wrinkly skin?

[misterslim]

Hello,

One of my cresties seems to have wrinkly skin; compared to the rest of my gecko's. She doesn't seem to be eating that much? Any ideas?

Any help would be great

Dave

[HeatherRose]

Any pictures?

What are you keeping her in, what are the temperatures, what's the humidity, what are you feeding her, and are you supplementing her?

:)

[dave68]

Post some pics if you've got any. From what you've said I'd venture a guess at either dehydration or maybe if female she may be gravid? Some more info and pics would really help though.

Dave

[dave68]

Sorry Heather we must have been typing at the same time and you probably type with more than two fingers LOL!!

Dave

[misterslim]

Sorry guys I have pictures but I don't know how to post. I keep her with another female in a 33gallon exo terra (new one with the rock background). Coconut bedding, the expandable bricks. Lots of Furniture.Temperature is around 70 degrees. No supplementary light (I just got back from Petsmart and am applying a 50W Sun glo bulb!!!) I feed her baby food mixed with cgd. Crickets when she'll take them. Humidity is around 60-65%. I change a water dish every other day.

Thanks alot for the help
Dave

[HeatherRose]

I type with 4 fingers :p

If it is an adult crested gecko I would not worry about impaction. My cresties go nuts when they're fed crickets and tend to grab mouthfuls of the substrate. If it's a hatchling I would put it on papertowel.

Do you mist them? Crested geckos don't tend to drink from a water dish, rather they drink the water that runs off of the sides of the tank and furniture when misted.

If this is the case I'd bet that your crestie is dehydrated.

Crested geckos do NOT need supplementary lighting. If you're going to use it, keep a close eye on the temperatures. Anything above 80F can be dangerous for them.

Everything else sounds fine, I really need to get my hands on one of those cages!

As for posting pictures, at the bottom of the page with all of the forums listed is a HOWTO forum... there's a thread on posting pictures in there. Pictures would really help :)

I have one more question, is she active? Is she climbing and sticking to the walls like she should?

Keep us posted :D

[Ducksarefun]

I'm thinking if the humidity is always around 60-65%, then yea, dehydration is a possibility. You should at least try to get it to 80% for part of the day. You should give them a good spray at least twice a day (but with the dry winter air, even twice doesn't last long).

[CDN-Cresties]

One more thing to add to the good adivce posted thus far. Although babyfood + CGD is better than babyfood alone. I would suggest just using CGD. When you mix babyfood with CGD, it dilutes the formula and the nutrientional balance the diet provides.

[misterslim]

Thanks for the great tips (everyone)

Those new exo-terra cages are awesome..$85 even at the show, 33gallon.

I do not mist as often as you had suggested. I bet that is my problem. I will increase to 3 times per day , increase humidity to 70-80% and inturn help the dehydration.

She has not been too active lately. Still loves coming out of the cage. I will try and post pics tomorrow.....from work hehehe

Thanks Again
Dave

[HeatherRose]

If she's not really active, it could be signs of other problems...

Is she sticking to the walls and your hands? Or does she stay in the same spot all day?

See if things change once you increase misting :)

[misterslim]

Mainly stays in the same spot. Moves around at night. Not nearly as active as the other female in the cage

[little_dragon_]

For a precaution that she might be sick. I would seperate her from the others. Place her in an appropriate sized critter keeper or rubbermaid in a warmer room away from your other reptiles. Keep the set up simple with egg cartons, and paper towel. She needs her own space, security, food and time alone to rehydrate and recover.
If she's less active then the other females then you'll want to take away her competition for food. If she appears wrinkly she might be on the verge of a growth spurt! I might be way off because there's no pic but I'm guessing she looks small compared to her skin?
Being alone in a basic set up will allow you to closely monitor her health. I would hold off on the food for 3 days. Give her a lot of water and humidity. You could even try diluting some calcium d3 in her misting water for extra supplement. On the fourth night feed her and check on her behaviour and food response. If there's no change check back at 2:00am gecko time to see if she's out and about :) Hope this helps.

[HeatherRose]

... This is the last time I'm going to ask...

Is she STICKING to walls, and climbing? Or does she stay on the ground? This is important, if she's not sticking I would be worried about reasons other than dehydration.

[little_dragon_]

oh if she's not sticking..and appears wrinkly she could be having a really bad shed. The humidity will help ;)

[misterslim]

Yes she is sticking to the walls. I will seperate and re-hydrate and keep you guys updated

Thanks for all the help

[misterslim]

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/511/6747Wrinkly-med.JPG

Seeing if this works

[misterslim]

updated with pic

[little_dragon_]

Appears like she's having a bad shed...Keep her nice and warm with high humidity in a temperary enclosure.

[misterslim]

Thanks
Dave

[little_dragon_]

I tried emailing you..incase you didn't get it...
From the picture I think she may have failed to shed a layer of skin in the past and now she has a double layer ready to come off? Does she appear duller then usual? What does it feel like when you pick her up? The wrinkles might be the trapped skin. It looks like she's peeling the top layer a bit. Place her in a small container for now with most paper towel and give her a warm mist unti the container is nice and wet. I have had a gecko trapped in its own skin before try and find a bit of skin ready to peel after shes been in the container for 30mins or so. if you rub her skin and it starts feeling loose then you are on the right track. It might start to look transparent. Look for a peel point. I hope I 'm right. Let me know how it goes! Goodluck

From: David

[concept3]

its possible she is getting bullied by the other female too. Seperatin and higher humidity are your best options

[little_dragon_]

looks like it

[CDN-Cresties]

Cresties do drink from water bowls. Here's a quote from Allen's article.

"Crested Geckos should be provided with fresh clean water from a bowl at all times. They have the ability to find water, and in all but the driest conditions, will keep themselves well hydrated by drinking directly from a bowl. In dry climates with low humidity, daily misting may become necessary, especially for hatchlings and juvenile specimens in large enclosures."

[Ducksarefun]

Yea, Denver drinks from his water bowl! But I wouldn't depend on just that to keep a crested hydrated.

[CDN-Cresties]

I heard of some keepers that dont even mist. Humidity is provided by the substrate and water bowl is sufficient. I wouldn't try it, most of my geckos drink as soon as I mist.

[little_dragon_]

I provide my cresteds waterbowls when I go away...and they are fine without a mist for a while but I think they prefer a mist.

[galad]

When my chameleon had wrinkeled skin when i came back from vacation, because my stupid mother didnt feed her properly.
If you say she is not eating this could be the reason. But i have no idea if crested are the same as chameleons in that respect.
you could lightly feel her stomach for anything hard.

hope she gets rid of em soon

ws