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rubbing when not shedding

rinoa05_1987 May 04, 2004 06:11 PM

i've noticed that isis will sometimes rub against her log like she is scratiching herself and it dawned on me that i don't know much about leopard gecko anatomy. i was wondering if they have the ability to scratch themselves with their feet like a cat or dog. I'm just curious thats all.

Replies (4)

roxygecko May 04, 2004 06:31 PM

Hi, I have several leopard geckos. I have been keeping them for about four years now. I spend alot of time observing my animals. I have noticed that once in a while a gecko will appear to scratch itself with a hind leg. I've never had geckos rub themselves on cage furniture when not shedding, but I have noticed them rubbing there stomachs on sand substrate possiblly to scratch themselves. If the rubbing on cage furniture is excessive it might possibly be due to stress or uncleanliness.

ericchen May 04, 2004 06:40 PM

my male has scratched his head before...with his right frong claw...really cute...
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"you won't know success if you haven't failed..."-eric chen
1.1.1 Hi-Yellow Leopard Geckoes
0.0.2 Blizzards
0.1.0 Western (Plains) Hognose Snake
0.1 Boxer Dog

rinoa05_1987 May 04, 2004 06:58 PM

hmm... what do you mean by uncleanliness? she doesn't seem stressed. she just rubs the top of her head on her favorite log when she is relaxing so it could by uncleanliness but i don't notice anything unclean about her cage.

halfshell May 04, 2004 10:51 PM

leos know when to aid the shedding process by scratching from input from sensitive neural pathways that run close to the skins mesoderm. when these pathways are activated, instinct compells them to scratch. ensure that the leo's skin is free of old dead skin, as well as blemishes that may indicate a host of infections.

if neither of these are present, you likely have a sensitive but health gecko.

sc

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