Terrible shedding issues (among other things)

Ivyna J. Spyder

New Member
Messages
18
Location
USA
About your leo:
- Sex - Female
- Age & Weight - 4 years,
- How long have you owned your leo - 4 years
- Where was he/she obtained - breeder (Golden Gate Geckos)

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo -


A few times a week, usually out of necessity to help her shed

- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now -

Shedding problems much worse than normal. Also started to attack her own tail??

Otherwise acting as weird as I've come to expect.

- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe. -

Hoo boy has she. She still does. She's always had problems with her eyes getting crusted shut. The vets can never figure out why, I figure her tear ducts might be messed up. I try to flush them out with sterile saline but the problem always comes back.

Even when they're clear she can't see worth crap, and she's very uncoordinated. She can't climb well, her grip is weak and the wires in her brain seem to be crossed (if something is to her left she will strike to her right, etc)


B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal) -
Normal, no sign of parasites
- When was the last time he/she went - Day or two ago. Digestion seems normal.

C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on


It started about two months ago. She can't shed properly at all, despite having a humid hide box and even with me misting her enclosure when I see her going into shed or giving her warm 'saunas'. She'll still have shed all over her toes and tail. It never used to be this bad.

And when she does shed the skin underneath is... not right looking. Sort of shiny and weird.

She also tends to have these bubbles of fluid under her armpits too. She's had em on and off for years.

Otherwise she always seem chronically dehydrated. She always has fresh water, but never drinks on her own. I've taken to putting her in shallow water a few times a week and she'll drink a LOT... but it doesn't seem to help with the shedding.

Only thing I'll note is the symptoms started a little after I switched vitamin supplements to Repashy's 'Calcium Plus'. None of my geckos seemed to like the stuff so I only used it for a few weeks. The problem with this one hasn't gone away though.

Housing:
A) Enclosure

- Size - 20 gallon tank
- Type of substrate - Slate tile
- Hides, how many, what kind - Four. Two caves, one tree stump, one humid plastic box.

B) Heating
- Heat source - Red bulb and undertank heater
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) 91 on warm end, room temp on cool (76-78)
- Method of regulating heat source - Rheostats/dimmers
- What are you using to measure your temps - Infrared temp gun
- Do you have any lights (describe) - Fluorescent UVB light (low level, only about 25 µW/cm² at ground level. Added due to vet's recommendation)

C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females) - None
- Describe health, or previous problems - I have other geckos kept separately and they don't have problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)
- Gut loaded, dusted large crickets. As many as she'll eat 3 times a week. She has a good appetite but remains very petite.

- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) - Hand feeding. Only way she can eat.

B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)
- RepCal Herptivite and ZooMed ReptiCal (without D3. Sometimes I use the stuff with) But as I mentioned I briefly tried out Repashy CalciumPlus. Maybe I had a bad batch? :T
Crickets get dusted with calcium at every meal, vitamins about once a week.

- What are you gut loading food with - Repashy insect gut load, fruits and veggies


Yeah I am really at a loss, so are both my vets. Any advice is appreciated.
 

benga

New Member
Messages
36
Location
California
From what i know some gecko's just aren't good at shedding, i heard this some oil thing at some pet stores that can help with shedding. My gecko is horrible at shedding and almost always needs my help. He might be vit A deficient so you should get some reptivite with D3 it's got Vit A in it.
 
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SORROW89

New Member
Messages
80
Location
NJ
RepCal Herptivite and ZooMed ReptiCal (without D3.

Your using 2 different types and none have d3 or vitamin A. That can be a problem. She needs more than just crickets. I have been asking myself about brands best of uvb best for leopard geckos, but I know I have to change it often and I have been told 2.0 is too low.
 
Last edited:

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