Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a skunk gecko who has been getting pretty thin. But last night i got him to eat some baby food, honey, and water solution. and when i spray him down with water he licks it off his face. Anyway, last night, he shed, and he peeled it off his body and ate all his shedding. I heard they do this to get calcium, and that it not necesarrily a bad thing. So anyway, long after he shed last night, im watching him, and he is constantly licking his eyes and face, and then he kinda lifts one of his back legs, swings his head around, and licking his back end! I couldnt believe it. Is this normal? i have 4 other geckos and have never seen one do this. Does it mean anything? please offer advice. Is he sick, or do i just have the most appearance conscious, and grooming concerned gecko ever?

Although not but an occasionally occurance, geckos do lick their vent (since geckos really don't have a buttocks because their tail is where a human buttocks would be) and more often post coitus.

I'm not sure it's normal for White Line(skunk) geckos to do that. I've never seen mine do it. I've had a male and female together for close to a year, they have grown quite a bit and have been thriving
perfectly.
Here are some tips I use for keeping them healthy.

1.) Make sure the temperature in the tank is 85F-92F degrees (they
like it warm.
2.) They need a lot of humidity. Use a substrate like "Forest Floor"
or "Eco-Earth". I use "Forest Floor" (easier)and actually
sprinkle a half cup of water in the tank every other day.
3.) Provide a hide for them, an upside down GLAD container or
coconut hide will work as well (I used a reptile cave).
4.) Dust their crickets with calcium and offer them peach or apricot
baby food.
5.) Have a small dish for water(they will drink from it).

Good Luck,
Bruce N

thanks for the reply. I started feeding him babyfood and honey last night. he had been getting really thin. Do your skunks eat their own shedding? I have a few geckos, and they all seem to do this.
this is the tank he is in

his last tank was very cramped i think, and i cant blame him for being stressed and not eating. he was only in it for 6 days though. this one one gives him plenty of places to hide, and roam around. I hope he is much happier here. I wasnt sure if i should put a water dish in there, because I know some arboreal geckos dont drink from water bowls, they just need to be sprayed, which i do often, 2-3 times a day. right now the enclosure has a bowl for meal worms, a bowl for baby food mixture. I will put a bowl of water in their this evening. thanks again for your input.

Impressive setup!

thank you. I am very proud of it. Sometime i wish i was a gecko, just so i can run around in there, it looks like so much fun. Although my stupid guys just hang out in the back bottom corner for the most part. hopefully once they get accustomed to this new palce they will take more advantage of the foliage and ropes and climbing and hiding areas.
if you would like to see more picture of what i did, they are all in this thread
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=49320,49320

its pretty simple, just 4 posts, the little one is carved out and the food dish is recessed into it and screwed down. the rest have 1" holes drilled in, and i just ran 1/2 rope through it. the wood it big, i was origionally going to do it with 1/2" posts, but i realized it would be too small for them to really cling to, now then can climb on any side, and there is room on the top to bask. they go everything in there......and they hide in the bottom corner. =) stupid animals. hehe. i just hope they are happy in there.....mabey i'll put a butt itcher in hahahahaha.

You've gotta think what it's like not to have hands.
Anyway, if that's a disease, my dog is terminal .

hahahahahahhahahah.....your making me feel bad for my snake. i wonder what he would have to stoop too to scratch his butt.

I never realized how much i take for granted the fact that i can stand in front of a wood picket fence on my lawn, hold a beer, and scratch my butt till the cows come home. =)

The snakes can just wiggle against the substrate, but the poor gecko can't really get its butt down there right because of its legs. Especially if it has hemipenal bulges in the way. I guess they could do that dragging thing that dogs do, but that's sorta below their dignity.