Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My gecko is about 7yrs old. He has only recently had trouble shedding, this has not been a problem in the past. He has lost a couple toes and now has skin stuck around his eyes. I started soaking him and picking the skin off but this last time he had enough (lots of biting and hissing)I had to stop. One of his eyes is now stuck shut and looks a little swollen. I think I will bring him to a vet this week but am wondering what might have been the cause in the first place. I have a humid chamber with sphagnum moss. I recently started using freeze dried crickets and meal worms. He was eating them fine except the past week and already looks skinnier. I have gotten lazy about sprinkling them. It's a 30 gal tank and I have a heating pad and lamp on one side (the temp does not appear to be too hot, if anything on the colder side) and the other side seems to be quite cold (I don't keep my home very warm). I am wondering if not getting enough calcium, live food, or not enough heat could cause this problem. Thanks for any advice. I am really worried about him. Also this, about 6mos ago my other gecko passed away, seemed to be from some sort of blockage.

It sounds like you might have a temperature issue. It would be beneficial to your pet to get a space heater and keep the room at least 80 degrees and of course have a hot spot for the gecko to thermoregulate his/her temperature. Based upon the other gecko passing due to blockage it sounds like the temperatures were not warm enough to digest food properly. A vet visit is crucial at this point.

Thanks, that's really helpful.

I raised my gecko up in an environment where, in Winter, the background temp gets very cool, like 50-60 deg. He eats very sparingly during that time, even if using the heat pad. When temps warm up during the year, he is more active.

One of the potential issues with cool background temps is that if for some reason the gecko has an infection, then the cool temps do not allow for the best response of its immune system. If not sick, cool temps seem OK. I think raising the temps is good advice while you seek professional help. I use a smaller cage nowadays that I can control closely and keep the warm side in the correct range, because I found my gecko stays in the same place 99% of the time anyway.. I now use more benign substrates like dimpled kraft paper or newspaper or fake turf, and I do not skimp on humidity, though I let it dry out between mistings. Seems to work nicely.

I saw a major breeder's setup for his breeder geckos, and it differed a bit from what his caresheet said. I do understand that the caresheet targets the average keeper that wants a pet gecko in a glass display tank. I basically followed what he is doing as opposed to what he is telling, and I think it works well. Time will tell of course. I'll post a pic at some point. LGs are great reptiles to keep.