her toes?
- What type hygrometer are you using to measure humidity: an analog (circle) or a digital?
- What is the ambient humidity in the room where her enclosure sits?
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We have bathed her this evening and got the skin off however, the two middle toes keep sticking together! It’s very frustrating. Each time we bath her it’s like we are taking the same layer of skin off and it seems more irritated than before! We were sold some leo life desert sand which is what was in her Vivarium at the breeders shop. It was making the humidity ridiculously high. I think we will see how she gets on without a UV for now. We have been dusting her food with calcium and d3 so hopefully she is getting enough.
Thank you
Hi,
We have used the iodine this evening, she was a little traumatised after the vet yesterday so we left it. The vet has told us to use the wax worms as the mealworms are too small to inject with the antibiotics as she only weighs 17g so on small food. She is absolutely obsessed with the wax worms now and will eat a couple of mealworms too but she isn’t too hungry at the moment since her foot has been injured. We only have one store close to us which sells live food and the options are crickets, locusts (which we have tried today and she doesn’t like), mealworms, wax worms and marioworms. The mealworms they sell would be quite difficult to inject.
I have bathed her this evening and diluted some of the iodine as instructed to rub onto the skin. She is not keen on us touching the affected toes. I managed to get some of the skin off but it was beginning to look very irritated after a few minutes and she was becoming agitated too.
As for your questions, I can’t seem to upload photos from my phone so I will look into trying to log on via a computer so I can share a picture of her and her enclosure. She has a 2.5foot wooden Vivarium, lots of hides (a gecko rock hide on her warm side and 2 coconut hides on the cooler side)
We currently have a heat mat with a thermostat on one side of the viv. I have a dish with pure calcium inside of the viv and a shallow water dish. Current substrate is kitchen roll with pieces of slate for her to lay on if she chooses to. I have nutrobal multivitamin supplement for her food. I tend to dip every few mealworms into the dust as we are feeding her.
She was prescribed flamzine cream 50gm for her toes and baytril 2.5% antibiotics.
We have used the iodine this evening, she was a little traumatised after the vet yesterday so we left it. The vet has told us to use the wax worms as the mealworms are too small to inject with the antibiotics as she only weighs 17g so on small food. She is absolutely obsessed with the wax worms now and will eat a couple of mealworms too but she isn’t too hungry at the moment since her foot has been injured. We only have one store close to us which sells live food and the options are crickets, locusts (which we have tried today and she doesn’t like), mealworms, wax worms and marioworms. The mealworms they sell would be quite difficult to inject.
I have bathed her this evening and diluted some of the iodine as instructed to rub onto the skin. She is not keen on us touching the affected toes. I managed to get some of the skin off but it was beginning to look very irritated after a few minutes and she was becoming agitated too.
As for your questions, I can’t seem to upload photos from my phone so I will look into trying to log on via a computer so I can share a picture of her and her enclosure. She has a 2.5foot wooden Vivarium, lots of hides (a gecko rock hide on her warm side and 2 coconut hides on the cooler side)
We currently have a heat mat with a thermostat on one side of the viv. I have a dish with pure calcium inside of the viv and a shallow water dish. Current substrate is kitchen roll with pieces of slate for her to lay on if she chooses to. I have nutrobal multivitamin supplement for her food. I tend to dip every few mealworms into the dust as we are feeding her.
She was prescribed flamzine cream 50gm for her toes and baytril 2.5% antibiotics.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Method #6
Recently I got my leo a new humid hide -- size large. It is terra cotta. It has a large reservoir on top that you fill with water on a daily basis. My leo seems to like it. She uses it independently.
This hide sits on a separate tile. I place sphagnum moss underneath it as the "floor". Maybe a warm humid hide like this one -- the best I've seen -- would make your leo's sheds go better.
Recently I got my leo a new humid hide -- size large. It is terra cotta. It has a large reservoir on top that you fill with water on a daily basis. My leo seems to like it. She uses it independently.
This hide sits on a separate tile. I place sphagnum moss underneath it as the "floor". Maybe a warm humid hide like this one -- the best I've seen -- would make your leo's sheds go better.
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Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Nutrobal is one of the best multivitamins you can buy! It's super high in plain calcium too! There is no need for a dish of pure calcium inside her enclosure.
For link 77 click: Gecko Multivitamins
Here's the adapted Schedule 124 I suggest.
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Hi Elizabeth,
I think only half of the message I had typed up was posted unfortunately!
We are having a bit of issues with humidity in her enclosure. We have analog and digital hygrometers and thermometers. Before we changed her substrate to kitchen roll, the humidity was reading between 80-90%! It has been very difficult to get the humidity down. Currently with the kitchen roll it is around 45-60% on the warm side of the Vivarium with temperatures of between 28 degrees and 32 degrees Celsius. On the cool side the humidity is around 60-70% humid with temperatures of around 21-24.
We have reduced the humidity a lot but I don’t feel it is enough. I don’t feel as though the hygrometers are very accurate. The Vivarium doesn’t feel humid to touch. We do live in the Uk so the weather currently is warm and wet, creating a humid environment so I’m not sure I am going to be able to achieve lower humidity levels at the moment.
Her toes are definitely stuck together again this morning and she will not let me touch them!
Thank you for your support
IHaveNoIdea
New member
The coconut hides hold humidity very well. You might want to get rid of them and just buy one decent cave. I don´t think humidity is a major concern though, I´ve never measured it in my terrariums. I just leave them as they are, they don´t even have a humid hide. I can tell when they are about to shed, so I soak the whole terrarium in advance. Works and has been for years now
And I don´t think it will hurt if they have calcium dish inside. It´s fine as long as they receive enough of D3 as well. Just make sure they don´t eat excessive amount of calcium.
I found out that the less you worry about them, the better they will do.
And I don´t think it will hurt if they have calcium dish inside. It´s fine as long as they receive enough of D3 as well. Just make sure they don´t eat excessive amount of calcium.
I found out that the less you worry about them, the better they will do.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Hi Elizabeth,
I think only half of the message I had typed up was posted unfortunately!
We are having a bit of issues with humidity in her enclosure. We have analog and digital hygrometers and thermometers. Before we changed her substrate to kitchen roll, the humidity was reading between 80-90%! It has been very difficult to get the humidity down. Currently with the kitchen roll it is around 45-60% on the warm side of the Vivarium with temperatures of between 28 degrees and 32 degrees Celsius. On the cool side the humidity is around 60-70% humid with temperatures of around 21-24.
We have reduced the humidity a lot but I don’t feel it is enough. I don’t feel as though the hygrometers are very accurate. The Vivarium doesn’t feel humid to touch. We do live in the Uk so the weather currently is warm and wet, creating a humid environment so I’m not sure I am going to be able to achieve lower humidity levels at the moment.
Her toes are definitely stuck together again this morning and she will not let me touch them!
Thank you for your support
Adele ~ Did you post more than Message #11 shows above?
Don't depend upon analog hygrometers at all! Basically they only show ballpark readings!!! Toss them. Humidity generally bounces around a lot! Don't worry about the humidity levels you've shared at all. Those levels are good enough. Anything between 40-60% RH is ideal for leopard geckos! Can you set your thermostat for 32.8*C? I set my leo's for 91*F.
***** Leopard geckos appreciate a warm humid hide at even higher humidity levels than you've mentioned when they're about to shed and sometimes just when they feel the urge!
A large terra cotta hide like those mentioned in Method #6 (
) will give your leo the option of higher humidity without the necessity of soaking. I ordered mine from Amazon. Amazon UK may carry them too. I know now that my leo's new terra cotta hide with basin on top is worth every penny. Maybe your leo is in a vicious cycle??? Your temps sound good.
For directions to post pictures on a GU thread, please click the Table of Contents link right below on my signature. Then click link 0. Scroll down a very little ways to see how to post pictures. Scroll on the actual care sheet, not on the linked version. Let me know whether you find it.
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Adele ~ Did you post more than Message #11 shows above?
Don't depend upon analog hygrometers at all! Basically they only show ballpark readings!!! Toss them. Humidity generally bounces around a lot! Don't worry about the humidity levels you've shared at all. Those levels are good enough. Anything between 40-60% RH is ideal for leopard geckos! Can you set your thermostat for 32.8*C? I set my leo's for 91*F.
***** Leopard geckos appreciate a warm humid hide at even higher humidity levels than you've mentioned when they're about to shed and sometimes just when they feel the urge!
Your temps sound good.
For directions to post pictures on a GU thread, please click the Table of Contents link right below on my signature. Then click link 0. Scroll down a very little ways to see how to post pictures. Scroll on the actual care sheet, not on the linked version. Let me know whether you find it.
Hi,
Thank you for all of your replies. Her foot has taken significantly longer than we expected to heal. Her toes are still a little swollen but aren’t bleeding or look as sore. The cream makes the toes stick together again so that doesn’t help. The scab formed on the end of both toes and when we tried to bath her, it just took us back to the beginning of the process again so we have left her for a few days. She has now however, become addicted to wax worms as they were the only food item we could successfully inject with her antibiotics! We did try to inject mealworms but they’re too small and it didn’t work. She will eat wax worms for fun and won’t eat anything else at the moment! I have been lucky to get her to eat one mealworm or cricket a day! I have began to leave a bowl of 10 gut loaded meal worms in every evening and she did eat 3 of them last night which is better than she has been doing. We had to continue her antibiotics until Wednesday and that was the last time I gave her a wax worm. She is now never getting a wax worm again! I have read online to leave her for a few days and let her almost detox from waxworms but still offering the mealworms and crickets every evening. She hasn’t lost any weight, she has put some on as she’s now 22g at 18 weeks old.
We do now have another issue, she is starting to look a little dull in colour again and I believe she is going to shed over the next couple of days. I am very worried that because her toes still look deformed, swollen and stuck together; we’re going to end up with the same thing happen again! Please could you give me some advice as to what I can do to try and avoid this happening again. She still has 2 coconut hides which she seemed to gravitate towards to on her last shed and she has an exoterra rock hide on her warm side. Would it be worth making her a moist hide using a container with wet kitchen roll in? If so, which side of the Vivarium would I put this on?
Thank you
Attachments
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Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Hi Elizabeth,
I think only half of the message I had typed up was posted unfortunately!
We are having a bit of issues with humidity in her enclosure. We have analog and digital hygrometers and thermometers. Before we changed her substrate to kitchen roll, the humidity was reading between 80-90%! It has been very difficult to get the humidity down. Currently with the kitchen roll it is around 45-60% on the warm side of the Vivarium with temperatures of between 28 degrees and 32 degrees Celsius. On the cool side the humidity is around 60-70% humid with temperatures of around 21-24.
We have reduced the humidity a lot but I don’t feel it is enough. I don’t feel as though the hygrometers are very accurate. The Vivarium doesn’t feel humid to touch. We do live in the Uk so the weather currently is warm and wet, creating a humid environment so I’m not sure I am going to be able to achieve lower humidity levels at the moment.
Her toes are definitely stuck together again this morning and she will not let me touch them!
Thank you for your support
How about increasing your thermostat's setting by 1*C? Then you'd be more in agreement with the following chart.
Relative humidity above the levels you mention is important for the warm humid hide.
Do you think she could have broken 1 or both of those middle toes? Part of one toe seems necrotic.
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Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
View attachment 49118View attachment 49118View attachment 49117View attachment 49117
Hi,
Thank you for all of your replies. Her foot has taken significantly longer than we expected to heal. Her toes are still a little swollen but aren’t bleeding or look as sore. The cream makes the toes stick together again so that doesn’t help. The scab formed on the end of both toes and when we tried to bath her, it just took us back to the beginning of the process again so we have left her for a few days. She has now however, become addicted to wax worms as they were the only food item we could successfully inject with her antibiotics! We did try to inject mealworms but they’re too small and it didn’t work. She will eat wax worms for fun and won’t eat anything else at the moment! I have been lucky to get her to eat one mealworm or cricket a day! I have began to leave a bowl of 10 gut loaded meal worms in every evening and she did eat 3 of them last night which is better than she has been doing. We had to continue her antibiotics until Wednesday and that was the last time I gave her a wax worm. She is now never getting a wax worm again! I have read online to leave her for a few days and let her almost detox from waxworms but still offering the mealworms and crickets every evening. She hasn’t lost any weight, she has put some on as she’s now 22g at 18 weeks old.
We do now have another issue, she is starting to look a little dull in colour again and I believe she is going to shed over the next couple of days. I am very worried that because her toes still look deformed, swollen and stuck together; we’re going to end up with the same thing happen again! Please could you give me some advice as to what I can do to try and avoid this happening again. She still has 2 coconut hides which she seemed to gravitate towards to on her last shed and she has an exoterra rock hide on her warm side. Would it be worth making her a moist hide using a container with wet kitchen roll in? If so, which side of the Vivarium would I put this on?
Thank you
You're quite welcome, Adele! Pictures, :yahoo:! I can see those 2 middle toes. One of them seems necrotic at the tip.
The waxworms had one advantage. That way she got her antibiotic Baytril 2.5%. Now give her several days to get hungry prior to offering her mealworms and crickets.
The best advice I can give is to get one of those large terra cotta hides with the basin on top from Amazon UK very soon. Place this hide on the warm end close to the warm dry hide. Use sphagnum moss in the bottom as a bedding. As long as you keep the basin filled with water, the humidity inside will be ideal for shedding prep and for daily humidity needs.
It's time-consuming keeping kitchen roll wet/damp in any typical warm hide. Anything you place inside (kitchen roll, sphagnum moss, or Eco Earth's coco fiber) quickly dries out.
You've mentioned your leo's wooden vivarium = 2.5 feet long. That's 30 inches (76 cm). I believe that adding the large terra cotta hide I linked will help your leo's sheds. It's soooo easy to keep up the humidity inside that terra cotta hide, because those hides "breathe". That terra cotta hide provides a leo with relatively constant humidity inside one of the warm hides. A leo needs warm dry, warm humid, and cool dry hides.
Cut an entrance in a plastic container like this with a soldering iron. Another option is to cut the entrance hole out of the lid. That keeps coco fiber inside better. Place this hide on the warm end of her enclosure right next to her warm dry hide.
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Hi,
I just thought I would update you. I couldn’t get one of those terra cotta hides you suggested, they had no stock available for the uk unfortunately. I did however make my own just with a tuppawear and some soggy kitchen roll. She seemed to enjoy the home made hide, especially when she was just due to shed.
I had her out last night and she was very dull in colour but her toes were once again stuck together and 2 of them had the red/black colouring at the end of them. I checked on her this morning and she had done her full shed in the night and her bad toes look like new! We were very shocked. She has definitely lost the tip of 2 of her toes as there is no claw on them and they’re quite stumpy. There is a 3rd toe where the nail is pointing slightly upwards but it isn’t bothering her. I’m so pleased she has had a successful shed, I was worried we would have to start the process all over again!
She is also eating much better. She ate 12 mealworms after I left her without for 2 days to wean her off the wax worms. She does only seem to eat every other evening and it’s usually around 10-15 mealworms. The other evenings she doesn’t tend to be interested. She was 17g when we had her at the vets and she is now 26g so she’s built her strength up for sure!
Thank you for all of your support, hopefully this won’t happen again!! I will continue posting if I have any issues.