New baby- Stuck shed

[Barbel]

My very first hatchling arrived last Monday the 19th. He started to shed on Saturday the 24th. His entire body came off very easily and I don't see any, so I am pretty sure he ate it. His entire head is still in shed and hasn't budged in two days. He has 3 hides: one cool/dry, one warm/dry and one warm/humid. He spends most of his time in the humide hide but it's still on his little head! Any advice on how to help get shed off such a little leo?

 

[Stitch]

Moisten the humid hide and make sure he stays in it for about 15 minutes. This should cause the shedding skin to "losen" up. Take a Q-tip and gently rub the shedding skin off. Or you could use tweezers, just be very careful around the eyes.

 

[Barbel]

Take a Q-tip and gently rub the shedding skin off. Or you could use tweezers, just be very careful around the eyes.

That sounds scary! I moistened it earlier this morning, and I have been trying to keep it moist for the past few days. He has spent several hours in there over the past 3-4 dyas. It is still stuck but it does look a bit better. It is mostly stuck around the front of his nose and his eyes.

 

[acpart]

My first hatchlings had shed stuck on their feet. If you can gently drip some water on the stuck area, then hold them in your hand and gently rub it off. I think there is more control with a hand than with a q-tip or tweezers.

Aliza

 

[lytlesnake]

You could give this hatchling a warm water soak, but you have to be very careful doing this with hatchlings. I almost lost a tiny Amel Fat Tail hatchling during a soak recently. Actually it was multiple soaks, as I had to remove skin from pretty much the whole gecko, not just the head. I think this little one got stressed and tired from the multiple soaks and Q-Tip sessions.

If other methods don't loosen up the dry skin on it's head, you could put a very small amount of warm water in a tub, like 1/4" or so. Put the gecko in there and put the lid on. Supervise the gecko closely to make sure it doesn't get too stressed. Leave it in there for no more than 3-5 minutes, then try rubbing the skin off with a moist Q-Tip.

I don't mean to make it sound so scary. Your hatchling should be fine with just one 5 minute soak. In the future I don't think I would give a small and possibly weak hatchling multiple soaks all at once though. It's important to minimize stress on them.

 

[fallen_angel]

We had this problem with a hatchling (and trying to get the shed off myself was just NOT happening). I gave him warm water soaks 1-2 times a day for thirty minutes each time. We then made a "extra moist" hide that the gecko never wanted to leave, and all of the shed was gone in a matter of a few days.

As Jason pointed out, it's much more dangerous for a little one to be in a little cup filled with water, so what I did was add some torn up paper towels, just so that the baby had something to walk on without sliding around everywhere. I then held the cup in the palm of my hand to keep the water warm, and the gecko just sat there the whole time..

Good luck and let us know how things go!

 

[lytlesnake]

add some torn up paper towels, just so that the baby had something to walk on without sliding around everywhere.

That may be a good suggestion, but I would not leave the gecko unsupervised for even a second, as it could get stuck under the paper towel. Either way, you want to watch hatchlings at all times when soaking them.

Also, if you use something like a 6 qt plastic shoebox, it has a bigger surface area, so you can put enough water in so that it will stay warm for a little longer. A tiny amount of water in a cup will probably get cold pretty quickly.

Of course I could be wrong. An insulated cup may stay warm for longer. The water seems to get cold pretty fast in the 6 qt. tub.

 

[Stitch]

That sounds scary!.....

Trust me it's not bad at all. I did this just this morning. Use the Q-tip first it's the safest method and works 99% of the time. I have gotten stuck shed off of plenty of geckos, it just takes time and patience.

Oh yeah, if water isn't working you could use a drop or two of mineral oil. :main_thumbsup:

 

[Barbel]

Thanks to all the helpful suggestions! I made an extra moist hide for him but kept the papertowls on the bottom of the hide so he couldn't really go underneath them. After a few hours in there, I used a moist Q-tip and rubbed it very gently starting from the back of the head to the front. Slowly but surely I was able to remove all the shed. Yay!
I put him back and a few hours later I tried to feed him some mealworms but he wasn't havin' it. He wanted to hide from them rather than eat them! Did I try to feed him too soon, or is this typical? Is there any particular way I need to feed him? I know as babies they eat a lot so how long can he go without feeding?

 

[Stitch]

He could have been stressed. Offer food every evening, trust me he will eat when he gets hungry.

Has he eaten since he arrived?

 

[Barbel]

I offered him 4 mealworms this morning. He ate one and ran from the rest. I have just been tossing them in the bottom on the tank around him, hoping that the movement will catch his little eye. Shoud I put them in a dish or something? He doesn't seem to really like me all that much, lol! Anyway, one is a start.

 

[fallen_angel]

That may be a good suggestion, but I would not leave the gecko unsupervised for even a second, as it could get stuck under the paper towel. Either way, you want to watch hatchlings at all times when soaking them.

Also, if you use something like a 6 qt plastic shoebox, it has a bigger surface area, so you can put enough water in so that it will stay warm for a little longer. A tiny amount of water in a cup will probably get cold pretty quickly.

Of course I could be wrong. An insulated cup may stay warm for longer. The water seems to get cold pretty fast in the 6 qt. tub.

the cup I use is 4.5" in diameter (standard deli cup from Superior Enterprise)

I then held the cup in the palm of my hand to keep the water warm, and the gecko just sat there the whole time..

at no time was my gecko unsupervised; as said, I was holding the deli cup the entire time to keep the water warm :main_yes:

 

[fallen_angel]

I offered him 4 mealworms this morning. He ate one and ran from the rest. I have just been tossing them in the bottom on the tank around him, hoping that the movement will catch his little eye. Shoud I put them in a dish or something? He doesn't seem to really like me all that much, lol! Anyway, one is a start.

I like to let the mealworms wander around so that the gecko will see him moving and eat him if he wants. I mostly use dishes for adults Glad to hear he ate one!

 

[lytlesnake]

at no time was my gecko unsupervised; as said, I was holding the deli cup the entire time to keep the water warm :main_yes:

No worries, I wasn't suggesting that you left your gecko unsupervised. I was just making that point for everyone, that hatchlings require extra attention and care when soaking. After almost losing that little Amel Fat Tail while soaking and helping her shed a few days ago, I realized that hatchlings can stress out, get tired, and possibly inhale too much water during a soak. So I just wanted to make sure that anybody who might be soaking a hatchling was aware of this.

I just had to soak that gecko again a few minutes ago. This time I used just a bit of water and only put the gecko in there for a minute or two. Then I had to use tweezers. The skin on the head and one of the front legs was a breeze to remove, but one of the back legs took me about 20 minutes. It was on there kinda tight, so I had to put her in the water a few times and use a surgeon's touch with the tweezers. A Q-Tip alone wouldn't get it done this time.

I'll be keeping this little gecko's tub moist at all times and check in on her at least twice daily. The good news is that she's quite lively and is eating baby crickets.

 

[Stitch]

I offered him 4 mealworms this morning. He ate one and ran from the rest. I have just been tossing them in the bottom on the tank around him, hoping that the movement will catch his little eye. Shoud I put them in a dish or something? He doesn't seem to really like me all that much, lol! Anyway, one is a start.

I suggest putting them in a dish for 2 reasons. The uneaten worms will not stress the gecko by crawling on him. The second reason is it is much easier to keep count of how much he is eating.

You'r gecko is young and in a new home, so he is stressed. This will cause him not to eat and possibly is the reason for not shedding properly. For the first few weeks you really need to leave him alone. The only interaction should be cage cleaning and feeding. Other then that you shouldn't be near the cage. This means you don't get to watch him eat or handle him. VMS Herps suggest cover all 4 sides of the tank with paper (or what ever else you can get to work) when you first get a new gecko. Over the next 4 weeks you will take away one piece of paper each week. This allows the gecko to slowly get comfortable with it's new surroundings.

 

[Barbel]

Well I have handled him a bit and he seems okay with it once I get him out. He does spend most of him time in his hide though. This morning I tossed the mealworms into his hide one at a time. I closed the opening and waited about 30 seconds. When I looked back in, he had eaten the worm. I did this until he stopped eating. He ate a total of four this morning!