Reptile & Amphibian Forums

At lunch my adult male was shedding, so I made sure his humid hide was just right.

When I got home from work I went to check on him. He always has trouble with his feet, so I soak them in about 1/2 inch of water and help the little guy. Well I notice him in his humid hide and blood all over the place.

Apparently he didn't want to wait for me. He had bitten one of his back feet up pretty bad. I took him out placed him in warm water and finished off his non injured foot. While I am doing this he is biting his injured foot. He still has toes, but some are pretty raw. How should I treat this? Neosporin? Will he continue to chew if I treat? I think I got all the skin off, but it is hard to tell.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

ouchy, well yes neosporin is good but probably not if he eats it. can you keep a close eye on him, or maybe some how loosly wrap his foot so he cant eat the wrap,toes, or the neosporin? its just a thought i have been lucky enough not to have that problem for a long time.

Based on what you said, you have had this happen before.

Do you have any idea if it can be prevented? I imagine he was working it off on his own and it got tight and bothered him so he went at it extra hard. Those toes sure do bleed. I mean he had blood everywhere.

I believe I got all the skin off and he stopped trying to bite at it. I let him dry off completely and applied the antibiotic ointment. I put him in a small container with a paper towel until the wounds looked to complete stop bleeding. He did stop limping, but I can tell he favors that foot.

I placed him back in his clean cage. This gecko won't eat from a dish, only mealworms while holding them on tweezers. He ate 10 dusted worms; the amount he usually eats every third day. So I was happy he ate. He has been walking the cage as normal. He is skittish because he rarely gets handled. That makes times like this more difficult.

I just hope he doesn't gnaw on it anymore and lets it heal. How often should I put new ointment on it? Twice a day? Is that too much stress?

I also worry that the next time he sheds the same thing will occur. Like I said before, he normally doesn't have the patience to remove the old skin from his feet, so I have to do it. I was just shocked to see he was extra impatient today and I didn't have the chance to help.

I do appreciate your reply!

Matt

i would just reapply the neosporin if you see that it has all come off or clean it if there is a bunch of stuff all over his toes. i actually dont have this happen anymore. i changed my substrates to paper towels. i change and spary the entire perimeter of the paper towels everynight b4 i go to bed. i also very slightly spray one spray in their hides. this has worked for me for months now without a problem.
your toes should heal fine just keep it clean and no more chewing.

That is why I water my crickets very well! I give them a small shallow dish of water, and if you are worry, you put some big gravels in the dish so they don't drown. That is why my crickets ooze water when i pinch their back legs off, and they also ooze water out of their mouth when held firmly. This way the animals get enough water, and will have less trouble shedding. I had never had problems with my crocodile-gecko and baby leo shedding, accept, ofcourse, for a little strip of shed skin around his femor.

He has not been picking at his foot. It stopped bleeding after I got it clean and dry. I have not applied ointment again. It looks to be scabbing nicely. I will watch closely. He is just lounging out in the open, sleeping as usual.