new geckos with foot problems

[Mostly Broken]

I recently acquired 2 leopard geckos. They seem healthy except they have purple sand stuck to their toes. The 10 gal atrium they lived in had purple sand in it and when I removed the water dish I also found mold.

I moved them into a 40 gal unit with a rubber mat and no loose substrate. I have provided a moist hide and encouraged them to use it by setting them inside and having them find the way out. The do not seem interested in it but I thought it would help get the sand globs off their feet.

My next step was to line the atrium with wet towels for them to walk around on but I do not want to lower their body temp too much. any other suggestions? it looks like the feet are died purple and bellies too. I figure over time in the new atrium this would go away. I would like to get the sand off their feet before they shed because I figure it could really cause some issues. Should I just leave it be and it will eventually go away?

this is my first set of geckos, I read quite a bit before I got them but still new to it all.

thanks for any input

 

[acpart]

Congratulations on your new geckos. Try soaking them for a few minutes in about 3/4" of warm water. Then gently rub at the feet and see if some of the sand will come off. If you do this a few times the situation should improve.

Aliza

 

[Mostly Broken]

thank you, I'm not sure if they are comfortable with that much interaction with me yet but I will give it a go. I did make a new moist hide with a rock and moss but they are still not interest in it.

 

[Cesar_Da_KIng]

got any pics of their feet and bellies?

 

[Mostly Broken]

I was thinking of posting up some photos, the purple is mostly gone now, they both have shed now. one still has a little clump of sand and they both have skin still stuck to their feet. I have had them in the moist hide quite a bit and did a little 3/4 in warm water bath to soak the toes but its still hanging on and i'm not sure what to do to help or if it will work itself out.

edit to add photos. some photos of the feet and the enclosure I have them in.
second to last photo is the best one of the purple glob stuck to the toe. the second from the top shows a discolored nail which I think may actually be a little bloody stump where she tore the tip of her toe off some how. I hope it grows back. I think it may have had a clump of sand stuck to it as well.

 

[RedBlaze]

It looks more like you have a shedding issue than a dye issue. Their toes could still look purple because the stuck shed can constrict their toes and eventually they could lose the toe.

Soaking them the way acpart mentioned should help with the stuck shed.

 

[Mostly Broken]

the purple was from the purple sand they lived in before I got them, they just shed like two days ago but I am concerned about the skin on the toes. I did try a little warm bath but it didn't seem to help but I will try again

 

[Mostly Broken]

okay, interesting update, almost all the purple is gone after the shed. what I thought was a glob of purple sand stuck to the toes is in fact several layers of stuck shed with a freakishly long over grown claw in it. after soaking them several times and using a rag to wipe the toes and a pair of tweezers I was able to get most of the skin off but they have become tired of this and are soaking again. getting the toes free of layers of stuck shed will improve future sheds I hope. I'm just glad they still have all their toes. When I bought these guys I didn't realize I was rescuing them from a bad situation. mostly just neglect and no understanding of what they needed.