how to bath leos?

I know that loads of people 'bath' their leos to remove shed skin that isn't coming off when they are using their moist hide. They seem to have leos that will happily sit in the bath or sink and have their skin soaked to loosen it and pulled off. Unfortunetly, I do not own one of those leos. Banana HATES baths. I tried it once in around november and she was soo stressed that I stopped. I tried again today because she has some shed skin suck around the top part of her tail on the bottom.. under the clocoa part. She shed about a week and a few days ago and she been in the moist hide, but i noticed it today. I put 2cm of warm water in the bottom of the bath and sat her in it.. and she was trying to get out. :/ when i gave up after just over 5 mins and took her out.. she made a weird 'squeak' noise.
How do I get her used to the water? I might try the oil method to loosen/soften the shed.. what oils should I use?

try bathing her in 5mm warm water in a tub rather than the bath or sink and if that still freaks her out put her on damp kitchen roll for abit in a tub each day or you could go buy some shed ease and spray it onto her feet.

any oil can work well, i use olive oil, or sometimes just water and soak the cotton bud (Q tip) in it, and then just rub it on the stuck shed and it seems to loosen it up quite a lot.

In terms of bathing, i do what Sam said, just a little tub with some warm water in it, let the gecko soak for a bit, then pick him up and see if you can work anything off of him.

:/ i've already tried the tub of warm water method.. she just keeps climbing out and when i put her back she gets annoyed and makes noises. She doesn't like me like turned like on her back.. and the shed skin is under her tail soo its a difficult place to get it.

I will try that olive oil thing haha i have always wondered what a Q tip was lol its the american word for cotton bud then?

they best way to turn her upside down to get a good chance to work at it is like this *picks up random gecko*:

Place your palm on her back and then wrap your fingers and thumb around her. Sort of how a baby grips things, but not too hard obviously.
I know it looks like im squeezing her in this picture but im holding her really lightly and she is completely relaxed and not bothered.


And then, keeping your palm pressed on her back, flip her over slowly. Your palm as back support, and your fingers hugging them will stop them from freaking out (90% of the time).
Here is mine flipped over:


She is completely relaxed and not bothered about being flipped, she has a bit of a grumpy face on though lol.
Once they have been flipped over and relaxed then you can move your fingers away from their belly so you have access.



like that
and now she is content again;

awwww you beat me to doing a picture bit to show sarah how to hold a leo jordan lol

hope you manage to get the shed skin off poor banana sarah, let us know how you get on

thankyou soo much for the pics jordan!
I will try it but i'm really scared. Im worried that as I turn her upside down she will go crazy and try to squirm out of my hands.. and they are fragile.. i'm always worried she will hurt herself. I will try to though... it doesn't hurt them being upside down does it.

Well I will get my mom to buy some olive oil as soon as possible.. and I have some cotton buds ready soo hopefully get the shed skin off on wednesday if she's calm in my hand upside down, i will get a photo

you should be fine, a couple of mine play dead when you put them on there backs and i've got some that only the vet can sucessfully put onto there backs without them struggling lol, i always do it over the bed just incase they squirm out and fall but i haven't dropped any yet

Good luck x

Haha sorry Sam.

No it doesn't hurt them, but i wouldn't keep upside down for too long.
Careful not to press on their chest area, just a gentle bit of pressure on their chest area and stop blood flow and breathing.

If your gecko looks like she has gone to sleep in your hand, chances are you've squeezed on the wrong bit and she's unconscious due to lack of air.
Erm, if that does happen, (i've never had it happen myself), but i would presume to put her down and let her come to.

Sorry, probably scared you more now,haven't i.

Just to add my 2 cents here, you can also use mineral oil to lubricate any stuck sheds. Use ANY oil based product sparingly as it doesn't permit the skin to breathe so you only want to use it on the affected areas. I honestly prefer mineral oil as it is NOT a food product so it will not spoil if left on your leo in a heated tank for days like olive oil possibly could. I would use kitchen roll in a part of your tank as well 'cause as your leo drags along the ground it will leave a streak of oil (even if it is a light coating) and it could affect yor leo's traction when walking. Not to mention we don't want him licking anything off the floor either.

If you can't get the shed off I would't be too terribly worried as it will likely com off with the next shed. Eros had a bad shed and the first 1/3rd of his tail still had old shed stuck on it. I tried getting it off, no luck, I oiled it once, and it ALL came off with his next shed a few weeks later. If you're worried about your leo being flipped over you could also just hold your leo upright with the back feet propped on your fingers and work the vent area from that angel.

thankyouuuu everyone for your advice. I will just get banana out to play with her today.. and see how she reacts to being held in different ways. whatever she is comfortable with i will get the shed off that way

I will get my mom to buy me some mineral oil or something similar