Bloody footprints?

[Khrysty]

I was just wondering if anyone else has had an experience like this. Few months back, one of my males started leaving bloody footprints in his cage. I checked it out, and, sure enough, the bottoms of his feet were bleeding. I never figured out the cause. There were no rough surfaces in his cage at the time, and his floor temps were 92-78--nothing he could have burned himself on. I put some neosporin on them and kept his cage extra clean for a week or so, by the next shed he'd healed.

I thought it was strange, but since he was fine, I was going to ignore it.

Then, in June, my other male started doing the same thing--leaving bloody footprints. He DID have rough surfaces in his cage, and his temp gradient was bigger (92-73). I cared for him the same as the first male: some neosporin and a clean cage. Couple weeks he was just fine.

Nothing like that has happened since, I was just thinking about it and wondered if that had happened to anyone else in here. Seems pretty strange to me.

 

[Mel&Keith]

Could it be a shedding problem?

 

[BalloonzForU]

Could it be a shedding problem?

My thought as well. Strange.

 

[pkrtech]

Are they missing any nails on there toes they could of pulled them out via shedding problem ? Or did you actually see damge on the bottom of the feet ?

 

[Khrysty]

I saw no damage whatsoever. Their shed always comes off completely. There werent even any scratches or cuts that I could see. It was just...bleeding.

 

[reptinut]

If its not shedding, maybe there being overheated? Perhaps some sort of burn? If this persists, go to the vet. some geckos have very weak immune systems due to inbreeding, maybe that has something to do with it? This is pure speculation folks.

 

[Khrysty]

Could a temp of 92 burn? Thats the hottest their floors get. I checked :|

They're not from the same line, not even from the same breeders. My snow wasn't line-bred so I doubt there was any inbreeding at all.

Like i said, it only happened once with each of the boys and hasn't happened to my girls at all. So weird.

 

[Mel&Keith]

What substrate are you using?

 

[Condaman74]

Just a thought, how is the humidity in their setups? Do they have a dry hide as well as a moist hide? I only ask because I have a friend who had a problem with humidity getting too high and her little boys feet started to bleed. I checked it out with my magnifier head gear doohicky and there were what looked like little cuts on the bottom of his feet. She got the humidity under control and hasn't had any more issues.

 

[Dalton280]

shedding problem?

 

[Khrysty]

What substrate are you using?

Tile

 

[Khrysty]

Just a thought, how is the humidity in their setups? Do they have a dry hide as well as a moist hide? I only ask because I have a friend who had a problem with humidity getting too high and her little boys feet started to bleed. I checked it out with my magnifier head gear doohicky and there were what looked like little cuts on the bottom of his feet. She got the humidity under control and hasn't had any more issues.

If that's the case, maybe my room's too humid? They only have a humid hide when they're shedding, otherwise just a warm and a cold hide.

But if my room's too humid, wouldn't it stand to reason that all my geckos would have this problem? Or if it's humidity..shouldn't the geckos who have a humid hide 24/7 have the issue?

Perhaps they're too dry? Could that happen? But..I mean...they're desert animals? Would being dry really affect them that much?

 

[Khrysty]

shedding problem?

Not that I've ever seen. They both have full complete sheds, always.

Neither gecko has had this problem since. It was just the one time for both of them.

 

[Mel&Keith]

I know that some of our males "dig" with their back feet a lot. They stand in the corner and push back feet like their burying something, like females do in a lay box. Maybe rubbing their feet on the tile is causing problems?

 

[Khrysty]

That's possible, and seems a little more probable than the things I've come up with lol. They do try and dig on occasion.

 

[reptinut]

chances are the leopard geckos scrambled around a bit on the tile, roughing up there feet. For conformation on this theory, i suggest taking god close up pictures of the feet and/or looking with a magnifying glass

 

[Khrysty]

I wish I'd have thought to do that when they were still injured :| But if it happens again I definitely will. I'm almost positive, now, that that's what happened.

 

[reptinut]

glad we could help