Eating paper towels?

[Landen]

So I went to get my enigma eclipse hatchling out to show a friend the other day and as soon as I picked her up, I felt that her mouth was packed full with something. I opened her mouth to find a mouthful of paper towels. I got her to bite onto my finger tip and used some tweezers to pull the paper towels out. I couldn't believe how much she'd eaten. I pulled out 3 pieces all over two inches long. The last piece I pulled out came from down her throat. I could also tell that she had some in her stomach too cause it was very tight.

To my suprise, yesterday and today she has passed two large peices of paper towels. I'm talking solid paper towels, no fecal matter at all. I've never seen anything like it. She started pounding mealworms today as normal. Everything seems just fine. She seems back to normal.

Has anyone else ever had this happen?

I've got a picture I'll put up later of the passed paper towel....

 

[ajveachster]

Do you have a bowl of pure calcium for her? I have had experience with a couple of our geckos eating their substrate until they were given additional calcium.

 

[lillith]

How are you watering your bebe? If it isn't calcium she's after, it could be water...some of my geckos prefer damp paper towels to their water dish, and I see them trying to shred it up or eat it if it gets completely dry. They have calcium dishes, so that's not what mine are after; they lap that up as they need it.

Maybe I just have geckos that are as weird as I am.

 

[Landen]

I keep both available to all. but as I'm sitting here I'm thinking that specific gecko had kept making a mess in her tank with everything so I think I had pulled the calcium dish out for the time being. That would make sense! Another great reason for forums, thanks for your info !

At least I know they can pass it with no problems. You have no idea how much it had eaten!!

 

[sammer021486]

just needed a good internal cleanse, lol.

Paper towel could cause impaction but it is less likely too, because the fiber should break down enough to pass.

 

[Misstasha]

holy!!! thats CRAZY i've never heard anything like that!!! :| wat a silly lil gecko lol

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

Sometimes they will eat substrate because of intestinal discomfort due to parasites/bacteria. I hope it turns out to just be the calcium dish though!

 

[Landen]

oh she's prime and fat. She was hatched in june 08 and already weighs over 50 grams. She's a very good eater. She just got real hungry I guess....lol. I'd never seen anything like it before, it was so much. I used tongs to pull it out of her mouth and it was like 3-4 inches long, then she passed two stools completely paper towels. She's fine now...

 

[gothra]

Any chance she is shedding and mistaken the paper towel as part of the shed? I had a female ate quite a bit of torn paper towel during one of her shed, and she pooped it out with some effort after a few days.

 

[Landen]

That's very likely, I hadn't noticed at the time, but can see that happening on accident.