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 #1821464


Stellabondalova
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 Rescued golden shedding?

What is normal behavior for a shedding golden? Do they typically stay on the bottom of the tank? I took in a golden gecko from a neighbor who was no longer interested in it and have done a lot of research...however, it recently stopped climbing and has been settled at the bottom of the cage under the fake plants. It is eating and I mist the tank twice daily.
The previous owners did nothing more than put a few crickets in on occasion...dirty tank, never misted tank, no calcium coating the crickets, no worms or baby food. Amazing that the gecko was in good health.
The substrate I am using is Naturebark.
I have searched the web for info on shedding behavior and haven’t found much info for goldens. There are clearly informed people using this site. Perhaps you could give me some info on what to expect with shedding. How long does the process take? He stopped climbing about a week ago. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
08/06/08  09:41am

 #1822444


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Stellabondalova   In reference to Message Id: 1821464


 Rescued golden shedding?

Shedding occurs when the golden takes on a lighter, paler color. This sign usually happens a day before the shed, itself. The shed will take less than 30 minutes (usually 10) and the lizard will eat the evidence. It happens every three weeks to every month, so shedding is quite possible.

Before the shed, the gecko will temporarily loose his stick and may stay around the ground area. If he’s a dark brown while on the bark, it could also be that he’s melding in with it for camouflage. Other reasons for a lack of climbing are: the gecko is sick/very stressed, the tank is too dry (no traction on the glass), or the tank is too wet (the tank wall is a waterfall).

Another sign before and after shedding is a lack of appetite, as he’ll be filling up on his own skin.

Do not handle or antagonize the goldie if you think he’s shedding, as he may not eat his shed then. After the shed (when he’ll look far brighter than before), check his toes, neck, and the base of his tail for leftover stuck shed from afar. If it doesn’t come off in a weeks time, assist him. This should not usually be a problem, as the only time I had to assist my goldie in shedding was when he was ill and refusing to eat his shed at all 4 years ago. I find this stuck-shed problem more common in arid species of reptile.

You should keep up the humidity in the tank. It’ll help considerably.


If you only recently acquired this golden gecko, then please get him to a herp vet to exclude any problems or parasites he may have. It’ll cost about 50 dollars for a checkup and 20 for a fecal test. You’d be surprised how well geckos can conceal illness until it’s too late; an annual vet checkup is required to prevent such things.



08/07/08  12:25am

 #1822787


Stellabondalova
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 1822444


 Rescued golden shedding?

Thank you so much for taking the time to write me. I think he may be stressed like you said. I don’t think he is used to the misting and the additional food he is getting like bananas and worms. I have never tried to handle him and don’t plan to. We had to trap him in a small box to initially clean his tank which was filthy but he was climbing since we did that. I am in the process of looking for a reptile vet to have him and the spotted gecko checked out. This reptile thing is all very new to me. I have them in separate tanks, both 30 gallons, I believe and the spotted is doing great. The golden just recently started acting funny. From what you described, I don’t think it is shedding. Any way you look at it, they are definitely in a better place than they were. I am determined to give them a better life than what they had before. They were living in a basement with minimal care. I have found a lot of info on the leopard gecko but not as much for the golden so I really appreciate your feedback. I can tell from previous posts that you clearly know a lot about them and was thrilled when I saw the reply was from you. I will keep you posted and am keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks again, Stella.
08/07/08  11:53am

 #1822800


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Stellabondalova   In reference to Message Id: 1822787


 Rescued golden shedding?

Word. Can you post pictures of both geckos and their tanks?


Golden geckos are commonly farm bred or ripped from the wilds and imported; they usually have parasites and stress can intensify that problem as well as compromise their immune system. They stress easily, so simple stress is not out of the question either. Mine took three or more months to fully settle in and become his regular self.

If you haven’t, make sure that the tank is in a secluded room and to tape over three outer sides with cardboard or a cut up grocery bag. This will help promote seclusion and make the goldie feel a little more comfortable.
08/07/08  12:03pm

 #1823784


Stellabondalova
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 1822800


 Rescued golden shedding?

Hi Kelli,
Good news....He/She is in fact shedding. I went to switch the night light bulb to the day light bulb and there is quite a bit of shedding skin both on and off the golden. That was a huge relief for me. He has been eating the wax worms I have been putting in and it looks like the banana has been worked on as well. Its difficult to tell with the crickets as they have a tendency to hide although I have been putting a bit of lettuce in the tank to lure them out in the open and that worked the other day....I saw the gecko grab one. I presently have them in a spare bedroom that is shut off to my dogs and son. Nobody goes in there except me to care for them. His tank has a tropical "poster" that covers the entire back of the tank and green paper that is taped to the side that is next to the spotted gecko. I will cover the right side today. I will attempt to take a picture and attach to this post. I am scheduled to take both in to an exotic vet next week. I would prefer to do it sooner but prefer that my husband be around to help me and he is away on business.
I hope he was farm bred as I hate the idea of anything being taken from a life in the wild and subjected to living in a tank. Ideally I would fly to Vietnam or wherever it is they are from and set him free; ) Until that day, he is stuck with my.
Hope the picture I just took works...The golden is on the right. There is normally one more small plastic plant in there but I am soaking it because he tends to poop on the leaves. Let me know what you think. I had misted the cage shortly before taking the picture so it might look misty. I would have tried to get a close picture of the golden but I am so worried about stressing him more. When I looked in on him again, his shed was completely off the front half of his body. Again, thanks a million. You are awesome.
P.S. Could not upload picture...it said it was too large a file. I know how to send via email if you want me to do that...otherwise I can have my husband try when he gets back. I’m not too great with the computer.
08/08/08  08:58am

 #1823974


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Stellabondalova   In reference to Message Id: 1823784


 Rescued golden shedding?

Yes yes, I am awesome. =]

You said you were feeding him waxworms somewhere in there. I should give the heads up that waxworms have absolutely no nutrition and are all fat. They can become addictive, as can fruit. To feed my golden gecko, I put a cup in the tank and put mealworms or one superworm in it. Then the goldie will come down from his hidden perch and grab the food. I feed crickets as a once-in-a-while choice, as they’re very hard to keep track of and tend to die very easily on their own by jumping into the water dish. Crickets can also smell very badly after a prolonged period.

It’s good to know that the gecko was just shedding. Is he back up on the walls again?

Wild-catching and farm-breeding reptiles is a big business due to the fact that there are so many people out there who want something exotic, but don’t want to take out the time to look up the proper care. And don’t think farm-breeding is better than wild-catching. Farm-bred geckos are like puppy-mill dogs. They put the geckos in cramped, confined conditions and force the females to lay eggs repeatedly throughout the year. The stress and inexpensive keeping lands people with sick, parasitized cheap geckos.

Most goldies bought from petstores are male.



I’ll have to read your thread again, but you did say you were giving your two geckos supplements, right? Calcium and vitamins, I mean.
08/08/08  12:34pm

 #1824207


Stellabondalova
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 1823974


 Rescued golden shedding?

I have been dusting the crickets with the Repticalcium powder and the only reason I have been giving them the waxworms instead of the mealworms is because not one petstore in my state has had any shipments of the mealworms. They said there is a shortage in the entire U.S.....I don’t know how that happens, exactly. Sounds a bit crazy but I can assure you, I called them all and nobody has any worms. I was finally able to find the waxworms and figured it’s better than nothing especially since these guys didn’t get fed all that often. I thought they could use a little treat. Mind you, I bought the freeze-dried mealworms and while the leopard gecko eats them in two seconds, the golden wanted nothing to do with them. I will check into vitamins tomorrow when I go to the petstore but the guy who helped me originally didn’t mention anything about that so I didn’t know they were supposed to get them. I know they were getting nothing but crickets out of a box for several years...no dusting, gutloading, nothing. This is all so crazy for me. I have volunteered for a dog/cat rescue group for the past 12 years and have 3 rescued dogs and feral cats that I care for but I never in a million years thought I would own reptiles. I only took them because the previous "owners" expressed an interest in letting my son have them and said that "they just wont die". Sad, no? My son, who is 4 has little interest and so I have been taking care of the two critters for about a month now. Again, NO REPTILE EXPERIENCE!!! Yes, you have been my saving grace...again, thank you. Awesome person to help out someone like me. You must have pretty good karma floating around you. Again, I will get this picture thing right so you can see the setup I have. Let me know what you think when I figure it out. Thanks again, Stella
P.S. ...saw your pet pictures and they are great.



08/08/08  04:08pm

 #1824270


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Stellabondalova   In reference to Message Id: 1824207


 Rescued golden shedding?

If crickets are driving you insane, you could try superworms temporarily. They’re huge, about 10 times bigger than a mealworm (about 1 to 1.5 inches long). But you only need to feed one per feeding to fill the lizard. I find supers better than crix because they stay in the cup if the cup is deep enough and made of plastic with smooth sides. Supers also move a load.

I wouldn’t let your four-year-older touch the lizards or go too close to the tanks, and it’s personally good in my opinion that little interest is shown by him. Lizards carry things like salmonella and kids that young are prone to catch it since they don’t understand the whole hand-washing thing and tend to touch their mouths at any given notice.

Try Photobucket.com for pictures. Usually next to the pics posted on photobucket, there’s an ’img’ tag thing that you can copy/paste into your post here. If the pic shows up in the preview of your post, it should be good.


If you have any question on leopard geckos, on the by, I would be happy to answer them.


Most people who instabuy lizards or get them as presents for their kids have no idea that these creatures live as long as cats and dogs. Leopard geckos can live to be 20 years of age. Golden geckos can live to be 10 to 15 years old. That’s probably why the guy said ’these things just wont die’. I’m told the same thing all the time, and it’s all just an assumption on knowledge on their part.



08/08/08  05:15pm

 #1824470


Stellabondalova
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 1824270


 Rescued golden shedding?

Apparently, the leopard gecko is 9 yrs and the golden is 4 years. Thats all the info I got from them. I am amazed they made it as long as they did.
The leopard loves the crickets, so as much as I hate having to care for the crickets and feeding them, I wouldn’t deprive him of that....he is so cute and loves to hunt them. He always shows so much interest in me when I am near the cage...if I am cleaning, changing water etc. he comes right over to me and tries to lick me. I am not used to reptiles and assume he is about to take my finger off so I never leave my hand in there long. Also, I NEVER let me son touch them. He knows they are off limits. I would never subject the poor things to the hands of a toddler. I am so worried about stressing them that I don’t even vacuum in that room anymore.
The golden looks like he has shed the majority of the skin with the exception of the area around the legs. I just put fresh food and water out for him and will leave him alone until tomorrow to see how things are going. It doesn’t seem like he has eaten all of the skin. When we first got him, his cage had some dead skin in it so maybe he is not used to eating it?
Here is the photobucket link....http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc353/stellabondolova/IMG_1337.jpg
let me know if you can access the one photo I uploaded. If it works, I will do the rest. Thanks again Kelli.....Stella
08/08/08  08:44pm

 #1824489


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Stellabondalova   In reference to Message Id: 1824470


 Rescued golden shedding?

Cool, and I can see the pictures.

The leopard gecko should have 3 places to hide. Two that are regular (on on the warm side, one on the cool side) and one that is moist (with papertowel in it, in the middle.) The moist hide is usually a tubbermaid container with a hole cut in it and the papertowel is misted once a day to keep it moist. The rest of the tank should have 30% or less humidity, and temps around 92 to 95 F on the hot side.

The golden gecko should have 75% of his tank covered in stuff to climb/hide around. Unless you removed something from the tank for the photo, then you literally have only a small place for him to hide right now, and that’s not enough. I recommend investing in one of those 10 to 20 dollar fake tree/log/branch accessories from Petsmart that’s roughly 11" to 17" high or more to make better use of the tank space. You can also get 6 feet of fake pothos vine from any hobby store for 3 dollars. Goldies need 75 to 80% humidity and the temps of the tank should be 85 to 90 F.


Due to the dramatic temp differences, I highly recommend you get another lamp and separate the tanks. I don’t know how hot the one lamp is, but you’re either nuking your goldie while he hides in that small area or your leopard gecko isn’t getting enough warmth.

I can’t tell if you have a thermometer or hydrometer in the tanks, but the dial thermometers can be up to 10 degrees off. Digital ones are far better and accurate and are only 10 dollars each. The thermometer needs to be mounted under the lamp.

That’s all I can come up with right now for tips.

This is an older picture of my goldie’s tank. To give you a jist of what I’m talking about in filling the space. The tank currently also has reptile hammocks in it mounted high and some sanitized/boiled/debarked branches.

Here’s a picture of Sade making use of the tank space.
08/08/08  09:06pm

 #1824628


Stellabondalova
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 1824489


 Rescued golden shedding?

I’m glad you were able to see the picture...I’ll upload more now that I know it works. I do have another plastic tree similar to the one that is in the picture with the golden...he pooped on that one a lot and I was trying to clean it well this morning before taking the picture. I also have another lamp, i just haven’t rigged it up to the ceiling yet. I change from a day bulb to a "moonlight" bulb every day and night. The temp. seems to stay consistent. I have a thermometer in both tanks and the one in the golden tank is also a humidity gage. It seems to stay a consistent 85 degrees in both tanks. Your tank is clearly more elaborate...very nice and your gecko seems quite happy. I plan on doing more with the tanks...I am switching the leopard gecko into a 30 gallon long tank and will have more space to add things. He rarely goes into the log and I put a damp paper towel in it a few weeks ago (I read that somewhere online) and he still didn’t use it but the crickets made good use of it to hide. I took that out. I was afraid that the same would happen with the tupperware. I also read that online....He loves his crickets so I guess I could take the tupperware out while he is eating and put it back in after. Mind you, the tank is small. I will be switching him to a bigger tank this weekend. The weather here has been warm so I often turn the day light off so they don’t cook. On days when it is not too hot, I have it on. The golden usually stays stuck on the glass right under the lamp and the spotted lays on his log or rock under it as well. I’ll put up more pictures once I get things organized this weekend. They seem like they are doing pretty well, again, a far cry from a cold dark basement and tanks full of poop. Thanks for the input....I’ll post new pictures this weekend. Stella
08/09/08  12:01am


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