handling and shedding

[kiko123]

hi everyone! I am pretty new here, as with leopard geckos. I just got my first one a few weeks ago, and Im fascinated with them but I have a few questions. Recently Kiko has lost her color- went a little white. I found out thats because she's shedding. how long does it take? she's been like that for a few days now, and her color hasnt brightened up yet. I have a humid hide for her. its a tupperware container with a hole in it for her to go into. inside is wet paper towels. is this a good hide for her, or should I make something else? I never see her in there. dhe isnt really eating very much, and I know that could be because of her shedding. any suggestions or advice?

also, I have been trying to handle her. for a few days she would let me hold her, but recently I went to pick her up and she hissed at me.. kinda freaked me out, lol. since then Ive been a little reluctant to hold her. shes just a baby, maybe 4 inches long. should I hold off on holding her until she gets bigger, or should I just take it slow? how is the best way to pick them up? she's really fast! thanks for the advice!

 

[Saphira]

They can usually shed in about 1-3 days. The humid hide should be fine.

I think that holding frequently is important...

 

[BGalloway]

The humid hide sounds fine. She should shed soon.

I'd say take it slow with the handling. There are some really good threads already up about bonding with and taming your gecko, you should be able to find them with the search function. If she let you hold her for a few days and just now hissed she might just be in a mood because of the shed.

 

[stellascura420]

The humid hide sounds good but if she won't go in it maybe you could take the lid off to raise the ambient humidity in the tank and help her shed? I don't know what your tank setup is like, but when mine shed they like to rub all over everything so I try to put things in with them that will make it easier. I think she will be fine as long as she's not losing a lot of weight in her tail.

My leos don't usually like to be held when they're in shed but any other time they are good. I only have two but the way I got my last leo tamed and used to me was after feeding her, I would lay my hand in front of her. At first she ignored it then she would walk over to my hand. When she got used to my hand I tried picking her up and she didn't try to run like she did at first. But I think your baby will be much less moody when she sheds and you won't have any problems. The best way for me to pick them up is either let her walk on your hand or hold them around their chest/belly under their arms.

So I hope that helped some. How long have you had your leo? And welcome to GF