Shedding!

Hi all!

Well my baby leo has started shedding just a few mins ago, but I have got a box for her to shed in (with moist eco-earth)
thing is, she isnt in her shed box but just outside (the box is a normal cricket tub) and shes trying to scrub herself on the side of the box~

Shall I leave her to do her thing or put her inside the box?

Thanks!

Yes, they will rub against things to try and break the outer skin so they can start the shedding process. You can leave her to do her thing or you can lightly mist the sides of her enclosure to increase the humidity. Some of them use their moist box to shed, some don't. Let her decide. Once she is done you can check for stuck pieces of shed (usually the toes or tail) and help her get those off.

How do i get those off? warm or cold water ?
do i do pull it or..?

thanks

You can pull gently but never tug. Use a cotton bud (think thats a Q-tip to you) and dip it in warm water then softly dab or wipe the shed skin that is stuck. You may have to do this quite a few times before it comes off. Sometimes you just have to wet the stuck skin then if there is a piece sticking up you can grab it and slowly peel it off.

Hey there
I've made a gecko shedding guide Might help you out...
http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/t1067-gecko-shedding-guide

Ahh thanks!

She's been eating her skin for a while now!
I havent really got any "hard surface" in tank, only a couple of stones, her shed box and the water dish! but she seems to like rubbing against the shed box (outside) !

EDIT: just checked her again and she seems to have stopped... was lying on the floor but still had skin on her head and front two legs + one back leg...
I put her in the moist box hopefully that will help her!
How long does shedding normally take?

thats normal they rub on any surface thats hard enough to tear the loose skin and mine never sheds in her moist hide.. she will sit in it the day before and a couple of hours before she sheds.. and then goes to her cool hide to shed

Hopefully she will have a good shedding!
is the moist hide suppose to be on the cool or the warm side? I got told to just spray with warm water when they begin shed and put in the cool side!

Ty!

The moist hide should be half on the heat and half off so it will create a sauna effect. Wet and cold is no good and not very inviting but wet and warm is ideal.

Ahhh okok! i'll move that over so its half and half then!
Kinda annoying cuz I have to head out to work now so won't be back till late at night.. gna be slightly worried about her!

Thanks for the info/help ladies!

She'll be fine even if some shed does stick. My boy eros is a slow lazy shedder. Always waits tll the next day to get stuck bits off. Your moist box you might wanna change to sphagnum moss or just damp layers od paper towels. Eros has both in 2 seperate hides, usually won't touch the moss hide, he was tub raised and never set foot on moss but loves the paper towel moist hide. If you have room in your viv you might want to put a little tree branch/log or a baseball sized rock in there for her to break her shed on if you're worried you. Don't have any rough surfaces for her to rub on. Eros has had stuck shed on his toes, tail tip, and nostrils before. A soak in the bathroom sink for 10 minutes with warm water and a qtip... voila all gone. Be careful pulling off stuck shed... its stuck for a reason... that spot might not be ready to shed yet and you'll expose super sensitive new skin that will appear shiny, the texture will appear off, and feel sticky. This usually rights itself with in 2 days to normal skin so don't worry if it happens. No treatment is required cept time to toughen up.

Thanks Kermit, I also just changed my ecoearth stuff to layers of papertowel and just damped it a bit! hope this works!

Just checked on her and she seems to have quite a bit still left on her forehead and tiny bits left on her toes!
shall i put her in the sink with a bit of water? how would i get the skin off here forehead? just use a cotton bud with warm water? would I have to be careful not to get water into her eyes/ears?

Or shall i wait till tomorrow ? see if she will do the rest herself?

EDIT: just saw her try to get the skin off her toe and i think shes doing it slowly but surely! I think I'll leave her overnight see how shes doing the morning !

Hi all!
sorry to double post!
woke up this morning and she still has a big piece left on her head and a little tiny piece of skin on one of her toes, shall I leave her until tonight or try to remove those pieces now?
(she started shedding around 3-4pm yesterday! and its 10AM now!)

thanks!

You can use one of the methods explained above to help her get the rest of the shed off. Best option for her head is the cotton bud soaked in warm water. Make sure you wet the skin thoroughly without getting water in her ears or nostrils. Just be very gentle and don't be in a hurry. Also, if she starts to get really stressed out, leave her for a while and try again later.

All done!
Used one of those cotton bud things and slowly got the skin off! suprisingly easy :P

thanks for the help everyone!!
Swarsh

And now my bigger Leo is shedding...

Great, well done! Its easy once you know how.

Yeah they are both all good now! the bigger one managed to shed perfectly!

It's pretty exciting :P first shed for both of them! (for me that is )

Thanks!!

YAY... glad you got it all worked out... usually what I do when eros has shed stuck to his head to avoid peeling it off prematurely I give him another 24 hours and mist his tank, refresh the moisture in his himid hide and well he has a ton of rough cage furniture to rub on so maybe adding a big rock or log bit can help your guys if you don't have rough furniture in there for them.

You're doing a great job

Aww, it is such a great thing to get them through their first sheds with a little loving help. You did a great job here!

Everyone's got you covered here, look like everything's going good!

haha yep!
Thanks everyone!!

I was a little worried about when to help her, as I don't really want to do it prematurely and get her new skin off too! but I guess the timing was good thanks to everyone!!

My little one seems to have gotten a bit more purple between her eyes after this shedding and the big ones head got a lil darker!

Swarsh