Shed issues on feet

[kathryn]

Hello everyone, I am new here and was referred by a friend. I have an adult female leopard gecko.. I adopted her about a year ago and did not get any information from the previous people as she was just randomly dropped off at the petstore I work at. She wasn't very well taken care of but was friendly so I took her home with me. She was with a male but he was very aggressive towards her so I felt bad for her and took her to get away from him and he found a separate home.

She has never been the best of shedders, but just this week she shed and it all got stuck around her feet regardless of me soaking her and doing the stuff with the humidity and moss in her tank. Today I tried to just not even peel but just brush off some of the skin from her foot and one of her toenails just randomly fell off. I freaked out and put her in a warm bath /again/ and it still won't come off.

Does anyone else have any suggestions? Will her toenail grow back? She's okay otherwise.. in good bodyweight.. no other issues. eats and poops and is a friendly and happy little critter, but the shed is just stuck on her feet so badly this time around

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Unfortunately, the toe will not grow back. She will need some warm soaks, likely for several days. You may be able to work off shed with a q-tip after shes been in warm water 15-20 min. Pharmacy grade mineral oil is good on the q-tip to help roll the skin off. Shed that remains will constrict the toes and she could lose more so be ever so careful. It would be a good idea to switch out the moss for paper towel, it's cleaner and easy to change every few days. Keep it damp and on the warm end. Occasionally I will have a slight shed issue and found that a small amount of fine mist on the warm end is helpful.

 

[kathryn]

Aww darn Thanks. I think I'm just going to do a total cleaning of her cage and keep her on paper towels for a few days. She's always had issues with shedding for some reason, I guess previous neglect at her old house? I don't know anything about her history. She gets all the good bugs and all since I work at a petstore.. dusted crickets, occasional worms and such. This is the first time you really couldn't even see her feet from the shed.. it was just completely crusted on ever after a couple soaks.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Ditto everything Laney said, but also inbetween the soaks use the mineral oil to keep the feet moisturized so the stuck shed doesn't dry about and cnstrict more. It'll take some work but stay on top of it. Just don't try those topical spray shed aides with out asking if any are really worth it her first. I can't comment on them 'cept to say everything I have seen says don't do it.

My boy Eros had some shed issues a while back, and his issue was his tank was too hot (averaged between 95-98*F) and despite having a nice moss hide and spraying every other day he still had shed problems. Not until I added a tuperware dish humid hide with a hole cut out and moist paper towels did his sheds get back on track. Now all I have to do is make sure it stays nice and damp for him as soon as he starts to ghost up. His last shed was just about perfect. 1 little crust of a shed stuck to 1 toenail. 5 seconds with a qtip and water. Eros won't hardly touch the moss moist hide. He was tub raised and never exposed to moss so I guess he doesn't like how it feels, maybe just providing a choice of substrait and moisture will help find a solution. Until then just keep soaking the feet like Laney said. Also what is your tank set up like?

 

[kathryn]

Tank setup is a 10 gallon tank with screen lid.. there is an low watt UTH on the hot side where there is also a low watt red bulb mainly for viewing- temp is probably 75-80 on hot side. the cool side I use spaghnum moss and the waterdish. there is a rock hut hidey thingy towards the warmer end. i use zoomed sand for the substrate and mist the cool side of the tank on a regular basis. i take my lizards out on a regular basis (minus my viper) so they don't have mega huge tanks because i think it's better to take them out to socialize and exercise them than to just leave them in a tank 24/7.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Your temps o your hot side are much too cold. It needs to be an optimum heat range of 88-95 degrees on the hot side measured with a probe thermometer on the floor of the tanks hot side. You use sand substrait which iisn't good, it dries out the skin, and could possibly irritate the feet to the point of infection plus the whole impaction issue if your leo eats it. Switching that to paper towels,vinyl floor tiles or slate floor tiles will help alleviate those issues. Leos come from packed sand type deserts and live in the rockey terraine areas off the desert floor. It's not natural for them to live in sand. Not properly digesting his food could contribute to a nutritional inbalance which could also contribute to the shedding issues.

If you could take a moment to fill out this care questionaire as completely as possible it would really help the membership to help point out some other things that could be changed to better aide your herp.

About your leo:
- Sex
- Age & Weight
- How long have you owned your leo
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)
- When was the last time he/she went
C) Problem
- Please briefly descrive the problem and how long it has been going on

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size
- Type (ex. glass tank)
- Type of substrate
- Hides, how many, what kind
B) Heating
- Heat source
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)
- Method of regulating heat source
- What are you using to measure your temps
- Do you have any lights (describe)
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females)
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)
- What are you gut loading food with

 

[kathryn]

About your leo:
- Sex female (verified by a breeder)
- Age & Weight unknown
- How long have you owned your leo 1 year
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend) dropped off where i work- no longer wanted

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo daily
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now. n/a
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal) normal
- When was the last time he/she went several times a week in a normal amount, atleast a normal poo a day or so after each meal
C) Problem
- Please briefly descrive the problem and how long it has been going on
feet won't shed no matter what i do, she seems to have issues with shedding all together since i've had her but this is the first major issue.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size 10 gal
- Type (ex. glass tank) glass tank with screen lid
- Type of substrate reptile sand , soaked moss on cool side
- Hides, how many, what kind rock hideout, which she never uses as she likes to be out in the open
B) Heating
- Heat source UTH heater, red bulb
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) will have to check for sure tomorrow, 75+ on warm side, less than 70 on the cool side.
- Method of regulating heat source
- What are you using to measure your temps tank thermometer but i am doubting accuracy
- Do you have any lights (describe) red lamp bulb
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females) n/a
- Describe health, or previous problems history unknown- abandoned

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much) gut loaded crickets, waxworms and horn worms as treats, sometimes small mealworms. not eating as much now since it's winter, but normally offered food 3-4 times a week at about 6 bugs per feeding
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) small supervised feedings in tank
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) flukers calcium dusted crickets on a regular basis
- What are you gut loading food with feeders come gut loaded from where i work

 

[Joao]

Shed-ease by zilla has worked wonders for me. I don't bother mixing it with water and soakin my leo, doesn't seem to help much, besides getting them used to the touch of wetness.I just apply the shed-ease directly to a q-tip then rub and roll. It takes a while, but eventually it will come off.

Snowflake hasn't had a clean shed since I got her so I'm playing around with her tank settings. Currently I removed the red heat bulb. I have a feeling that the heat bulb might have been drying her shed out while she chillaxed on the tiles, but I can't confirm this.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I would suggest changing a lot of things for optimal health. Pick up a probe thermometer at the pet shop or walmart, it's usually less than $10. Get rid of the sand! It is known to cause problems, not a matter of if there is an issue, but when. Not only that, but the sand is an irritant to sore little feet. I suspect it has caused an ongoing problem with sheds by taking the moisture from your gecko. Fortunately you have not had an impaction (constipation) issue yet. Move the humid hide to the warm side, with the probe thermometer near or under it. Warm end temps need to be measured on the floor surface, as that's what they need for proper digestion. It's likely you are in a good range there but without the correct way to measure, you can't be sure. Ambient means nothing to them, they like a warm belly. If you like the look of sand, take a gander at your local home improvement store at floor tiles. There's some real nice ones available that are very attractive in tank set-ups, both slates and vinyls, that are good for heat transfer with the appropriate sized heat mat. Red bulbs are also not great. What is the schedule for that? Your feeder quality and supplement schedule should be tweaked as well. Check out those threads on this forum for proper feeding, again, for optimal health.

A lot of information on the various websites and this forum is very different that what is given as advice from pet shops. Please don't let this confuse you! A lot of us here have been successfully keeping reptiles for many years and strive to keep our animals happy and healthy, by doing what's best for them.

 

[kathryn]

Thanks for all your help! I'm not really a newbie pet owner or anything, and do have a reptile vet and also connections to several reptile breeders and hobbyists... the problem is just SOOO much conflicting information!! Just like with my bearded dragons.. I have the one crowd who SCREAAAMM if you use any kind of sand because their friend of a friends dragon died from impaction.. but then you have the other crowd who freak out if you use reptile carpet of any kind because their friends moms brothers dragons foot got caught in it and fell off... So it's like you can't win.

When I have money again next week, I'll take a look at tiles. For her I'm totally willing to look into that.. I never heard of using tiles until recently, but then you still have the people who think tiles suck for X reason.

Oh, and as far as the temps go, the sand was much warmer on the warm side than my previous estimate. I don't have money right now for all the gear (I got the boot from the place I had been with since I was 15 just in time for the holidays last year...).. I'll start looking into things in the mean time.


edit: oh and i took the sand out and put down moist paper towels for a few days to help her feet out and gave her another warm soak. Her toe is totally healed though, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was now that most of the dead skin fell off.

She's kind of a weird gecko though, she really doesn't seem to like having a complicated set up. She NEVER hides for one and would rather come out of her warm tank and sit on my shoulder as I watch TV. She's just very outwardly friendly lol

 

[prettyinpink]

Please dont' use shed-ease or anything bottled at a petstore marked for their skin unless your vet gives it the ok.

If you're having trouble with shedding...I just did this last night.

Fill up a plastic container with some nicely damp paper towels/napkins, take a sock and fill it with rice, microwave it for a bit so it's nice and hot. Put the gecko in the container and shut the lid (You can poke one hole in the container...I'm always worried they can't breathe). It'll start fogging up fast. Leave the leo in there for about 30mins, when you take her out her stuck shed should be peeling off.
For my container I used the containers the leos are in at the reptile shows. Just covered all the holes except one (because i was worried about breathing) with tape.

I was SO happy with the results, she had REALLY stuck sheds, I tried soaks every night and it wouldn't work. When I did this it finnally got off her stuck shed.

**If she isn't hiding you might need to double check your temps. They might not be hot enough, or too hot. Are you using a probe temp to measure your temps?
Actually just reread your form you filled out. 70* is wayyyy too cold. You need to bump it up to *88-95

 

[fl_orchidslave]

That's interesting about the rice bag, Erica. Great idea

Kathryn, there are a lot of different ways to accomplish the same thing in many cases. It's good to know alternatives in case one way doesn't work, try something else. Some things are also affected by geographic location. For instance, I am in Florida, my heat gradients, humidity levels, daylight schedules are different than New England states. Some things I do work great here but not in Mass. We don't have many basements in FL but a lot of folks keep herps in their basements and need to have a daylight cycle, so they have lights set up on timers for simulation. Works great for them but not something we do in my area. The basic husbandry also can vary with the keepers experience level. Many breeders have care sheets available on their websites. They all say mostly the same things with maybe a few different personal views on specific points. That's also true of advice offered on this forum. Most members here are very passionate about their gex and this is a great place to interact with others and learn.