Two sheds in one week?

[missdragonxo]

I have a leopard gecko around 3-4 months old who just shed on sunday and now is in shed again. is that normal?

 

[Retribution Reptiles]

Sounds as if growth rate is going pretty good to me.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Actually, it is not normal for a gecko to shed 2X within a week. The thyroid gland controls a gecko's shedding, and it is more than a factor of growth. Mammals shed skin cells all the time, but reptiles do not... so when the epidermis (skin below the surface) is ready to become dermis (skin at the surface), the old skin will shed. This usually occurs every couple of weeks. Factors such as stress, extreme temperatures, and inadequate supplementation can cause the thyroid gland to go into overdrive... making the shedding process problematic.

Check your temperatures... the surface of the floor over the hottest spot should not be more than 96 degrees (sustained temp), and your gecko should have adequate calcium and vitamin supplementation. If your gecko has been exposed to stressful situations recently, then that could explain the shedding.

 

[Retribution Reptiles]

hmmm you learn something new everyday

 

[missdragonxo]

the hottest spot in the tank is 85 degrees. last week i added a humidity hide to help with the shed and i kept it moist because they love to like the water off the walls. maybe that new addition to the enclosure? they have a calcium dish, water bowl, cool hide, log hide, humid hide (recently removed), mealworm dish, and a large climb rock that zigzags towards the top. i calcium dust their food. and the cool side is around 75 degrees. anything you see may have caused it?

 

[LizMarie]

the hottest spot in the tank is 85 degrees. last week i added a humidity hide to help with the shed and i kept it moist because they love to like the water off the walls. maybe that new addition to the enclosure? they have a calcium dish, water bowl, cool hide, log hide, humid hide (recently removed), mealworm dish, and a large climb rock that zigzags towards the top. i calcium dust their food. and the cool side is around 75 degrees. anything you see may have caused it?

I dunno what causes it but your warm side is too low, it should be between 88-92 even though others suggest 95.

 

[Gregg M]

Another cause of frequent shedding is injury, skin problems, and even certain sickness...

Its not normal for a reptile to shed that frequently... It could very well be a sign of a serious problem or a not so serious one...

Does your gecko spend a lot of time in the humid hide??? If it does, this can be causing an issue as well... Leos should only be in a humid hide while shedding or egg laying....

Also, you need to bump up those temps... Way too low... In general, reptiles like to maintain a body temp of 86 to 87 degrees... I temp gun all of my leos bodies at various times during the day and every one of them are at 86.5 for the most part...

 

[missdragonxo]

my temp is around 89 right now at the ground. at the top of the climbing rock its around 93. i put the humid hide in there for him to shed and i kept it in there because the other gecko went into shed right afterwards. but he kept going in the humid hide when he wasn't shedding. soo could the humidity caused it? he seems pretty healthy, he eats well, active at night. no bulges in the stomach i can see. he also has a mixed diet between meal worms and crickets and they are always dusted with calcium. my other baby gecko sheds once a month and my juvenile every 1-2 months. i never had either of the other two shed less than a month apart.

 

[paintedlizards]

I dont know. My geckos shed weekly- if not bi-weekly ( but they get 'dusty' looking every week). For your geckos to go 1-2 months with no sheds doesnt seem healthy.

 

[lillith]

Is your gecko growing *really* quickly?
I second the motions to heat up the tank a little bit.

The only other thing I can think of is -- have you gotten feeders from a different supplier recently? Could mites be involved? I know some snakes will shed more frequently if they have a mite issue...I don't know how well that stands up to leos, though. Anyone else have any thoughts on that idea?

 

[missdragonxo]

same place for food. and my juvenile/almost adult sheds every 1-2 months. but she does it at night so i may miss it. the gecko is around 3 months old. but who knows, maybe he is racking on the pounds. he has quite the appetite for the little guy.

 

[missdragonxo]

he does have quite the appetite. he eats a lot in his 15mins. a lot more than the other gecko he lives with.

 

[lillith]

He's maybe just a quick grower. I noticed some of my geckos hit a spring/summer 'growth spurt': eat a lot, grow a lot, esp the younger ones. Steady growth overall, but noticably quick growth at times...