Hi! >I have a problem with one of my female juvenile leopard geckos...about >two months ago she shed, however on her left and right foot one toe >had >not shed completely and the skin was still hangin' on...I figured >sooner >or later it would fall off...But no.
Well, as you probably figured out, any retained skin after shedding will ususally need some help coming off. Toes and tip of tails etc. are places that you might find old skin. Get in the habit of checking your gecko after each 'shed-cycle' to make sure there are no old skin left. It's important to get rid of retained skin because it will act like a turnique (spelling?) and restrict blood-flow. This will lead to the affected area falling off... >I checked again today, and decided that i would have to try and remove >it. >I managed to get the shedding of the one toe off, >only to see that the skin under the shed was all red, and bloody, but >couldn't get the shed off of the other toe. Now this gecko does not >eat >well, and my baby leucisitic is now BIGGER than her, and he's >younger. >What should i do about this other toe? and about the now >bloody toe. Did you just pull the skin off that one toe? If you try and pull the skin off before it's ready to come off you will damage the ketatinous scales beneth, basically causing injury to the new skin layer. You can soak your gecko in warm water (85F) for about 15 mins, then gently rub the affected area. If this still won't work, you can try and wrap him in a warm damp towel (after bathing him), then wrap that towel in a dry one. Wait 5 mins and then gently try and rub it again. Some people have also had good experience with rubbing some mineral oil into the area after the bath. Do this for a couple of days and then try and remove the retained skin. Now there is one more thing you need to do. Skin problems usually are a result of some underlying problems. Do you have a humid hide-box for your gecko? If you could tell us (detailed) how you keep him, it may help finding out what is wrong, if anything. :) About the bloody toe, if this get's infected you have a problem. Try and clean it, use a water and povidone-iodine (Betadine) solution (mix it so it looks like medium tea). I would recommend you take him to see a vet though. Keep in mind that you want a clean and as sterile as possible set-up for him now. >And she also can't seem to spot her crickets that easily she always >comes >close to catchin' them but 90 percent of the time misses. Could >she be >somewhat blind? I don't know about blind, but if she does not eat that much as well, this all may be caused by parasites. Parasites combined with stress in the captive environment may result in shedding problems, and anorexia. But, as I said earlier, go see a vet. Hope this helps, and I'm sorry for the loooong post. :) Magnus _________________________________________________________________ Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com ########################################################################### THE GLOBAL GECKO ASSOCIATION LISTSERV WebSite: www.gekkota.com Archive: [EMAIL PROTECTED]/ The GGA takes no responsibility for the contents of these postings. ###########################################################################
