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henk shedding - - help please

BboyFrisk Dec 29, 2004 12:07 PM

Hey guys, my henk is going through its first shed. Its been undergoing this for about a week and a half now and it looks like progress has halted over the past couple days. I know it is bad to help it shed because of the chance of pealing off skin that is not ready to come off. I'm just wondering what i should do. wait? give his body a good solid mist everyday? What are the chances of the dead skin beginning to rot while still attached to his body? I'm only saying this because he smells slightly funny. I'm just concerned and going through the beginners "freakout over everything" period. Thanks everyone. Help is very much apreaciated.
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Frisk

Replies (3)

Whoboy Dec 29, 2004 12:47 PM

This could turn into a severe problem if his toe pads don't completely shed. There's been success w/ placing the gecko in warm (NOT TOO WARM) water and letting it soak. He's not going to like it very much, but it's for his own good. When my gex shed I always try and maintain a higher humidity, and it wouldn't hurt to mist him down, they shouldn't be in shed for more than a day or two.

flamedcrestie Dec 29, 2004 01:45 PM

"give his body a good solid mist everyday?"
in my opinion any uroplatus species should be sprayed directly atleast 1 a day. i try to spray mine liberally atleast once a day and 1 or 2 other times with a light misting. not only will it help with the shed but it greatly stimulates drinking which all of us know is the key to keeping uroplatus hydrated. 10-15 minutes after spraying i would suggest helping it out. the moisture will certainly allow the skin to come off without hurting your gecko. if you feel like you're pulling on the skin and it's not coming off, then leave it be until the next day and give it a try. the shed skin will almost always break before injuring the geckos new skin.

bsmith251 Dec 29, 2004 09:02 PM

The gecko definately shouldn't be in Shed that long... What is the ambient humidity of the cage?...

I'll notice a gecko in shed or pre-shed (opaque color), check on it a couple hours later and 99% of the time its already done... Whoboy gave a great suggestion; I'll add not to get the water much warmer than room temp and do not get it much deeper than an inch... Confine the gecko in a well ventilated, small tupperware to do this...

Also, you say first shed, is this a hatchling? Or is this the first shed its had in your possession?... If its wild caught and newly aquired there are a couple other things that may be causing a bad shed... Give us some more details if you can...
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Ben

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