Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have this female that i got from a show last april and since i got her she has been nothing but problems. shes always stops eating and every single time she sheds she has skin on her toes and head even though she has a humid hide. and my mom isnt going to pay a vet bill for a lizard. please help im really getting tired of having to get the skin off her. it stresses me out and the gecko and plus she never stays still.

Does she stop eating before she sheds, cuz that's normal, mine show a decreased appetite as well.

For your shedding problems, what are you using as a humid hide? Try, firstly, making more humid especially the night before she sheds, i usually even mist the cage when i notice they're going into shed.
Next, have you tried giving it baths to get the shed off?

anyhue reply to those questions first and maybe others will be able to help you

Baths are great. when mine get toe skin, I put a wet paper towel in a deli container with holes, and warm it up in the microwave (just for 10 sec or so). It should be just warm to the touch, not hot. Put the gex in and the top on. Let steam for 10 min or so. Then loosen the skin a little. If you can't get it all, put just a drop of mineral oil on each toe, and soak again. That should do it. And please do not buy geckoes if you (or your mom) are not prepared to take them to the vet if necessary. If you see any black on the toes, take them in!!!
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1.0 Pastel/Jungle Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
1.0 Hypo from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Albino Hypo? (Cloud)
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 TBD Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (One snow, One red albino)

well its not that my mom wont take here in its just she doesnt have much money to pay for a vet bill right now. sorry should have clarified that.

Like I said, you should be able to handle it yourself, but if you see any toes start to swell and/or turn black, that is necrosis, and you must take him in! What substrate are you using? some can really suck the water out of the air
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1.0 Pastel/Jungle Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
1.0 Hypo from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Albino Hypo? (Cloud)
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 TBD Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (One snow, One red albino)

i use paper towle with her and my baby.

well shee normally eats for like 3-4 week than stops for mabye 2 weeks. and for the humid hide i have peat moss in there now and its become regular that she has bad shedsand it really stresses her out when i take her out of her cage, give her a bath, and try to get the skin off her feet and head. she almost bit me when i was trying the get the skin off. next time i will mist the cage when she starts to shed.

How bout some more questions? These are just to narrow the possibilities of what might be wrong, no one will or is allowed to insult you if you say something wrong k?

1. What's the cage set up like?
2. What's the temperature, are you using a heat pad or lights? If so what kinds?
3. What insects does she eat, how much and how frequent?
4. How old is your gecko?
5. What substrate is your gecko living on? (sand, paper towel, etc)
That's all the questions that i can think of, sorry if there's a lot but it will really help us to help you.
If anyone else can add anything Hill, Xelda??

shes on paper towel, has heating pad and 25watt light bulb, eats crickets 4-5 every other night for like 2-3 weeks than stops eating for a week or two, and im not sure how old she is.

How big is she approx?

Try using the suggestions offered to get the shed back to normal first. Cuz if she goes off eating but the important thing is that she eventually starts eating again i wouldn't worry too much.
And if you want varied feeders try purchasing them online

Good luck, keep us posted

thank you for all the advice it really did help! and i promise to keep you guys posted on her conditions.

One problem wih sheds, if you don't get ALL the old shed off every shed after that becomes a problem. Hmmm...maybe change the substrate in the humid hide. I use coco bedding and keep it moist by misting it with a spray bottle every once in awhile (every 2-3 days is usually good) I don't mist the cage though...too much humidity and the smell can get bad! If her tail is nice and plump I wouldn't really be too concerned about her going off feed. These guys really shouldn't be eating every day (as adults), they sure don't in the wild and their metabolism is much slower than ours because they are ectothermic ("cold blooded"...I hate that term but you get the point) and don't need to eat as much as birds and mammals. As long as she poops often and eats 2-5 times a week you should be good to go. Maybe let her go without feeding her for 2 days and then throw in a couple of mealies or crickets, she should be ready to get her grub on then! Sometimes if they know there is plenty of food they get a little difficult, maybe also try some new stuff to get her interest, throw in a couple of waxworms once a week and see if that works. If she starts to really go down hill, see if you can find a vet school near you that will help you out.
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www.hullabalooherps.com

well i have peat moss in her humid hide now and i was goin to try paper towel. and she wont eat mealworms only crickets and nowhere here sell waxworms.

I found that my gex has a hard time picking up the mealworms. He tends to drop them. If you haven't you might want to try useing a small dish when feeding mealworms, that seems to help them pick them up. I also use moss in my sweat box and it works fine for me. If your gecko gets stressed from handleing try warming up your hands before picking her up and handle her more often. My gecko makes a fit when my hands are cold. If you are only using crickets make sure you are dusting, and if she is trying to bite you when you are removing shead watch how hard you are rubbing, you don't wanna hurt her if the skin is still attached. My gex has some shead problems as well and he lost alot of toes in his earlier years. You said you had a sweat box but does she use it? My gecko always gets in before he sheds but ignores it the rest of the time, enless my room is cooler then usual. You might wanna try warming the sweat box a little more. If the air is humid but cold that might be your problem, I keep my sweat box at 80* F or so.
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~Akira
1.0 African Fat-tailed Gecko
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko (hypo tangrine circle-back?)
0.0.2 Red Ear Slider