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Hello all. Luckily, I
haven't needed to post on this board for about a year. Some of you might
remember my gecko, Gabby, who stopped removing her shed last year. After 4
vet visits and about two months of recovery, we found that she had swallowed
(impacted I think) too much of that calci sand. So I switched to cage
carpet and sphagnum moss. That was last June.
Now she started doing the same
thing, except I still have her on cage carpet. She stopped eating in
June, which I was told was fine because I had fattened her up previously, so I
didn't worry at all. Then she started not taking her shed off
completely. Again, not a big worry since she had done this before and her
shed was still moist enough to take off. But now her skin has once again
turned very dry and too brittle to actually remove.
Also, something that is now
happening that didn't last year is that she keeps her arms and legs straight
out, not bent, even when she tries to walk. Her top layer of skin is
cracked at the joints, but when I try and take it off, I find that it isn't dead
skin, it is wet underneath, sometimes with blood. Is this a calcium
issue? I have calc power in her cage and powered the last worms I fed
her. I keep it very moist in her cage, especially on her moss, but
now she doesn't go into her shelter anymore. I did notice about 15 gnats
that were on top of the moss that have never been there before. Is this
from larvae or something in the moss that grow from all the humidity? That
too didn't happen last year. This might also explain why she doesn't go
into her humid hide anymore.
I tried to feed her and she did
eat some wax worms, but that was when she was doing better. Now her eyes
are matted shut since her skin just keeps building up on itself. She now
also has diarrhea, which is never a good thing. Last year I could see that
her intestines were clogged due to the black/blue circles under her belly.
Now I can see one circle right in the middle of her stomach, but I don't know if
this is new. I don't know what could be stuck if anything, but she does
have diarrhea.
About every other day now, I put
her in a tuberware with holes in the top. Fill it about 5mm deep of warm
water mixed with about 5-6 drops of Betadine (to keep from her bleeding
spots from getting infected) and place a soaked washcloth inside. Then I
take her, put her on the washcloth and fold the other side on top of
her, making sure there is plenty of room inside and always 3 sides to get
out. I leave her in there for about 15 minutes. Then I try and
remove any excess skin. I did this yesterday and was able to remove a lot
of skin, she didn't even struggle. Most importantly, I got it off her head
and eyes, so now she can see. I'm going to totally clean out her cage and
wash everything and replace the moss. I think I read somewhere that
you can bake the moss to ensure now larvae or anything is still living in it, or
did I dream that?
Is this going to be a yearly
event? I spent so much time with her last year, hours a day, trying to get
her skin off without taking too much off or hurting her. Please help me know how to deal with this. I have had
her only two years, and so far both summers she has done this. She is in
pain and can't see for about a month when it happens. Should I think about
putting her to sleep to stop the pain? I know I just spouted off a lot of
information, but please help me.
Ben James and Gabby
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