Leopard Gecko help

[jkeeney1]

My leopard gecko Biggie's tail is starting to harden, turn black at the end, and bleed. I just recently added a light to his cage (use heating pads) and the only bulb i had was a reptiglo 10.0. Could that have caused this to happen? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Do you have this gecko in with another gecko that could have bitten the tail? Was there any old tail injury? What feeders/prey do you give your gecko? Any chance a feeder could have bitten him and it became infected?

Geckos don't need UV lights. Is the Repti-Glo one of those beardie UV lights? You can take it out and get rid of it - it is not necessary.

Can you go over your leo's set up and tell me what you have including lighting and hides and food?

Do you provide a wet/moist/humid hide to help with shedding? Could there have been a retained shed on the tail that constricted it and caused this?

 

[jkeeney1]

Do you have this gecko in with another gecko that could have bitten the tail? Was there any old tail injury? What feeders/prey do you give your gecko? Any chance a feeder could have bitten him and it became infected?

Geckos don't need UV lights. Is the Repti-Glo one of those beardie UV lights? You can take it out and get rid of it - it is not necessary.

Can you go over your leo's set up and tell me what you have including lighting and hides and food?

Do you provide a wet/moist/humid hide to help with shedding? Could there have been a retained shed on the tail that constricted it and caused this?

No there is no other gecko in with him. Just crickets in the cage with him, maybe they have been biting him but its never happened before. I turned off the repti glo once this happened so that out of the picture. 20 gallon tank, no lights, two undertank heating pads, one tree hide, one plastic rock hide, water dish, and another against the side of the wall rough hide to help him shed. But no i have nothing else to help him shed and i guess its possible left over shed caused this. I am not positive though.

 

[ShannyBeard]

I've never had crickets bite my gecko, so I doubt that would be the problem unless you are feeding giant monster crickets. If you don't recall and injury, then it may very have been caused by a retained shed.
I have heard of betadine soaks for beardies, so I looked on a gecko forum and found this thread:

http://www.geckosunlimited.com/community/leopard-geckos-other-eublepharis/59723-wierd-open-wound-10-year-old-leopard-gecko-3.html

And this is a quote from the thread showing how to do the betadine soaks:
"Without a diagnosis, a good strategy is to keep the area as clean as possible and see if Guinness can heal on his own. You can do this using a very weak betadine solution (not betadine scrub). This is an inexpensive, iodine-based, anti-microbial solution that is available over-the-counter at most pharmacies in the U.S., and probably Canada too. Make a weak solution by adding a few drops to warm (not hot) tap water - your solution should be the color of a weak tea. Once daily put your gecko in a clean plastic container with a small amount of warm and fresh betadine solution to soak for 10 minutes. You may need to repeatedly and gently pour solution over the affected area using a syringe or turkey baster. Make sure he can/is keeping his head above the betadine, though it's okay if he gets small amounts in his mouth or eyes. Once finished, gently rinse off the betadine using warm tap water either directly from the faucet (if he tolerates it) or again in the bath, doing your best to minimize his stress."

You can join that forum, post pics of the injury and ask advice and hopefully someone can come on there and guide you.

BUT you need to set up a moist/humid hide on the hot side of the tank to give your gecko a place to go when he needs to shed. I re-moisten my hide every 2 days and my gecko loves it. I am at work and can't do this until much later tonight, but I will come back on here and post a pic of my homemade moist hide. You will need some vermiculite to put in there.

 

[ShannyBeard]

I will reiterate that your gecko does not need UVB so don't put a UVB light on his tank. They do need a small dish of calcium powder and their crickets dusted. Also dust crickets with vitamins 2 x week just like you do your beardie.

Your gecko will freely eat out of the calcium bowl, but still do dust the feeders. I only feed my adult gecko 3-4 times a week, and I dust the crickets each time.

 

[Jess]

If the crickets don't have their own food in the leo's tank, they can and will nibble on the leo. :| If the cricket bit his tail, it could have gotten infected/necrotic.

Why do you have two heat pads? What do you use to regulate them (Rheostat, thermostat, ect)? What are the warm side/cool side temps? Any pics?