SEVERE shedding problem

[mich]

Ok I don't know what else to do here and have posted on many forums without reply *sigh*. I am not a new herp keepr so please don't think this is just a common issue. I have many geckos and other herps and am very well aware of what shedding issues can do and what environment is needed to prevent it. I bought a female from a local pet store last fall, at that time she was missing a few of the tips on her toes. I figured she wasn't supplied with a moist hide, there wasn't one in the enclosure at the time, and so didn't shed properly, no big deal. WRONG. This girl has had major shedding issues, I mean major. Every shed I would have to soak her for 20min a day for several days and use tweezers to pull the shed off, it never just peels off on it's own. She has lot the tips of several more toes and NEVER uses her moist hide. She even lays her eggs on the floor of her enclosure (they are not being incubated). I changed the type of hides I used, the size, where the opening is, where they are located, I've used moss, I've used vermiculite, I've used moist paper towels and even provided several through out her enclosure for her to choose from. Still she refuses to use it. Now she is to the point where she is literally stuck in a full body shed, even the skin on her head is so tight her eyes are half open. I soaked her for a good amount of time and just spent half an hour just trying to peel the shed off her feet. Her head, back, tail and legs are rough and feel like dried leather. I have used shed-aid and after every bath I lather uer up with moisturizing cream. I keep her on paper towel. I am very careful with her heat because all she does is lay over her heat pad, she never leaves it and now is hardly eating. Can't blame her, she must be in pain and scared half to death from her baths and me picking at her trying to save her toes but now it's her whole body.

I now think maybe she just has an incurable cronic shed issue.. I am honestly tempted to have my vet put her down because she is suffering any there seems to be nothing I can do for her. Please if anyone else has experienced this please give me advise and tell me what you did. She is so so beautiful and it is breaking my heart to see her like this. I did have her house with 2 other females but she has since been isolated as the problem has gotten much worse *cry*

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That sounds horrible, poor girl. I am sorry to hear she is having that type of trouble shedding.
What is the overall humidity of the tank? Since you are in Canada, isn't it usually pretty dry up there, or are you in a more humid area?
Sometimes shedding issues can be contributed to nutritional deficiencies. What is her supplementation schedule like, the calcium & the vitamins? What foods does she eat?
Does she have any yellow fungus issues that you can tell?
Can you post some pictures of her for me?
What type of cream are you using to moisturize her skin? Olive oil is pretty effective, or aloe vera works pretty good too.
Daily baths of course, will help soften the skin as you are already doing.

Does she seem to have any health issues?

Tracie

 

[mich]

Her tank humidity is (or was) just normal, its a leopard gecko so they don't require extra humidity just a moist hide, which of course she never uses. Now she is in a quarantine tote and the paper towel on the bottom is sprayed twice a day with a shed aid called troical mist and so the humidity is higher then normal but I replace the paper towel daily, wouldn't want a respitory infection next. My geckos eat crickets as a staple, I add a dish of meal worm, baby super worms and on rare occasion they get wax worms as treats but they honestly don't ever end up eating anything but the crickets. Out of my entire geckos colony only one female eats mealworms. I buy all the worms for other herps anyway so figure I might as well offer them and if they don't eat them no big deal. They are dusted with vitamins once a week, dusting with calcium isn't really necessary because they have a dish of calcium which they use which is very common prcatice for geckos (not like my other herps, those feeders get dusted). of course all feeders are gut loaded.

As for cream I am using a few different aloe ones. Someone on another forum mentioned a medicated bath, any idea what I should put in the water?? There doesn't seem to be any yellowing o the skin, you know how they look pale right before they shed, she looks like and feels rought and dry. I'll try to take a pic tomorrow! The olive is a great suggestion thank you! I will grab some tomorrow!

This is the only health issue she's ever had and its a cronic one, been happening since day one. Now she is eating very little but she drinks a lot of water out of a syringe, if I just drop it onto her nose she'll spent 10min licking it up. Think I might try some 'jump start' (if I can find it), I heard thats good for perking up herps and getting them hydrated and eating again.

 

[mich]

Just noticed this topic was moved to beardie ER, I posted this under geckos because this is actually for a leopard gecko, not a BD. Pls move it back.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

She moved it here because more people with experience will see it here long before they see it in the gecko section.
I have bred geckos on a small scale but I have never run into anything like this.
Would you like a link to a gecko forum I belong to?
There may be more answers there. I dont know.

 

[mich]

Sure, forum links are always helpful .. I have posted on a few other gecko and herp forums as well, a few people have had the same cronic shedding issues. She was looking a little better last night, was perked up a bit, but looked terrible again this morning Over the past few days she has only eaten one cricket and licked a bit of water off her nose that I dabbed there using a medicine dropper.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

I hope it works out Mich, I sent a pm with the link for the forum. You may even already be a member there.

 

[mich]

Oh yep I am lol I posted on the forum same day I posted here

 

[kariann]

What does your vet recommend for the shedding problem? How old is your gecko and is she shedding more often than usual? Is she stressed out by any thing (i.e. with a male or other geckos now in her tank)?

I've read that incomplete shedding can be related to a bacterial infection (although it is usually lack of proper heat & humidity) and skin biopsies are necessary to diagnose this for certain. There has also been a correlation between insufficient vitamin A and incomplete sheds and there could be more evidence for this theory based on your vet's exam findings. There is a hypothesis that some geckos have a genetic tendency for shed problems. Finally, hyperthyroidism can cause increased frequency in shedding and increased thirst but this is a pretty uncommon disorder.

Mucomyst solution (acetylcysteine) is a prescription product that apparently works very well to loosen dead skin when applied topically. Your vet should be able to get it for you. 30mls (1oz) should cost your vet about $10 but I don't know what he'd charge you. It's hard to say but it would probably take more than one bottle to do the entire gecko. It is safe for use on retained eye caps too. So even if you can't afford to do the whole gecko maybe you could spare her eyes and feet/legs.

Hope this helps!

 

[mich]

That's great thank you .. I'll have to call the vet again. As I mention on another forum our city is fairly small (population 50,000) and only one vet at the animal hospital considers himself a 'reptile expert' but I've lost some faith in him when I supplied him with all my iguana care info like specifically ca ratio food charts which anyone keeping that type of herp needs to know!! Ive also had to correct him on other small simple things like the sexing reptiles. The animal hospital where I take my herps is one of the only ones that deals with herps at all in my area, nearest herp vet f about 4hrs (one way) from what I've been able to find online. Since you provided me with the specific name of medication I should be able to ask for it by name now. I don't care about the cost. Thank you!

I really don't think it's a heat or humidity thing. I had an undertank heat pad that I've replaced with heat cable because I can better control the temp, in the summer the heat pad was too warm, the cable gives me a lot more flexibility! And as for humidity they don't realy require much and believe me I've tried every size/type/substrate of moist hides and she NEVER goes in. She is laying infertile eggs and always lays them in her warm hide on papertowel, never in the moist hide like the rest. She was in a 20gal with only 2 other femles in my breeding colony and other then the initial quarantine period when I first got her and she has been in with the others since last fall/winter but has always had a shedding issues. She was a sub adult when I got her and already missing the tips of a few toes which I attributed to humidity and lack of a moist hide .. apparently I was very wrong. She is now in a small tote on her own in quarantine. She is kept on papertowl that is sprayed twice a day with a shed aid called 'tropical mist' and given soaks. As it is a tote the humidity goes up when I spray her but I change the papertowel every day and make sure everything stays clean, last thing I need is a respiratory illness.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How are things going today?
Great suggestion, I did forget to mention the Acetylcysteine as an option. It should not cost a whole lot hopefully & maybe the vet will give you a prescription for it.
I feel that it could be nutritional, or a health type problem, possibly genetic.
As suggested, bacterial problems do lead to a host of secondary issues. A skin culture could help determine if there is an infection of a bacterial or a fungus nature.
It is possible to get a small blood draw from a gecko, but, the vet needs to know how to do it. That could give a lot of helpful information as to whether or not she is having any other types of health issues.

Were you able to get her to eat today?

Tracie

 

[mich]

Vet appointment tomorow morning, they don't work on weekends so had to wait. I will see if I can get him to give me a perscription for acetylcysteine!! No she hasn't eaten, she is drinking a lot, I am trying to feed her anything off tongs but she won't take any type of worm or small crickets

 

[mich]

I got a small bottle of Mucomyst today and applied it. The vet said once or twice a day for the next few days and see what happens *fingers crossed* Cost me $40 here but I don't mind. If there i sno improvement and worse comes to worse he'll put her down for my at no charge *sigh* Did you kow that stuff is usually used for cats? lol

 

[Lk4sturns]

When I had this problem in past best I found was this. Give warm bath and when take out and still Moist rub combo of half Jojoba oil and half Mineral oil, you can also buy this at health food store as example . Note try aloe 99 percent gel and found only health for skin does not help shep. You can add little this to above if like like to make mix ( try buy fresh aloe, my stop&shop sell this) . This should work after apoxx. two appication.

Best Regard's
Scott

 

[mich]

The vet thinks there is a bigger problem then her severe shedding problem. Only way to find out for sure is to ship her off to a facility better equipped to handle this and have them gas her, take skin and blood tests, and then ship her back. I really don't think she'd survive that process Never had a sick reptile before ... never lost one either ... I know these things are usually the result of bad diet or poor husbandry, if i were answering a question like this I'd have said the same type of things but I know in this case that isn't the issue .. Ive done so so so much research and spend a fortune maintaining and keeping my herps in the best enclosures, the feeders I feed are all super healthy, gut loaded and ones like the worms I bred myself (meal worm, supers and wax worms). Sigh .. see how she does after today, she is still not eating, if there is no change by tomorrow I think it woul dbe more humane to have her put down *cry*

On a some what positive note my dragon laid 32 eggs yesterday, up from her last clutch 3wks ago of 23. All look very white and healthy.