Posted by:
Lucien
at Sun Mar 5 15:58:12 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Lucien ]
Pretty much.. you use warm saline solution which also happens to be sterile. That shed-ease you don't know if it is or not at all, but anyway, soak her feet and up to her belly in warm saline for at least 30 minutes in a small container and then just roll your fingers gently on the toes.. they're very flexible and won't break if you do it correctly. You roll them between your fingers lightly and get what you can off. If the toes are already black.. they'll come off with the next shed if the conditions are right and her nutrition levels are up. If condition and nutrition isn't right her first shed will feel papery which it shouldn't. It should feel moist, slightly stretchy like a nylon glove and soft not in any way crinkly. Their healing ability is amazing though I do recommend if she has bad toes to get some stiptic pencils from a pharmecy or keep baking soda around to stop any bleeding that might happen when those toes do come off. But, given correct conditions and proper humidity, the bad shed will come off with the next one even if you have to help it along a little. For healing of those bad toes, make sure she has an area where she has access to higher heat. I give all my geckos a belly heat area of about 110 degrees.. with ambient temps just above the substrate being 95 degrees or so...but they can also retreat from that heat to a cooler area because I use only Under tank heating. I hate bulbs of any kind for leos. They're nocturnal, they don't need them. The ambient light of a room is plenty to keep their day/night cycle correct. But anyway, one other thing I would do is get some stuff called Jumpstart.. available at herpsupplies.com for less than $11 shipped and give her small doses of that to help with electrolytes, calories and easily digestable vitamins/minerals. I run a small reptile rescue and basically the things I keep on hand are Saline water, extra heat pads, betadine, SSD Cream (Silver Sulfadiazinine Cream)Hibi-cleanse (chrlohexadrine for disinfecting cages and furniture) local anaesthetic (Xylocaine, Lidocaine, etc) small guage syringes, turkey baby food, vanilla ensure, jumpstart and centrum vitamins. Thats my emergency kit for rescued reptiles. These things and higher heat are usually all thats needed to beat minor to moderate infections for me anyway. then again I've been doing this for 10 years with reptiles... 18 with small animals of all kinds. Severe infections need a vet..
Nutrition plays a major role in proper shedding. The essential fatty acids and oils they need are vital to allowing them to shed. Heat is vital to their immune system and allowing them the opptions to control their internal heat is the best way to deal with any animal that is sick, anemic or depressed. Their immune system is geared towards their body heating to a certain temperature to work at peak efficiency and kill whatever bacteria/virus/bug they're carrying. All this artificial stuff cannot make up for what nature has provided these animals. All they need is for us to realize that they have the tools necessary. We just need to give them the conditions they require to use those tools and far too often people make the mistake of using a set of rules when taking care of reptiles is a learning experience for any keeper. You will never know it all about any species no matter how much you read/study/research. That is the challenge of this hobby. Learning your own way to do things that work for you. Follow good husbandry that works for you and problems will be few and far between.
Sorry for the long post but... all of it is very true. These guys have been surving in worse conditions than humans have even existed. Its not their problem when they get sick.. its our problem for not providing them what they need to keep themselves from getting sick.
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Lucien
1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
5.11.Leopard geckos (1.2 Blizzards (Caine, Phoenix, and Mirage), 0.2 Tangerine Albinos (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short, and Casper), 1.0 Tremper Albino (Mycah), 0.3 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, and Aris), 1.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas), 1.0 Full Stripe Chocolate Tremper Albino (Discord), 0.1 pastel (Raven) and 1.2 Normals)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros) (R.I.P. November 18, 2005)
13 rats (plus pups)
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Ashe and Hercules)
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RE: shed aid: fattiesnleos - Lucien, Sun Mar 5 15:58:12 2006