Shedding Concern

[mushraeddur]

I posted this in the general forums, but haven't seen a response...thought I'd post here and see if anyone has any advice/insight.

Okay, so I got my leo this past Christmas. He has not been eating much lately and I noticed he had some skin on his face that never came off. I watched it for about a week. This is probably his 5-6 time shedding since I've had him, and he always had himself "deskinned" in a day or two. I also noticed that his eyes weren't open quite as wide as they usually are because of the dead skin kind of blocking them.

I don't know if this is causing him to not eat (trouble seeing his wiggly worms?), but I'm starting to get concerned.

I gently pulled some of the dead skin away and it came off. However, some of it did not want to come off. He is used to me holding him, but he still is a little skittish when it comes to touching beyond holding...though he was a lot less skittish today when I began working on the removal of his dead skin. He pulled away if the skin got hung up (at which point I no longer pulled on it).

I managed to safely remove the dead skin covering his right eye, but the skin on the left eye had less to get a hold of. I ended up putting a drop of warm water on it and gently massaged the area. I continued to do this adding a drop of warm water occasionally. He pretty much let me do this with very little objection.

I finally got the skin covering his right eye off (took about 40 min of water drops and massaging). I don't know if there is anything wrong with his eyes, but he doesn't flinch when I put my fingers near his head like he used to.

Did I do the right thing by helping him remove his dead skin?

He has a nice humid hide that I have been checking daily to ensure it is indeed moist. I use folded paper towel that I moisten enough that it doesn't drip. It's about in the middle of the tank so some heat from the UTH can help with the humidity inside it.

Has this happened to anyone else? I'm just concerned about this especially because I think it was causing him not to see much.

 

[RampantReptiles]

Yes problems shedding is very common and helping him get rid of it was the right thing to do. However I would have done it much sooner as I have had a couple of instances where the leo just kept rubbing trying to get it off and rubbed themselves raw to the point of bleeding.

Also Im not sure if you have been doing this but it helps to use a moist cue tip to "massage" the skin off. Might make it easier on those small pieces.

 

[Shera]

It's important to help with any remaining skin after a shed, so I'd say you did the right thing. Is he squinting or licking his eye a lot? Does the eye look clear? Does he flinch when you put your finger to the other side of his head? I don't think mine flinch when I put my hand near them, it's possible he's just getting used to you. It may appear that he is having trouble hunting when he's really just not interested in the food. It can take a while for a new gecko to settle in and start eating regularly again. If the eye looks clear and doesn't seem to be bothering him I wouldn't worry too much about it right now. If the hunger strike keeps up to the point that there is significant weight loss then you need to do something about that.

 

[KrakenQueen]

I'd also suggest using Repti-Shedding Aid in future cases, and gently massaging it in first. This helps with shedding and keeping it from sticking, it's also great for helping with opening eyes that are stuck shut. Edna, my first and new leo was given to me by a family friend, she came to me with severe issues with her eyes. The repti-shedding aid has been helpful with keeping her bad eye open, rather than sticking closed. I just spritz a little on a fingertip, gently rub it on the eye, and it does it's own thing.

 

[mushraeddur]

It's important to help with any remaining skin after a shed, so I'd say you did the right thing. Is he squinting or licking his eye a lot? Does the eye look clear? Does he flinch when you put your finger to the other side of his head? I don't think mine flinch when I put my hand near them, it's possible he's just getting used to you. It may appear that he is having trouble hunting when he's really just not interested in the food. It can take a while for a new gecko to settle in and start eating regularly again. If the eye looks clear and doesn't seem to be bothering him I wouldn't worry too much about it right now. If the hunger strike keeps up to the point that there is significant weight loss then you need to do something about that.

He doesn't flinch when I move my fingers around him much at all...He used to be more skittish. I don't know if he's getting used to me or if he is having trouble seeing. His eyes are a really dark black...I'm not sure what you mean by clear exactly. I can't even see his pupil/eye slit they are so dark. He licks his eyes some, but not very much.

I don't have a scale to see if he's losing weight, but he looks about the same to me.