Day Gecko Not Eating

Question
QUESTION: Hi
I'm having a few problems with my Madagascan Green Day Gecko. She started to go off of her food about a month and a half ago, 3 weeks ago she shed her skin and failed to get the skin off of her toes. She can still navigate around the Vivarium (with a little difficulty) but has little appetite. At first I decided that the skin from her toes needed to be removed, so I removed her from the tank and placed her in a plastic box with wet tissues and placed her on a heat mat to give her a mini sauna (as advised by the reptile keeper at my local store.) I then tried to remove the skin using forceps, in the end I decided to not proceed, the skin was not going to come off easy and I did not want to stress out my Gecko.
However, after the sauna she was able to get around the vivarium a lot easier so I am now dedicating my time with keeping the humidity at a higher level and trying to get her to eat and hoping that the skin will come off next shed (the skin is not constricting any toes.) She will take baby food which I have been lacing with vitamin supplement, every other food, she ignores. Eating baby food all the time is obviously not good for her, so I need to spark her interest in other foods. I try to give her Waxworms but she picks them up and flings them across the vivarium as though she's saying she doesn't want that! She completely ignores Crickets (which is what I want her to eat the most.)
Tonight I am ordering some Exo Terra Electrolyze in the hope that it will perk her up a bit but any other suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks for listening.

ANSWER: Hi Jim

I know the diminishing appetite started before the shedding issues but I have always found that strongly arboreal species like day geckos can become extremely stressed when their climbing/clinging ability is compromised. If you do choose to tackle the retained  skin again I would suggest this method.  The lamellae on their toes that give them their ability to cling are like tiny, multiple folds of skin. I think that actually soaking her feet in a small amount of water gives better penetration of the moisture into these folds. You might also add a few drops of glycerine to the water. Glycerine is sold in pharmacies and its hydrophilic properties help to soften and moisten tissue even more then plain water. It is used in human food products so it is quite safe. I like to avoid the use of tweezers with arboreal geckos if I possibly can because the structures on the toes are fairly delicate.

It must appear that she is rejecting the waxworms but reptiles don't grab insects unless they have the intention of eating them. Some vitamin supplements have a strong scent and presumably strong flavour. Try offerring some plain waxworms if you have not been.  If she is at least making aborted attempts to go after the waxworms and is also eating the baby food of her own accord then it sounds like she does have some level of appetite. That is always a good sign. You mentioned supplements so I will assume that you have been supplementing her diet regularly before this issue arose. Calcium deficiency often affects the jaw bone and reduces its strength and ability to withstand the stress of capturing and killing insects. It would also affect her general mobility which would inhibit her hunting.

Is she part of a sexual pair by any chance? Gravid females often go off their food as well for a few weeks before laying.

I think you are on the right track with the supplemented baby food and electrolyte hydration and I would continue that. You might want to mix in a small amount of chicken based baby food just to give her a bit of protein as well.







---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Thea,
Thanks for answering my question, just one thing I'm unsure of. You said to avoid using tweezers to remove the skin off of my Gecko's toes, so do I just soak her feet and then leave her alone to remove the skin herself or is there another implement I should use? Also, how long should I soak her feet?
Thanks for the Chicken based baby food idea, I hadn't considered that. You said that I might want to "mix in a small amount," do you physically mean mixing it into the fruit baby food (ugghh!!) or giving her Chicken baby food seperately every few days!?
Thankyou very much.
Jim

Answer
Hi Jim,

I would soak her for at least 20 minutes in tepid water, a bit longer if she is not overly stressed by it.  You will have to use a container small and short enough to basically force her to stand in the water. Don't forget to punch some air holes.

Yes, I realize now my tweezer remark was unclear. Tweezers are the best, I just try to avoid them if I can because the potential for damage is greater. The soaked retained skin should look whitish and may even puff out a bit and look mushy, the longer soaking helps this. This makes it much easier for the gecko itself to remove. If you are lucky you can sometimes just roll it off by rubbing a finger over it. If you do opt for the tweezers then try to snag just the smallest bit to avoid the new tissue underneath. Comparing all her toes will help you figure out which one has retained skin or not, assuming they don't all have it! You should not feel much resistence when you pull it away but if you do either soak her a bit longer or let her have a go at it.

I wasn't sure whether you were dabbing the baby food on her snout or if she was finding it in a dish and eating it herself. I assume they are attracted to the scent of the fruit. The Day geckos that I have worked with certainly had their fruit preferences, peach and banana. I don't know if she would be attracted to the chicken scent on her own which is why I suggested mixing it with the fruit but if you are giving it to her then it can be given alone, provided she takes it. Mixing it sounded a bit disgusting to me when I typed it as well and I have a freezer full of mice and rats!

I was thinking that you might also try one of the commercial diets made for Crested geckos. They are fruit and insect eaters as well, a bit more heavy on the fruit for them. It would already be supplemented with vit/minerals which would remove part of the guess work. Repashy is the name of one reputable brand.