Stuck shed on toes, getting very worried

[arborman]

Our 1 year old is having lots of issues the past few months with not being able to loose the shed on some of her toes. One toe has almost a capsule like build up of old skin, and this past shed, more toes have stuck skin on them. We have tried soaking her and working it off with a Qtip, but are not having any luck. I am getting worried about the health of her toes! We do keep a moist hide in her tank at all times, so I am not sure what we are doing wrong. Right now, we have had her in a bowl of shallow water for the past 20 minutes, and the skin is almost just glued on. How can we get this off, and how can we prevent this from happening in the future?


Thank you for any help!

 

[Mel&Keith]

Some Leos just have problems shedding, I'm not sure why but there's not a whole lot you can do to completely prevent it. The best way may be to mist the tank when you see her going into shed or give her a warm water soak. You remove the stuck shed, soaking is the best way but it can take a lot of patience. You may have to do 4-5 soaks a day and just remove a little at a time until you get it all off. I very gently use my fingernails to help remove it but you have to be very careful not to hurt their toes. Good luck!

 

[arborman]

Some Leos just have problems shedding, I'm not sure why but there's not a whole lot you can do to completely prevent it. The best way may be to mist the tank when you see her going into shed or give her a warm water soak. You remove the stuck shed, soaking is the best way but it can take a lot of patience. You may have to do 4-5 soaks a day and just remove a little at a time until you get it all off. I very gently use my fingernails to help remove it but you have to be very careful not to hurt their toes. Good luck!

Great, thank you for the feedback. I will try doing the misting, as well as multiple soaks.

Funny, this has been a new issue. She has been fine about shedding up until a few months ago. Nothing has changed with the setup either.

 

[bman123]

I guess all you can do is a soak

 

[stephane110]

there is also commercially available shedding aid available from most pet stores. Ive heard great things you may want to check it out.

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...nes-and-cage-cleaners/-/zoo-med-shedding-aid/

thats what im reffering to, but you should be able to get some from your local pet store if you dont want to order online.

 

[didgetspatch]

This is good to know, one of my leos have also got shed left on her toes. I managed to get one toe clear this morning before having to head to uni and I'm going to try and do the rest when I get back. But it's good to know that if I can't get it off with a cotton bud that I can VERY carefully use my finger nail to try remove it.

 

[Designer Geckos]

If you can get him to hold still as you hold him, use a Qtip and have really warm water available. Dip the Qtip repeatedly in the warm water to be sure the Qtip is really wet and warm and keep swabbing the toes with stuck shed. After 5 minutes or so it should come off very easily.

Many leos freak out if you place them in a water bath...does more harm than good sometimes. Using a really wet warm Qtip works 100% of the time.

One leo we have had an ongoing prob with is now doing fine...what we do is use Repti Shedding Aid on his feet, lower legs and face. Right before he goes into shed, we swab it on (don't spray it) with a Qtip and make sure you hold them as you swab those areas so it soaks in. Apply it 4-5 times to those areas to be sure the skin soaks up the solution. It softens the skin so when they shed it comes off easily for them. Works great! Prevention is the way to go...and always be sure your moist hide is ready as soon as their skin gets milky, etc.

This whole topic cannot be overemphasized. So many do not take proper care to avoid these shedding problems, which leads to lost toes, even lost legs, bad facial scarring, and even infection. I was at one of the large pet chains the other day and was sickened when I saw a young normal leo that had such bad scarring and redness around the leg joints that I wanted to scream. ARGH!

Thank God there are forums like this one to educate us all. We're always learning here...problem is, the big chains aren't into teaching, and both the animals and people end up suffering because of it.

 

[naz_ruless]

my leo stuck shed around her nose..dont know wht to do..the stuck shed look bad to me..

 

[roger]

This is good to know, one of my leos have also got shed left on her toes. I managed to get one toe clear this morning before having to head to uni and I'm going to try and do the rest when I get back. But it's good to know that if I can't get it off with a cotton bud that I can VERY carefully use my finger nail to try remove it.

or use one end of a pair of tweezers

 

[gmaier19]

i just want to emphasize the importance of getting the stuck shed off. if there is stuck shed that builds up on their toes it will never come off on its own. the gecko will just let it build up until their toes fall off. trust me even if youre gecko is super pissed at you for messing with its feet its well worth it because the toes will definitely fall off. unfortunately im speaking from experience from when i didnt know about the severity about this issue when i was a gecko noob. good luck.

 

[Designer Geckos]

i just want to emphasize the importance of getting the stuck shed off. if there is stuck shed that builds up on their toes it will never come off on its own. the gecko will just let it build up until their toes fall off. trust me even if youre gecko is super pissed at you for messing with its feet its well worth it because the toes will definitely fall off. unfortunately im speaking from experience from when i didnt know about the severity about this issue when i was a gecko noob. good luck.

Yep, this is a very serious prob for many new folks. And there doesn't have to be a buildup...a one time stuck shed is all it takes to lose a toe.....that will never grow back.

 

[Kilikina]

I've had Kilikina for nearly two years.. and she never had any problems shedding until this April. Since then, every shed has been such a problem! I'm not sure what the deal is. It has gotten in her eyes and stuck on her face and lots of stuck shed on her toes. She's had several baths and I'm constantly rubbing her with warm water and q-tips. She's getting another bath tonight, so hopefully I'll be able to get her looking and feeling back to normal before bed tonight. I'm not sure why this is happening all of a sudden.. but I know she isn't enjoying it, either.

My roommate has Zilla Shed Ease (http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/shed-ease.htm) that we got for a problem shedder, and I love it. I'm now home for the summer so I can't use hers, but I'm definitely going out tomorrow to get some of my own!