calcium bubbles

so i have coffee who i got off of jordan and she has got calcium bubbles on both side... so what i have done is stopped her calcium but can they get it through not havin enough?? because they dont seem to be gettin any better ... my other gecko caramel has them aswell but only has it on one side ??

What do you feed them? What's your feeding schedule? Also what do you use to supplement, and what's your supplement schedule?

Many people assume these bubbles are calcium bubbles, I used to think they were calcium bubbles as well. But after researching into it more, from what I could find, the people that have had these tested all said they came out to be liquid protein + fat. I haven't seen one person or study that came out that says they did a biopsy and found these bubbles to contain calcium. So having these protein/fat bubbles is usually a good indication that your gecko is being fed too much, or they are being supplemented too much.

General solution to this issue is by tweaking your gecko's diet. You want to cut back on fat & protein content of the feeders + supplement you use. By doing so, you'll start seeing a reduction in these bubbles over time. It won't be anything immediate, it takes awhile for these bubbles to go away.

I'll also mention from what I've read, some suggest these bubbles are natural. It happens often to female geckos that eat a lot before breeding season starts. I don't know the validity of that statement so take it for what it's worth. The general consensus is to simply cut back on the amount of feeders and/or supplement powders you give to your geckos. This also means if you feed your geckos a fairly high fat or high protein diet, that you will want to consider using some lower fat feeders for your geckos until these bubbles go away.

Hope that helps I'll try to find some quotes from what I've read, as I'm sure words coming from a long time breeder or well known herper means more than coming from me.

Something from a medical report/study would be much better than the word of anyone not in the medical fields seeing as how there appears to be a point of contention amongst the breeder world as well for where these bubbles come from. Excessive proteins makes sense since proteins can't be stored in fat cells in the tail. Excessive fats doesn't tho since they can be stored anywhere in the body and hte tail is specifically for that purpose, finding some fat cells in a bubble isn't surprising but unbelieveable to me that it is the majority component of the bubble but is likely required to bind to the protein to make it "storeable". I would love to see a study on these. I haven't been able to find anything in my searches, hopefully you have something mardy were these tests of the fluid checked for calcium content or just fats/proteins?

I wish I could find scientific studies and not just go off by what someone else said. I mean that was how I initially started calling them calcium bubbles in the first place, because someone else called them that. But these are the best I could find. I suppose contacting these individuals directly could probably get us some further details. If anybody wants the links to these quotes pm me, they are links to another forum.

First it's Ray from Designer Geckos.

OK....I have done a lot of research on this and have networked with
Ron, Steve, Garrick, Jeff, and all those who would likely have the most
experience with this. I met with Dr. Klingenberg (from Ron Tremper's
book) as well in Colorado to get his take on it.

The conclusion I've reached is it is not calcium/vitamin related
but is diet related. It is not harmful in any way, and some vets say it
is a sign of a healthy gecko! If your gecko has these armpit bubbles
it is simply a matter of putting it on a diet for a period of time until
they resolve. Remember that in the wild geckos can go for many weeks
without food, so you are not being cruel by cutting back on their food
intake. I think we all likely fed our geckos far more than we should
anyway.

I hope this helps with the understanding of this issue. I for one am a
big believer in minerals and vitamins for us, and our geckos, so I'm
glad we don't need to worry about that, though it may be good to use
moderation with that as well, particularly for adult geckos (other than
female breeders of course).












__________________
Ray - Designer Geckos

Next this is from Patrick Kline @ Luxurious Leopards.

I have actually had leos tested, these pouches, and they came back as
protein deposits. No calcium what so ever was seen by the lab.

I couldn't find one person that cited they had the pouch tested and found calcium. Still looking though.

Thanks for that mardy, I really like Ray, he is one breeder I DO trust because I know a lot of his studies he does are under the supervision or in conjunction with a vet.

well i only feed her mealworms and i give her 10 mealworm every 3 days as she is up to a nice weight now... caramel gets fed every 2 days as she is smaller and she has about 15 in a bowl and they are left overnight but i dont have caramel anymore, she is with a good friend n i see her alot.... i just dust the food with calcium powder .. they both dont have calcium in there viv's ... never have done... i have never had this problem with elmo and he is fed the same as coffee and with the same suppliment...i have stopped her from havin calcium atm but maybe i should just change it to not such a strong suppliment... i have a different one i could try that has less calcium in it but enough if you know what i mean? x

I have to think its from to much food... My Big male seshy is having the bubbles now, he gets the exact same supplementing as my other two and hardly every touches his calcium dish. But he does eat a excessive amount, he will sit down and eat 20 meal worms each feeding night, i am going to try only giving him 10 every feeding for awhile and see if the bubbles reduce any, i think its just a diet issue

My leo Banana has always had these bubbles.. even less year when she didn't eat properly for 3 months because of the mating season etc.. she didn't lose them. I've asked my friend about it before and his females seem to have them and his male don't.. :S it's strange.

Thanks for the reports, Mardy They were a great read I'm going to do abit of research on this over the christmas hols