Baby Not Using Humid Hide

[pucki513]

Hi gecko friends, I have a new little rescue girl that is having a lot of shed problems. She won't use the humid hide.

About your leo:
- Sex: temp. female
- Age & Weight: hatchling; unsure
- How long have you owned your leo: 1.5 weeks
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): free on Craigslist

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: everyday
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now. NO
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal) Normal
- When was the last time he/she went: normal
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on
When I got her, most of her toes were either falling off or in the process of dying/falling off. She had stuck shed on each of her feet, which I got off with soaking. She has no toenails and I believe only 1 full toe left, poor thing. Yesterday she went into shed (first time with me) but will not use her humid hide. I have put her in it several times and changed the location, but she goes out of it and stays in her hot hide. She had the entire body shed "on her" today -looked like a shell- so I soaked her and got almost all off. How do I make her use the humid hide? I'm worried all of her sheds are going to be tough and could do more damage to her.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: plastic tub, 12x8x6
- Type (ex. glass tank): plastic tub
- Type of substrate: paper towel
- Hides, how many, what kind: 3- hot, cool, humid
B) Heating
- Heat source: UTH
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) 92, 73
- Method of regulating heat source: hydrotherm
- What are you using to measure your temps ""
- Do you have any lights (describe)no
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females) none
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): Dubias and mealworms (very small); as many as she will eat in 10-15 mins, everyday; mealworms in bowl
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): tweezers and dish
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands): calcium w/out D3 in bowel, calcium with D3 +Reptevite dusting 1 weekly
- What are you gut loading food with: apples, squash, dog food, veggies

 

[Embrace Calamity]

She probably has a vitamin A deficiency, which is why she isn't interested in using the humid hide - it won't do any good. I'd suggest taking her to a vet and having her assessed if she's in that bad of shape, and they can probably give the gecko something to get her more vitamins she needs to help her shed properly.

Are you using this? ReptiVite? with D3 Because that says use 2-3 times weekly, not once a week. Unless you're using something different.

~Maggot

 

[B&B Geckos]

Vitamin A could be a factor. Breeders keep juvenile geckos and adult males without humid hides. Usually the humidity in a home is sufficient to facilitate shedding. This time of year, however, humidity drops and problems arise. When you notice your gecko getting cloudy, pour enough water on the paper towel to make it damp and your Leo should shed more easily. If you don't use a paper towel for substrate, roll up a paper towel to make a ball, soak it with water and place it in the geckos warm hide to increase humidity.

For stubborn shed on the toes use a shoe size tub with lid, place a folded paper towel in it, add enough warm water to cover feet (use temp gun). It'll have no choice but to soak. soak a second time if needed. Then use baby oil or mineral oil on a q tip in a rolling motion and finish with tweezers. If your worried about hurting the gecko with sharp tweezers, order the blunt, rounded stamp tweezers. Initially the gecko will react to every rub or roll of the q tip, eventually it becomes somewhat disensitized. Be patient.

In order to prevent complications, after every shed, I recommend making a habit of checking the eyes, snout, toes and vent for stuck shed.

Its late. I hope this is coherent, as I copied and pasted from some of my previous posts on this topic.