[gecko]Question on hatchling Gold Dust Day Gecko having trouble
shedding ...
Gecko
gecko@lists.gekkota.com
Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:15:15 -1000
Aloha, Melody
Flightless fruit flies!! Wouldn't she like that!! I will have to google
for them and see if I can get them into Hawaii! I have to have an
import license to have mealworms shipped to me to feed the geckos! Right
now, we are having problems finding someone to ship quickly enough in
the summer, even with the license. We need a good supplier that ships
from somewhere near the west coast as all the places I know are mid or
east coast. A mealworm import license is $50 a year for unlimited
shipments -- and they all go through Honolulu for inspection! If
flightless fruit flies are on the list, they would cost the same. Hawaii
actually has a great endemic fruit fly that is huge -- about the size of
a small house fly. Too big for our little Preemie girl as it is almost
the size of her head! Pretty neat, though!
Yes, I would be interested in your source for the flies. I can always
ask them if they ship here. We did find a small scissors on a Swiss army
knife, so my job has become easier and faster, thank goodness! I can
sometimes now just hold them with my fingers and clip them! Much easier! ;)
We are watching the tail skin. I worry that it is too tight on her. And
it seems to make her tail less flexible. But we dread trying to get it
off, as she really seems unhappy when we try to work on her tail. Not
that she liked the rest of it, but that part always bothered her the
most and she would take off like a bolt!!
Hey, I am a webfoot as I was born in Oregon in Myrtle Point! We moved
away to England for a year when I was 11, 'though, so I am not real
familiar with where places are. I have not heard of Aloha in Oregon, but
I sure like the name! ;)
Mahalo,
Sherron
Melody Hartley wrote:
> Aloha Sharron,
>
> You are so patient and dedicated!! This little one is so lucky to
> have you, since I'm sure she would have been someone's lunch
> otherwise. If she goes on eating fruit flies, you know you can raise
> flightess fruit flies, and that might be easier. I do that because I
> keep a few dart frogs, but I use them for hatchling geckos too. You'd
> have to get a starter culture from someone, or get one shipped to you
> if allowed, and keep them strictly separate from the flying ones
> because "flightless" is a recessive gene. I can give you more info if
> you're interested.
>
> Do you have the little bugs in the soil called springtails? Or any
> other tiny bugs you could catch, maybe aphids? I'd hate for you go
> blind clipping fruit fly wings, LOL!
>
> As to the last bits of shedding, she might lose the extra skin on the
> next shed. I've only gotten the tail skin off by peeling front to
> back, like turning a cone inside out.
>
> The town in Oregon that I live in is named "Aloha" although pronounced
> differently -- emphasis on the "lo" part and a soft "h" -- ah-LO-ah.
>
> It's also nice to see some activity on this list ;-)
>
> Melody
>
> Gecko wrote:
>
>> Aloha, Melody
>>
>> Thanks for these ideas. I never thought of a paintbrush, but that
>> would be softer and probably hold the moisture better. ;)
>>
>> Her toes kept sticking to the washcloth, so we did lay a paper towel
>> on top of it and she liked that better.
>>
>> Now that she is back in her regular house, she is on banana leaf with
>> red ti, honeysuckle, and helekonia. We used to have her on paper
>> towels, but she really seems to like the banana leaf and we have tons
>> of them. And the red ti is her favorite for hanging out on. And all
>> the day geckos like the helekonia -- that and the bananas are their
>> favorite hangouts ... along with our lanai and house. ;)
>>
>> Mahalo,
>> Sherron
>>
>>
>>
>> Melody Hartley wrote:
>>
>>> Slightly different method -- I use a paper towel rather than a
>>> washcloth in the humid box, and float the whole box in a sink full
>>> of warm water for the heat. A small soft paintbrush can also be
>>> helpful for wetting the old skin and working it loose.
>>>
>>> elizabethfreer@aol.com wrote:
>>>
>>>> And Aloha Sherron ~
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for these details. Please try the humidity chamber near a
>>>> lamp for a few hours. Use a wet washcloth that has been wrung out
>>>> and place it in the vented, plastic container. Watch the water
>>>> droplets form. After only a few hours I imagine her skin might be
>>>> loose enough to start a split.
>>>>
>>>> Another idea! Have something like a twig, small branch, or a
>>>> section of choya wood --- something rough that she could snuggle up
>>>> against to assist in the shed.
>>>>
>>>> I hope the skin shed helps her right leg work more efficiently!
>>>>
>>>> Keep us posted!
>>>>
>>>> Wish I lived near the beach in a place warm enough where geckos
>>>> roamed freely ;-]
>>>>
>>>> Elizabeth
>>>>
>>>> Aloha, Elizabeth
>>>>
>>>> She is about 3/4" from nose to vent -- she is the smallest day
>>>> gecko
>>>> hatchling we have ever seen, although some of our mourning gecko
>>>> hatchlings are even tinier.
>>>>
>>>> This sounds like it might work! If it would just soften enough to
>>>> pull off her or get a split started, I think we could get the neck
>>>> skin off. We have been misting her little cage and putting a
>>>> heating pad next to it, but that only helps a little and wasn't
>>>> keeping the humidity up high enough.
>>>> She has never seemed to be able to fully control her right leg,
>>>> and
>>>> her right foot is smaller than her left and the toes kind of
>>>> clumped
>>>> together. She often tends to move the joint and leg together as a
>>>> unit, so there may be something wrong with the joint, too.
>>>> Although
>>>> in watching her with the skin problem, some of that may just be
>>>> the
>>>> skin being so tight it restricts her movement.
>>>>
>>>> Usually when we find the hatchlings, most of that first skin has
>>>> already been shed, but she was fully covered with it and it has
>>>> only
>>>> recently started splitting. We do think it hinders her use of her
>>>> limbs -- her arms are only about the size of thin pencil lead, and
>>>> the skin seems to fully coat those.
>>>>
>>>> She has been doing okay up until the last couple of days, though,
>>>> when the skin (I hope that it isn't something else, too) started
>>>> really becoming a problem. She now gets around by lurching her
>>>> body
>>>> back and forth because her little arms & legs are still encased in
>>>> the skin, although it has come off some of the back. And she is
>>>> green underneath, not gray!
>>>>
>>>> We haven't ever actually kept any of the geckos before, as they
>>>> run
>>>> all around our house, lanai and garden (Phelsuma laticauda,
>>>> house -
>>>> Hemidactylus frenatus, & Mourning - Lepidodactylus lugubris).
>>>> But we
>>>> had to make an exception in her case, since she couldn't fend for
>>>> herself. Usually we just take the hatchlings outside so they
>>>> have a
>>>> better chance of survival -- we have lots of big geckos running
>>>> around inside and they don't last long if we don't get to them
>>>> first. :(
>>>>
>>>> Mahalo, Sherron
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ElizabethFreer@aol.com wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hello Sherron ~
>>>>>
>>>>> Try the humidity chamber trick. I can't view your photos at home
>>>>> because my laptop is really memory-challenged, so I don't know
>>>>> how
>>>>> big this gecko is! However, my mourning geckos are 1" 3/8" at
>>>>> hatching. Try placing your gecko in a vented plastic container
>>>>> with a damp washcloth inside. Place this near a light. Almost
>>>>> immediately you will notice beads of water accumulate on the
>>>>> sides/top of the container. After a few hours or so perhaps you
>>>>> can remove the rings of old skin around her neck gently with a
>>>>> tweezers or small scissors.
>>>>>
>>>>> What is the problem with her right leg? Might you have a new pet
>>>>> here?
>>>>>
>>>>> Elizabeth
>>>>>
>>>>>> Subj:[gecko]Question on hatchling Gold Dust Day Gecko having
>>>>>> trouble shedding "egg skin"
>>>>>> Date:6/1/08 4:16:39 PM Pacific Daylight Time
>>>>>> From: gecko.hale@gmail.com (Sherron)
>>>>>> Sender: gecko-admin@lists.gekkota.com
>>>>>> Reply-to: gecko@lists.gekkota.com
>>>>>> <mailto:gecko@lists.gekkota.com>
>>>>>> To: gecko@lists.gekkota.com
>>>>>>
>>>>> We found a tiny hatchling on May 13 that was a little
>>>>> underdeveloped and was still in that grayish skin they have when
>>>>> they first come out of the shell. She was dehydrated and has a
>>>>> problem with her right leg, but is spunky.
>>>>>
>>>>> We haven't been able to release her outside like we do the
>>>>> rest of
>>>>> the hatchings we find, as her bad leg has kept her from being
>>>>> very
>>>>> mobile, but she has been doing pretty well eating tiny bugs &
>>>>> aphids I collect for her. She has also shown a real interest in
>>>>> the fruit flies around her papaya, but I don't think she has
>>>>> managed to catch any yet.
>>>>>
>>>>> But she started having trouble yesterday and was real cold &
>>>>> clammy, so we put a heating pad near her cage to help warm her
>>>>> up.
>>>>> It seems to have started her molting her "egg skin", but she
>>>>> has a
>>>>> bunch of it around her neck that she can't get off.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is there anything we can do to help her? She is so tiny we don't
>>>>> see how we could try to cut it off! The rest of the skin except
>>>>> for around her neck should slough off okay, but the stuff around
>>>>> her neck is several layers and is a ring, so it may be another
>>>>> matter. :(
>>>>>
>>>>> Any help would be greatly appreciated as she is really a spunky
>>>>> little girl.
>>>>>
>>>>> Mahalo, Sherron
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Gecko <gecko.hale@gmail.com>
>>>> To: gecko@lists.gekkota.com
>>>> Sent: Mon, 2 Jun 2008 11:21 am
>>>> Subject: Re: [gecko]Question on hatchling Gold Dust Day Gecko
>>>> having trouble shedding ...
>>>>
>>>> Aloha, Elizabeth
>>>>
>>>> She is about 3/4" from nose to vent -- she is the smallest day
>>>> gecko hatchling we have ever seen, although some of our mourning
>>>> gecko hatchlings are even tinier.
>>>>
>>>> This sounds like it might work! If it would just soften enough to
>>>> pull off her or get a split started, I think we could get the neck
>>>> skin off. We have been misting her little cage and putting a
>>>> heating pad next to it, but that only helps a little and wasn't
>>>> keeping the humidity up high enough.
>>>> She has never seemed to be able to fully control her right leg, and
>>>> her right foot is smaller than her left and the toes kind of
>>>> clumped together. She often tends to move the joint and leg
>>>> together as a unit, so there may be something wrong with the joint,
>>>> too. Although in watching her with the skin problem, some of that
>>>> may just be the skin being so tight it restricts her movement.
>>>>
>>>> Usually when we find the hatchlings, most of that first skin has
>>>> already been shed, but she was fully covered with it and it has
>>>> only recently started splitting. We do think it hinders her use of
>>>> her limbs -- her arms are only about the size of thin pencil lead,
>>>> and the skin seems to fully coat those.
>>>>
>>>> She has been doing okay up until the last couple of days, though,
>>>> when the skin (I hope that it isn't something else, too) started
>>>> really becoming a problem. She now gets around by lurching her body
>>>> back and forth because her little arms & legs are still encased in
>>>> the skin, although it has come off some of the back. And she is
>>>> green underneath, not gray!
>>>>
>>>> We haven't ever actually kept any of the geckos before, as they run
>>>> all around our house, lanai and garden (Phelsuma laticauda, house -
>>>> Hemidactylus frenatus, & Mourning - Lepidodactylus lugubris). But
>>>> we had to make an exception in her case, since she couldn't fend
>>>> for herself. Usually we just take the hatchlings outside so they
>>>> have a better chance of survival -- we have lots of big geckos
>>>> running around inside and they don't last long if we don't get to
>>>> them first. :(
>>>>
>>>> Mahalo, Sherron
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ElizabethFreer@aol.com wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hello Sherron ~
>>>>>
>>>>> Try the humidity chamber trick. I can't view your photos at home
>>>>> because my laptop is really memory-challenged, so I don't know how
>>>>> big this gecko is! However, my mourning geckos are 1" 3/8" at
>>>>> hatching. Try placing your gecko in a vented plastic container
>>>>> with a damp washcloth inside. Place this near a light. Almost
>>>>> immediately you will notice beads of water accumulate on the
>>>>> sides/top of the container. After a few hours or so perhaps you
>>>>> can remove the rings of old skin around her neck gently with a
>>>>> tweezers or small scissors.
>>>>>
>>>>> What is the problem with her right leg? Might you have a new pet
>>>>> here?
>>>>>
>>>>> Elizabeth
>>>>>
>>>>>> Subj:[gecko]Question on hatchling Gold Dust Day Gecko having
>>>>>> trouble shedding "egg skin"
>>>>>> Date:6/1/08 4:16:39 PM Pacific Daylight Time
>>>>>> From: gecko.hale@gmail.com (Sherron)
>>>>>> Sender: gecko-admin@lists.gekkota.com
>>>>>> Reply-to: gecko@lists.gekkota.com <mailto:gecko@lists.gekkota.com>
>>>>>> To: gecko@lists.gekkota.com
>>>>>>
>>>>> We found a tiny hatchling on May 13 that was a little
>>>>> underdeveloped and was still in that grayish skin they have when
>>>>> they first come out of the shell. She was dehydrated and has a
>>>>> problem with her right leg, but is spunky.
>>>>>
>>>>> We haven't been able to release her outside like we do the rest of
>>>>> the hatchings we find, as her bad leg has kept her from being very
>>>>> mobile, but she has been doing pretty well eating tiny bugs &
>>>>> aphids I collect for her. She has also shown a real interest in
>>>>> the fruit flies around her papaya, but I don't think she has
>>>>> managed to catch any yet.
>>>>>
>>>>> But she started having trouble yesterday and was real cold &
>>>>> clammy, so we put a heating pad near her cage to help warm her up.
>>>>> It seems to have started her molting her "egg skin", but she has a
>>>>> bunch of it around her neck that she can't get off.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is there anything we can do to help her? She is so tiny we don't
>>>>> see how we could try to cut it off! The rest of the skin except
>>>>> for around her neck should slough off okay, but the stuff around
>>>>> her neck is several layers and is a ring, so it may be another
>>>>> matter. :(
>>>>>
>>>>> Any help would be greatly appreciated as she is really a spunky
>>>>> little girl.
>>>>>
>>>>> Mahalo, Sherron
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ~~~geckos make my heart sing (and dance)~~~
>>>>>
>>>>> l l
>>>>> l ^^ /..\ ^^ /..\ ^^ ^^
>>>>> /..\ ^^
>>>>> l l ^^ llll
>>>>> \\\ l l llll ///
>>>>> l l llll \\\
>>>>> l l ~~ llll ///
>>>>> ~~ ( ~~ ) ~~ ~~ ( ~~
>>>>> ) ( )
>>>>> ( ) (
>>>>> ) ( )
>>>>> lappert(a) robert(a) hubert(a)
>>>>> 17.50 yo
>>>>> r.i.p. r.i.p.
>>>>> (All Lepidodactylus lugubris!)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> **************
>>>>> Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler
>>>>> Florence" on AOL Food.
>>>>> (http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4&?NCID=aolfod00030000000002)
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>> Gecko aka Sherron, Kailua Kona, Hawaii (on the Big Island of Hawaii)
>>>> Homepage: http://hale-pohaku.com/sherron -
>>>> mailto:gecko@hale-pohaku.com
>>>> See our rats: http://hale-pohaku.com/dennis/ratgallery.html
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>
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--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gecko aka Sherron, Kailua Kona, Hawaii (on the Big Island of Hawaii)
Homepage: http://hale-pohaku.com/sherron - mailto:gecko@hale-pohaku.com
See our rats: http://hale-pohaku.com/dennis/ratgallery.html