Lump Under Front Legs. Googled But Still Have Questions!

[Ginger Snap]

About your leo:
- Sex - Female
- Age & Weight - 3-5 years / Weight: Not sure but I think she's on the chunky side.
- How long have you owned your leo -10 Months
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend) - She was re-homed to us.

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo - At least every other day.
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now. - Not really. She's not really that social, which is fine.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe. - I don't know, my husband thinks I'm a hypochondriac with the leo's but after we moved she wouldn't use her moist hide. We were using a Tupperware container with a hole cut in it. Previously she had no issues with it. After a month of refusing it, I bought some Exo Terra hides but she refused those too. So then I just started trying different containers. Finally after a couple months I found one she liked. It's actually a large spaghetti jar with sphagnum moss. I clean it every other day because a vet said the only issue he saw with it was less air flow. So far it's been fine and she uses it almost daily.

B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal) - They are normal. Well formed and have the white urine ball thing.
- When was the last time he/she went - Yesterday

C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on - Well she's had a lump under both front legs for well over a month. Google says this isn't anything to be alarmed about but they don't seem to be going away. I read it could be because she's not breeding anymore but her body is storing fat for breeding and I read it could be calcium or other mineral deposits. Then tonight she started licking the calcium in the bottom of the dish while feeding. I have a video of it.

https://youtu.be/i8LAOlUGrQU

I'm also concerned about her coloring. I found a picture on here from when we first got her and her spots are much more dull now is some areas. I don't know if this is a sign of something or just age or what.

When we got her.


Her tonight.


Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size - 20 gallon long tank.
- Type (ex. glass tank) - Glass
- Type of substrate - Paper towels
- Hides, how many, what kind - Two hides, one I made from clay on her heat side, and her humid hide I discribed above. Glass jar with sphagnum moss.

B) Heating
- Heat source - Red Exo Terra infrared 75W over tank light
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) Her hot side right now is 91 and her cool side is 76
- Method of regulating heat source - I'm not sure what this means. She just goes back and forth when she wants. Sometimes she's in her dry hide, sometimes on top of it, sometimes in the middle, sometimes in her moist hide.
- What are you using to measure your temps - A heat gun.
- Do you have any lights (describe) - Just the one mentioned above.

C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females) - None. They have been separated for 10 months which is when we got them.
- Describe health, or previous problems - The male she was with was aggressive with food and with mating. She laid eggs within the first week that they were given to us. We separated. We put the eggs in some spaghnum moss and they ended up hatching fine. We kept them for 6 months then donated them to our favorite exotic pet store, which they were sold very quickly. They were super cute!

The babies!



Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much) I alternate between crickets and mealworms. I feed them 3-4 times a week.
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) Well when it's crickets I transfer her to a 10 gallon tank to feed. When it's mealworms I put them in a dish and just keep feeding until she loses interest or 15 min has passed.

B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) - I've only been doing calcium since we got them, which is Zoo Med Repti Calcium with D3 but have been limiting that since the lumps under her arms.
- What are you gut loading food with - I put the crickets in a big plastic tote and give them Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread, apples, carrots, celery, and Nature Zone Total Bite Cricket Food. I also have damp paper towels for extra water. The mealworms I give organic oats, wheat germ, Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread, and some form of water with carrots, apples, celery. I also mix some of the calcium powder in with it all because I figure it can't hurt since I'm not dusting them at every feeding.

So recap. Does she need a vet for the lumps and is the skin/marking dullness a sign of an underlying problem.

Thanks!

 

[acpart]

In my experience, what you're seeing is within the normal range for leopard geckos. Some of them do have those "bubbles" under the front legs. Some people think they're fine and some think they have too much calcium. I 've never had any problems with those of my geckos that have them. The color change is OK too. Some females fade as they age if they've been bred. Enjoy them.

Aliza

 

[Ginger Snap]

Ok, Thanks Aliza. You are the one that actually answered my questions when I first got them.

 

[Neon Aurora]

Personally I take the bubbles to mean I have been overfeeding a bit. Geckos can become overweight and it's probably not necessarily good for their health. =) I like to keep my geckos so they have a fat tail but aren't storing much excess fat around their body and neck. I've found the bubbles appear more in my geckos when they become overweight. Everyone does it differently, though.

 

[Ginger Snap]

I agree Neon. Her mid section is really fat when I see her in comparison to when we first got her. I read some of the other threads about this today and I think I'll just do the crickets for awhile since a lot of people said they were the least in fat content. Do you think dropping her feedings to twice a week would be too drastic?

 

[Neon Aurora]

I think that would be fine. I have a male that holds weight exceptionally, and I only feed him about twice a week (although I'll admit I'm not good at keeping to a solid schedule) to maintain him. It's amazing how little energy they need. I just make sure his food always gets dusted with Repashy Calcium Plus and that his feeders are nice and gut loaded so I can stay confident that he is not only getting enough calories, but also nutrition.