Crested Shed Problem

I have a small crested that is not getting rid of it's old skin. I have never had a problem with my other adults, but this little one has been unable to climb for at least 10 days and I can see the gray, peeling skin on his sides, legs and tail and it doesn't look any different from day to day. It is kept in a medium sized kritter keeper with paper towels, plenty of cork bark and rolled-up tubes to hide in, a humid hide box, and a small water dish. It has been eating CGD with no problem. I usually mist once a day at night, but after noticing the shedding problem, I have been misting several times a day (it is too humid sometimes and the food quickly molds) and I have tried soaking it in water (hates that) and getting some of it off with a wet q-tip. Any suggestions?

Make sure you do let the cage dry out in between misting--if it is too humid it can actually be harder for the gecko to shed. Increased humidity during shed is good, just not so much that it doesn't dry out some and things are molding.

Get a deli cup or some sort of small tupperware container with a few holes in it and put some sopping wet paper towels in it. Put the gecko in it for 1-2 hours to soak. Then try removing the stuck shed with wet q-tips. The skin should come off much easier, but if not, return the gecko to its cage overnight and see if some of the skin starts to slough away. You can do this several days in a row if necessary (continue to mist but let the cage dry out in between mistings).

If the skin is still not coming off easily let it be until it sheds again (you don't want to force the skin off and risk tearing the good skin underneath). A little temporary stuck shed won't hurt anything as long as it is not allowed to build up. Try to keep the humidity at 60-80% until and during the next shed to aid in the shedding process. The next shed should come off okay and take the old skin with it, but you can soak the gecko again in the deli cup if needed. As long as your humidity is kept at a good level, you shouldn't have repetitive bad sheds.

Thanks, I appreciate the input. I never would have thought that letting it dry out would help. I would just let it be, but I don't want the skin to get tight around its toes or tail. How long do normal sheds take? I hardly ever pay attention to my other's sheds..they just get it done.

A normal shed usually only takes a matter of minutes and most of the time you probably won't even notice it happening. With little ones you do have to pay more attention to shedding though, because they are much more prone to having shed issues than adults. They can lose toes and tails if the stuck shed constricts the area, but if the skin is absolutely refusing to come off it is better to leave it alone until the next shed than to risk injuring the good skin underneath. If the next shed is still problematic and you start having multiple layers of stuck shed then you will need to take more drastic measures so that the gecko doesn't start losing toes or its tail tip, but more times than not if you are keeping up with the humidity and other husbandry requirments the bad shed will not continue to repeat itself.

mlededde hit the nail on the head that is what I was going to say well along the lines not exactly like he/she did but well said and best of luck

lance

Thank you all very much. I let the cage dry out before mistings and a couple of days later, it had shed completely. Thanks again!

Very glad to hear it! :gj: