Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently got a sweet juvenile male crestie. He was a little flighty when I first got him, but he's really mellowed out and now he actually jumps up onto my hand when I open his tank.

The thing is, he has a little roll of dried skin above his nostrils. I assume this is the beginning of him shedding? It doesn't look like the shedding is proceeding though, as it's been two days and the little roll of skin is still there and pretty dried out.

I took him out and soaked him in some shallow lukewarm water, which didn't seem to bother him at all. (He frolicked and licked water off the walls.) However, it wasn't enough to remove the dried skin, and I don't want to stress him out by being more forceful!

Any ideas??

Background: he's in a fifteen gallon glass tank with a screen top. He gets misted four times a day and drinks quite a bit off the leaves/walls. He also has two shallow water pans for humidity, and I've covered half the screen top with plastic to hopefully retain more humidity...?

What else can I do?
-----
0.1.2 Corn snakes (snow, okeetee, amel)
1.0 Crested gecko
0.0.1 House gecko
0.0.2 Chinese tree dragons
1.1 cats
0.0.1 African dwarf frog
8.1 betta fish

You spray 4 times a day? How humid is that tank?

I would soak him in luke warm water to loosen up the skin then I would take a wet cotton swab to that roll of skin and see if you can get it to come off. If it is still difficult and isn't budging or if he is getting too stressed, let him clam down and try again later. It may help you out alot if you have someone holding him while you swab or vice versa.

Severa

The tank is pretty dry even though I spray so often... I live in the Southern California desert and it's very hard to retain humidity.

I'll try the technique you described - thanks!
-----
0.1.2 Corn snakes (snow, okeetee, amel)
1.0 Crested gecko
0.0.1 House gecko
0.0.2 Chinese tree dragons
1.1 cats
0.0.1 African dwarf frog
8.1 betta fish

>>The tank is pretty dry even though I spray so often... I live in the Southern California desert and it's very hard to retain humidity.

are you using a hygrometer to measure it or just guessing? shed problems can also be caused by TOO much humidity. the skin needs to be a little dry to peel off, or it will just stick on the gecko.
-----
4.1 snakes, 4.6.1 crested geckos, 0.1 gargoyle gecko, 0.0.2 red-eyed tree frogs, 2.0 devon rex cats, 1.0 betta, 0.1 sun conure, 1.0 lovebird

If your humidity turns out to be OK, we have successfully used a product called "biomist" from TRex (I believe) it is a complete misting product with natural skin conditioners and electrolytes that you can spray on the gecko anytime. It is also suggested for initial misting for geckos after long shipments.

We have used it to great success with both shed stuck to the eye (have no idea how the crested managed that one, but a little flap stuck to the eye and no licking would get it loose) and to the pads (so very difficult sometimes). The spray is a very fine mist and you will have no worries misting directly into their eye from a distance of a few inches, they don't even typically react much at all, other than some licking.

Good luck, at least it isn't in a high danger area where you would be concerned about blood constriction. Check you humidity as was said and try the mist as a next step. Keep us up to date, we have plenty more tips and tricks if necessary.
-----
0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

I had been guessing humidity levels before, but yesterday I went out and got a hygrometer. Despite all my spraying, the humidity is 55%. Is that high enough? What I'm reading online is that the average humidity of New Caledonia is 70-80%.

I did also purchase a shedding aid made by Zoo Med, so I'll keep you posted on how that works!

Thank you!
-----
0.1.2 Corn snakes (snow, okeetee, amel)
1.0 Crested gecko
0.0.1 House gecko
0.0.2 Chinese tree dragons
1.1 cats
0.0.1 African dwarf frog
8.1 betta fish