fat masses on females?

[boutiquegecko]

I know males get the fatty masses behind thier arms usually for breeding season, but can females too? This tang I have (in shed), is I believe done laying for the year-no visible eggs for about 2 weeks now, but she has these masses behind her arms. One is much bigger than the other. Just wanted to know if it was a breeding thing or should I take her to the vet? She lost a few grams for the season, but her tail didn't thin out, she just grew these things.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Sometimes people get confused with fat pockets and lymphatic calcium fluid that builds up on the sides, and especially around the armpits, of some geckos. What your photos look like to me is subcutaneous lymphatic fluid, which means your gecko has an excess of calcium building up and it is draining into the tissues. It's nothing to worry about, but I'd cut down on her calcium for a couple of weeks to see if it goes away.

 

[boutiquegecko]

Thanks, I hadn't seen/read about that anywhere. Maybe we should topic it in the health board for future ref? Should I move her to a separate enclosure maybe from the other females then? Because they have the norm calc dish and I dust too.

 

[gothra]

I'd always thought of the pockets behind their forearm as fat pockets, never knew about lymphatic calcium fluid build-ups...so, how do I tell them apart?

 

[boutiquegecko]

The only difference I can tell between looking at my males and her is that her's look like blisters, and the males are more solid. That's why I wasn't sure if it was a problem or not. Doesn't seem to hurt her when I touch it.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Lymphatic fluid looks more like a blister. If you take a sterile needle and puncture a hole in it and watery liquid comes out, it's lymphatic fluid. To my knowledge it isn't really harmful, it just means that the calcium level in the gecko's system is very high.