Temperature

Question

Stuck skin on geckos h   QUESTION: My leopard gecko has stuck shed on the top of his head.The skin is very tight around his eyes.I've tried a couple of things.The humidity is 80 regularly.People have told me to put Vaseline on him but im afraid he'll eat it.Another thing was a Q-tip try and rub it off but what if he bites the Q-tip and swallows the cotton?Please help im not sure what to do?And im really scared he'll go blind because of how tight it is around his eyes.Also whats the proper temperature for my small leopard gecko?And how can you tell how old your leopard gecko is?

ANSWER: Hello Liv,
You asked me the questions before. I offered you ways to remove the shed, and I told you that you are not using a large amount of it and that you must rub it in well. Its better if the misting and bathing work, and using the cotton swab or your finger to gently rub off the shed..sometimes the shed will not come off until the next shed. If he can open his eyes with out a problem, then its not causing a problem. You said the shed is on top his head which is not his mouth. If you rub the Vaseline in properly, it will soak into the stuck shed...if he would happen to lick it, its not a problem.  You aren't putting the cotton swab in his mouth.you want to work the shed that is stuck on his head and eyes.    You need to give things a chance to work, it may take a few days..and you have to try the bathing, misting with warm water, vaseline, etc so you can find what will work.  Did you make a humid hide for your leo? If not, that is vital to helping with shedding.  You need to be careful of course when you are working around his eyes.  If you feel that you cannot do this for your leo, then you need to get him to a vet to do it for you.  I also gave you a care sheet which listed the proper temperatures for a leo.  Remember, you need to measure the temperatures on the floor in the warm area. You don't want that to ever be higher than 94, even that is a few degrees too warm.
Without knowing the hatch date of a leo, its tough to tell their actual age. Generally at 4-6 inches, roughly 3-4 months of age 6-8 inches would put the age at about 6 months or more. Of course size depends on them having proper care and being healthy. There are some leos that are much larger than the "normal" 8-9 inches or slightly larger, which can get to 10-12 inches or more as adults, so they would be a little larger when younger also.
Your leo still looks to have some of his "baby" colors so he is still young.
Also, I see mealworms in the picture. Do be careful, they can bite your leo and cause infection and or sores.
You do not want your leo to have a constant humidity level of 80%. That is too high for a leo which can lead to respiratory problems. I suggest that you remove your leo from his tank if you are misting heavy to get the shed off.

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QUESTION: My temperature is always 80 degrees is that  bad?

ANSWER: Hi Liv,
They need to have access to different temperature ranges as they have in nature. When they don't have access to the warm area(basking) they cannot digest their foods properly.  When the warm area is too cool, their foods digest too slow and nutrition is lost. If the temperatures are too high, foods digest too fast and nutrition is lost.  They need to thermoregulate. If they don't or can't have access to the needed temperature ranges that I mentioned in an earlier reply with the caresheet, their bodies don't function as they should. 80 is fine for the overall temperature but you need to provide a warm area with the temperature range of 88-92 degrees... and a cool area. Generally, when you get the warm area on one end at the right temperatures, the middle of the tank is in the mid range and the other end is in the cool range. Please pull up the caresheet I sent you earlier and print it out so you can refer to it easily.

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QUESTION: I have one more question.Would a heat rock help?I know heat rocks don't change the air temp but could it be a place for him to sit on because it would be warmer?

Answer
Hi Liv,
In the care sheet I sent you I specifically state not to use a heat rock because they can be deadly.   They can overheat and or malfunction causing severe burns or death to a reptile.
Recommended is an under tank heater, set up properly on one end of the tank. covering no more than 1/3 of the tank.  That is also in the care sheet.