Crested Gecko Help!

[thekidep3]

It seems that my gecko has stepped in his food and now the food has dried to his feet preventing him from being able to climb the class in his tank and so on. He's still running around and climbing branches but cant clim the glass which he really enjoys doing. Am i able to put him in a container with a little bit of water so that the food would loosen up or what? Any help will be appreciated, thanks.

[Royal Hijinx]

Yes, just let the foot get clean so that it will shed properly. He may not get all his sticky back till after the next shed.

[sleepygeckos]

Personally, I wouldn't interfere at this stage as you could stress it out - make sure you have proper humidity - that'll help the next shed go smoothly and if the gecko hangs out in a recently misted area they'll clean their feet naturally pretty quick. The only exception to this would be if they have "club feet" of dried food or stuck shed, then a "forced" walk through some moist papertowels is surely in order.

PS Get used to this happening... and lots of tail drags through fresh CGD too. They can be very silly creatures.

[Kinra]

As Sleepygeckos said this is fairly common for them to do. My little ones seem to be much worse about it than the larger ones. They will paint the sides of their kritter keepers with the food.

Depending on how bad it is I use one of two methods:
1.) If it is just a little bit then I will wet their foot and then let them go once I know the food is starting to soften again and come off. I've been bit a few times using this method because I try to rub it off a little.
2.) Soak them with some damp paper towels for a little while. They will usually fire up when you use this method too as an added bonus.

I typically use the first method because I have a horrible habit of forgetting things so I end up soaking them much longer than needed. The second method is probably better though especially for beginners. You need to make sure to hold the gecko still without hurting them when you use the first method and that can be hard to do.

[thekidep3]

Thanks guys for all of the help!!

[mlededee]

Use a wet q-tip to moisten the foot and then rub the food off of it. If there is a lot of very hard food stuck on the foot soak the gecko in a deli cup with wet paper towels first as mentioned. That will loosen the food so that it will more easily come off with a wet q-tip. I would not leave dried food on a growing baby's feet unless it is a very small amount because it could interfere with shedding and cause further issues and even lost toes. Some babies will run through their food and make a mess every time, but you have to keep those toes clean if the food doesn't come off after regular misting and during their normal activities.

[lance]

here is a great video that is a wonderful tip in this situation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YddJV0RTA_U&feature=plcp

[MrLang]

Geckos are VERY good at cleaning their toes. I would imagine merely offering it a small cup of very shallow water down at the ground level would give it the tools it needs to clean its own foot and climb the glass, all without any added stress.

I recently went to a gecko exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. There was a cool video explaining how their toe pads work and it also addressed the issue of their toes getting dirty. They know how to get them clean again. They're very delicate. I'd be EXTREMELY careful doing any kind of active manipulation of their feet or toes.

[mlededee]

Baby crested geckos can handle getting their feet cleaned. Trust me--I've cleaned many a foot. It is much better to get stuck food off of toes and feet than to risk lost toes. In nature they aren't in a confined space walking through CGD, so it's a bit different than just getting dirty. There are certain species of geckos that are much more delicate and the same principles do not apply, but with cresteds it's pretty straightforward--if food gets caked on their toes, you soak if necessary and gently remove the stuck food.