Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for their help with my new "donation" to my every-expanding rescue family.

I've ID'd little "Yoshi" as a Central American Banded Gecko and have researched a great deal (lots of Leos, no Bandies)

Pardon all the detail in advance!:

Yoshi has a large horizontal molded tree trunk (the big one with multiple enterances, fake ivy and mushrooms carved into it). Under the trunk on the right he's got a small UTH and above he's got a clamp light (nocturnal). The right back corner of his tank has a moist hunk of peat moss, extending under part of the tree trunk to make a self-contained moist hide.

Yesterday I put a big piece of driftwood with lots of hiding spots in his 10 Gallon. It extends from the left back side, past the middle of the tank and overlaps with the fake trunk.

Yoshi has taken to hiding under the driftwood on the far left, cool side of the tank. He dug humself a little space in the substrate right down to the glass.

Yoshi is shedding for the first time and all in all, the little guy doesn't want to use his humid hide. I plucked him out and he had a little bit still on his head, covering his eye and some shed on his feet. I soaked him in an H2O/electrolyte spray mix that I use for my Leopard geckos and all the shed came off except a "sock" on his right front. He was extremely patient with his "bath".

I guess I'm just concerned because I got a Leo rescue that had lost almost all his toes due to neglect and shed issues therefore freak me out! There's NO way I will attempt to remove the "sock" of shed as he's so tiny and I could hurt him.

What will Bandeds use for humid hides? Or am I jumping the gun and is he hardier than Leos in ability to remove stuck shed on his own? Should I remove the driftwood so he hides on the other bit of the tank? He has way enough hiding areas.

Any help will be much appreciated!

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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"

I wouldn't be overly worried about him not using the humid hide. First off, remember that he is probably still getting used to the new cage and may still be looking for his "preferred" spot, more so if you keep changing the furnishings. Give him some time, keep the humid part moist, and if you notice future shedding problems you might get rid of the dry hide. You might also consider lightly misting the cage every night. Frankly, I have sometimes been lax in maintaining the humidity in my bandeds' hides but have been very diligent in misting every night, with no shedding problems in two years. My understanding is that mitratus need a bit more humidity than my variegatus so this could be more of an issue for you. Still, my own opinion is to err on the side of too dry rather than too wet, as fungal or respiratory problems would be more serious concerns than shedding difficulties.
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Chris

2.0.0 Coleonyx variegatus
1.0.0 Gekko vittatus
0.0.1 Tarentola mauritanica
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus

Terrestrial? Who you calling terrestrial?!!

I try to spray mine daily pretty heavily. The heat light helps bring the temps up after heavy misting and evaporates the water int o proper humidity. I found that mine switches hides sometimes but HATES baths. You can see him breathing REALLY fast so I only shed him myself if I see a serious problem. I've done it twice in the past year or so (both times "gloves" on all feet). I find that misting the cage towards the evening (he only comes out at night) so he walks on wet coco mulch and gets those toes properly shed. If he doesnt get it off in a week or so help him out and maintain humidity above 50% from then on.

Thanks for the input! Yoshi is pretty amenable to anything-- baths, handling, letting him run around -- but will bite if you approach him from above (DUDE! So would I!!)

****What do you use as substrate?*****

I'm experimenting with different things but do not want to change his tank set-up more than once as I'm afraid it'll stress him out.

My little dude loves to dig and I read that they are often gathered from garbage dumps at dusk (!) so this makes sense that its natural instinct.
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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"