crickets eat tails?

[LZRDGRL]

Hi,

Maybe someone can help here: Do my geckos have skin diseases (is this possible?), do they bite each other (mating? aggression?), or did crickets nip at their tails???

Here's a picture of my beautiful carrot tail, Fridolin. At first, it was hard to tell anything was wrong. But if you look closely, the tip of his tail seems all dried up. That's because the outer layer of skin was missing, and it has healed up now, and has like a kind of scab on it.

Here's a close-up of Frido's tail:

That happened yesterday. I gave him a lukewarm bath, cleaned his tail, and his cage. He doesn't behave like he is affected by it at all. But today when I checked his cage, I found that his Enigma mate, Namaste, had a much bigger chunk bitten out of her tail!!!

Do you think they bit each other? They've never done it before, and they've been together for over five months now. They live in a big cage with one male (Frido) and three females. I found only one life cricket in there today, so it seems very unlikely that the cricket has done that! Furthermore, I always have a slice of apple, potato, and some pieces of dry cat food in the cage, to make sure crickets that don't get eaten immediately have something to eat. The only other things I found in the cage were two black beetles that had developed out of left-over mealworms, and I've removed those. Could they have done it?

Right now, I've separated the geckos; Frido is alone now with one of his wives, and Namaste and another (unharmed, 75% carrot tail) female are in a different cage. They weren't breeding at all, and their temperature is down to brumation, so what would you suggest - should I leave them separated until next spring, or can I put them together when the two tails are healed up? They were my "most beautiful tails," so I don't want to endanger them.

I did leave Fridolin's favorite girlfriend in with him (an 80% carrot tail; you see them together on the picture). They really like each other, and lick each other a lot (although I never saw them mate). I don't want him to feel all alone. Is it safe to leave them together, you think? She doesn't have a single bite mark.

I've never had this issue before :main_huh:

Chrissy

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I would check the surface temperatures of the gecko's enclosure before you do anything else.... BUT! Yes, crckets will and do eat the tails of leopard geckos. I have a female that had chronic issues with the end of her tail looking like hamburger and scabbing over, only to be raw and even slightly bloody again. I finally figured it out. It was crickets left in her tub overnight that were chewing on her tail.

I know some of you will be skeptical about this claim, but it is the truth. I wound up having to amputate the end of this gecko's tail, and I no longer feed her crickets. The problem has disappeared.

My suggestion would be to only put in enough cricket for the geckos to eat immediately, and then remove the rest of them. Do not leave uneaten crickets in the gecko's habitat.

Geckos do not have a very sophisticated nervous system... especially in the end of their tails. I honestly don't think they can actually even feel pain/burns there.

 

[LZRDGRL]

Hi Marcia,

Thank you for your reply! I'll clean out the cage completely, to make sure there aren't any other left-over crickets or beetles hiding. That's the problem with "naturalistic" cages - artificial plants and hollow wood offer lots of hiding places!!

It cannot be burns, though, since I only use overhead heating, and no heating pad underneath the cage, and they've been down to winter temperature since the beginning of November.

I hope Frido will keep his tail tip! His injury doesn't look like a bite from another gecko - would be in an unusual place, all at the tip, and just on the surface. Namaste's injury looks like more than a cricket can do, and she'll probably carry a scar. I would be glad if you're right and they don't feel much pain there.

Chrissy

 

[acpart]

I have had some tail problems that look like yours and they have healed well with little or not scarring. I did have one gecko with repeatedly new looking tail wounds and finally caught him with 2 mealworms attached to his bloody tail. He now never has any feeders (even mealworms in a bowl) left in his cage ever.

Aliza

 

[nats]

It looks like they are bitting each other to me.
In spite of the fact that they have been together for 5 months, leos
are very territorial.
I would separate them ASAP.

In your case, I would also use feeding tongs when feeding crix.

That way, you will know there are no strays running around.

Otherwise, it looks like they would dissapear very quick in that tank.

You can also remove their back legs and put them in a bowl.

 

[runko]

no cricket did that prolly a male