Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was browsing the subforums one day and i saw that an owner was soaking them in warm water tubs..

is this needed/a good idea?

throughout my research ive never seen that being mentioned before..

And also as a side note, can they swim? at all?

No, this is not a good idea and not needed.

Soaking is one technique for helping stuck shed along, but it is to be used with caution. Now, one of my babies for no apparent reason loved to sleep in her water bowl until she was 7 months old, so it isn't necessarily going to do harm, but it could cause some stress. Some leos won't touch or go through a water bowl even if it means a tasty cricket at the end, so imagine how they've feel dumped into some water. And some people think the water should be warmed... remember that "warmed" to a 98F human is "hot" to a room temp gecko.

Other methods of stuck shed removal are a bit better: soaked towels or a shedding aid. Soaked towels are just what they sound like, basically a forced time in a humid hide, again temperature control is key, a little warm can help, but be careful. If it is just a little stuck shed and she's tame a Qtip in water and a gentle rolling action is probably better than either of these methods.

There are several shedding aids on the market for really stubborn skin, use as directed, we have our favorite here, but thankfully haven't used it on the leos.

Typically, a moist hide and the right practices and you'll never need any of this info. If you do get a stuck shed on a toe or other location of concern, try the Qtip and the soaked towel box first. 90% of the time in a day or two you're good to go with leos. I just think the standing water, for most leos, is stressful. Think torrential rains, in their environment that's scary.

Hope this helps, long winded as it is! You just reminded me of a post a loooooong time ago asking about how to go about giving his leo a bath... Oh boy!

actually that was a lot of help thanks

good thing i already have a moist hide setup

but i was wondering, in reference to your post about geckos being kinda scared of standing water: wouldnt they be timid about going near a water dish?? maybe thats the reason i dont see him/her use it?

most of the time i think my pet gets moisture from the mealworms/moist paper towels in my moise hide, is that true?

I wouldn't say they're scared of a water bowl. I think what sleepygecko meant is that they would be frightened if they were forced to be in water. Mine definitely drinks from her water bowl. You won't necessarily always see them doing it, but they do drink. Sometimes mine even comes out in the middle of the day for a drink.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

oh ok

i just have never seen it use the bowl and i hope one day i can see that happen

oh and also: how exactly do you pronounce your name?

>>oh and also: how exactly do you pronounce your name?

That's probably not important since it's just a made up name anyway, but I've always thought of it as ol like 'old' without the 'd,' then styn like if you chopped the 't' off the end of 'stint.'
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

oh ok lol

thanks