Shedding Question

[bitterbeauty]

When should I intervene and go ahead and try to get the shedded skin off the toes? My baby gecko Ripsi shed last night and when I checked on her this morning she still had skin leftover on her head and feet. Now this afternoon it is just some left on her toes. When should I help her get it off? Or do you just wait for a few days? I made sure her humid hide was extra moist and she sat in it for a hour or so but she still has skin on her toes. Just wondering because I dont want her to loose any toes! lol Thanks!

 

[lytlesnake]

See my thread below. I would soak her in a tub with about an inch of warm water for half an hour. You want the water to be warm but definitely not hot. I use a sterilite tub and put the lid on so the humidity builds up. Then when you take her out, hold her and gently rub a wet Q-Tip on her toes to loosen the skin. Rub in the direction from the leg down to the toe tips. Sometimes the skin just comes off like that, but sometimes you need to use a fingernail or some tweezers (very carefully) to pull the skin over the end of the toe tip. If you can get the skin to stick out from the toe a little with the Q-Tip, it's usually possible to grab the skin with the tweezers without hurting the gecko.

Just soaking the gecko and hoping that the moist hide will do the trick has proven insufficient in the case of my sunglow and a few other leos. So I highly recommend that you go ahead and soak her, then remove the skin manually if it's still there.

I see that your gecko is a baby too. In that case, you'll need to be super extra careful if you use tweezers. Maybe you won't need the tweezers. Also, a baby gecko will probably need less than an inch of water. You want her to be able to keep her head above water.

 

[bitterbeauty]

Great information! Thanks so much!

 

[lytlesnake]

You're welcome Tiffany. For a baby gecko you may only need to soak her for 15-20 minutes before manually removing the skin. And hopefully it will just come off on it's own from the soak. I've never done this with a baby gecko, just adults. I'm guessing a baby gecko might thrash around in the water a bit, so you should supervise her the entire time. The adults generally relax after a second and just sit there enjoying the soak, but I don't know about babies.

 

[fallen_angel]

You're welcome Tiffany. For a baby gecko you may only need to soak her for 15-20 minutes before manually removing the skin. And hopefully it will just come off on it's own from the soak. I've never done this with a baby gecko, just adults. I'm guessing a baby gecko might thrash around in the water a bit, so you should supervise her the entire time. The adults generally relax after a second and just sit there enjoying the soak, but I don't know about babies.

I am soaking my baby as I am typing this, and she/he is just chiilin' I have him/her in a deli cup with about a quarter inch of water nd some paper towel strips so he/she doesn't slide around everywhere. I'm holding the cup in my left hand to keep the water at a warm temp..

 

[fallen_angel]

Well the little one would not have anything to do with me touching him with a q-tip, so that's out! I'm just going to give him 3-4 soaks (for 15 mins. each) a day

 

[Ccrashca069]

Sometimes after the soak you can remove the shed with just your finger tips rubbing very gently.

 

[The Sunset Gang]

I usually wait about 24 hours untill I go ahead and help out my kids. Usually they behave but sometimes you will have them flip out. Just take your time and talk to them. Good Luck!