Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've kept Leopards for years, just as pets (not a breeder) and I have not observed this in any of my others before. I have one adult female who has a "swelling" under both of her front legs ("arms". They actually appear to be a clear fluid "bubbles" (not a lump or puss). She is not bothered by them nor is she exhibiting any signs of mal-health. I actually wonder if this is a hormonal response of some kind. Has anyone heard/experienced this? Thanks for all input.

Yes, mine have a little swelling on the side by the arm. I think they are fat pad when the gecko is really fat they develop this. My biggest female is really fat and she has this.

That is interesting. I hadn't considered that. She doesn't look to me to be overweight, and actually doesn't eat a whole lot. Perhaps I'll let her out to walk around a bit more! I will try to dig up some info on a good adult weight and see how she compares. Thanks for the input. At least I know she's not unique. Take care.

Yes ive seen the "fatty" areas on bigger leos before, but if you had pics it would deffinatly help.

Good to get confirmation that this isn't a unique occurrence. I'll take a couple pics this weekend - unable to before then. Thanks for your input. Take care.

when leos start getting really pudgy, they will develop little pockets of fat in their 'armpits'

it's normal, especially for a well-fed leo in the winter.

So, in your opinion, is this an indication that she is actually overweight? It's interesting to me that this is related to weight because she really isn't a big eater. I have several others, all of which eat substantially more than she does, even my babies eat more in a sitting. By that, I mean, she might eat 4 -6 mealworms in the evening, and that's it, and she doesn't eat daily. I do provide them with periodic vitamin supplements in their water. I wonder if that adds calories to their diet? Well, I appreciate the feedback from everyone. Seems to be a consensus on the cause, so I'll focus on learning more about this. If anyone still wants to see a photo of her, I'll post one this weekend. Thanks!

No,the vitamin supplement in the water doesn't add calories to the water. You should really have a seperate dish for multivitamin and calcium supplement. One for the vitamins and one for calcium supplement. The gecko will eat it all by itself. And adding vitamin to the water is really useless. Unless the gecko drinks the all of the water, then it will be getting minute amount of it. I hope this helps!

I do have their calcium in a small dish, separate from anything else, and they all partake at as needed (separate cages, not all in the same one). The liquid vitamins I add to their individual water bowls periodically may not be doing much for the reasons you described, true. Thanks!

The buldges behind their front legs/armpits are from excessive calcium. They store the excess there. It is not a fat deposit. Lower the calcium you are giving them for a few weeks and it will go away. Don't stop giving them calcium for to long or they can get MBD.
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Brian
www.windycitygeckos.com

Thanks. I'll try that right away. It's actually only 1 of 7 geckos that has the problem, and I do see her at her calcium bowl relatively often. So I'll pull it out awhile and see what happens. I don't think I said this before, but the bulges look like they contain clear fluid - nothing solid. I appreciate all of the input. We don't actually have a good herp vet in our area but fortunately over the years problems with various reptile pets have been rare. Thanks again!

The excess calcium is really not a "problem" at all. I actually prefer them to have it in my breeders. Removing the calcium is only going to take her storage supply away, neither bad nor good. At least you know she's got enough calcium.
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www.LeopardGeckoBreeder.com

www.LeopardGeckoArt.com

9.23.22 Leos
0.0.1 AFT
1.1 Red Ear Sliders
0.0.1 Russian Tort
1.0 Pembroke Corgi
0.2 Cats
8 fish

My female that has the bulges has had them about a year and she is very healthy and displays no symptoms of illness, nor does she appear in any way to me to be overweight. So after all the input here, I think that the calcium answer makes the most sense.

I really appreciate this discussion. I have not been able to get an answer elsewhere so far. I hope if there are others experiencing the "bulges" for the first time that they'll find this thread useful.