warm water soak

[karls-geckos]

whats it for? i used to do it for my iguana when he was constipated, is this used for leos to remove extra shed?

 

[lytlesnake]

Yes, the most common reason for giving a leopard gecko a warm water soak is to help it shed. Their toes can often get shed skin stuck on them, which causes the circulation to get cut off. They can easily lose their toes from this.

So warm water soaks are very useful for leopard geckos. I usually put about 3/4" of warm (not hot) water in a plastic tub and leave the gecko in there for 20-30 minutes with the lid on. It helps to hydrate them.

 

[fallen_angel]

They really seem to enjoy it too

 

[karls-geckos]

what temp on the water? im guessing 90 degrees?

 

[fallen_angel]

As long as it feels slightly cool to you, it's good (since our bodies are 98.6 degrees). You can keep the water warm by grasping the bottom of the deli cup (body heat), or leaving it in the incubator

 

[bubblez825]

Warm water soaks are also used when a gecko is eggbound or (i think) getting ready to lay the eggs.

 

[Halley]

it can also be used to help egg binding females

 

[ryno]

I did the water soak because of the shedded skin on his toes but it woudn't come off.

can someone tell me what to do

 

[karls-geckos]

im no expert, but on mine i just held him and gently rubbed his feet til they came off. i used tweezers to get it off small spots on his body

 

[fallen_angel]

I had this problem with a hatcling, and he wouldn't let me touch his toes. I gave him warm water soaks and an "extra moist" hide, which helped him get all of the skin completely off of his toes after about two days or so

 

[lytlesnake]

I did the water soak because of the shedded skin on his toes but it woudn't come off.

can someone tell me what to do

Soak the gecko for a few minutes, then try gently rubbing the skin off the toes with wet Q-Tips. If some pieces of skin still won't come off, you can very carefully use tweezers, as long as the skin sticks out far enough that you can grab it without grabbing the gecko's toe(s).

 

[bubblez825]

I had a gecko (not mine) hadn't ever had a moist hide untill now. She is about 5-6+ years and had IDK how many sheddings had built up on two of her toes. I recently gave her a warm soak and pulled at her toes a bit and, unbelievingly, it all came off! It really surprized me, as I had never given a gecko a warm soak.

 

[WftRight]

I did the water soak because of the shedded skin on his toes but it woudn't come off.

can someone tell me what to do

I was once trying to rehabilitate a friend's gecko, and I just gave her a soak every day through the shed cycle. I didn't want to go poking at her feet with anything, but by making her walk around in the water for twenty minutes every day, I was able to get the skin off her feet.

I've also used less water than what people here are describing. When I'm soaking a gecko, I make the water just barely higher than ankle deep.


Bill

 

[lytlesnake]

I've also used less water than what people here are describing. When I'm soaking a gecko, I make the water just barely higher than ankle deep.

The less water you use the quicker the water gets cold though. As long as the gecko's head is above water it's fine.

I was soaking a baby Amel Fat Tail the other day in a 6 qt. tub. The water would get cold in less than 10 minutes. So if you are going to use less water, use a bigger tub so it stays warm longer.

Also be careful soaking babies. I almost stressed that one out too much the other day.

 

[Kay26]

I don't know about with other people's geckos, but I had to give mine a warm soak and she loved it! She had a really bad shed and I soaked her and it made it easier to get off with a little help from me.

 

[chyhart]

Helping your lizards get the skin off its toes

I did the water soak because of the shedded skin on his toes but it woudn't come off.

can someone tell me what to do

For my leopard gecko i just sit down with her and have a cup of warm water, and some Qtips at the ready, I continue to use the warm water with the Qtip to gently soak the toes, i don't spend too much time on one spot, and if i can't get it all in the first session i'll try again the next day. She's become so good at letting me do it now she doesn't squirm or try to jump off my hand, i think she knows i'm helping her. I'll put the Qtip under her little hand and roll it away to help pull the skin off, and if i get it to the point where its almost off, i have a pair of Tweezers to finish the job. If its a fresh shed though it can hurt pulling that skin off, so if your not sure if its ready to remove just soak it and roll the Qtip under the toes and on top of the toes and try again later.