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gracemynote

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You must all think I'm a terribly gecko owner but really I'm not! A problem just sprung up tonight and I'm emailing the good vet I saw pics and whatnot but I need an answer of what to do before I get an answer from her. I'm assuming a lot of you have dealt with gecko cuts and bleeding before because of breeding and geckos biting each other and whatnot. So here's the story and pics! Please help!

A few days ago (even at the vet) there was a spot on his tail the size of a couple of pinheads, where the shedded skin had come off to early and it bled a little. Every so often as the days went on, it would continue to bleed a little especially if he was put in a container with water to soak. When I saw it, it was dried blood and I would take a q-tip and clean it off with water. It started bleeding a little again and I would hold a paper towel to it until it stopped and then I would put him in his cage. Tonight I saw some more again (dried blood) and there was a little more than usual. I got my water and q-tip and tried to clean it off but it looked like there were a few cuts there. While I was brushing it I noticed a flap was coming up. You can lift the flap of skin up and there was bright red blood underneath (the pic shows his skin b/c I cleaned it off) However, the blood didn't seem to be coming directly from him b/c I imagined it would bleed a lot more than that. It was just kind of sitting under there. I sprayed it with water and used a q-tip to brush some more of it off. It didn't bleed after that. It seems as the flap of skin is pretty thin, and may come off with his next shed but that won't be for like 3 weeks! I washed underneath of it off in case of an infection and put some neopsorin on it. I put paper towels in his cage so that the wound doesn't get stuck on the carpet hairs while he is moving. That may have contributed to the bleeding along with the water. Anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with gecko wounds like this????

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http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4185/no43wj.jpg
 
Don't touch.

The paper towels were definatley a good thing. I want some opinions, do all of you other Gecko owners ever have this happen? Where they just yank their own skin off, or they got it stuck on a log or something and yank it off. Is this heard of??? I would imagine that it would bleed with heat and moisture, but only if it was previously open. If theres dried blood isn't that a scab, and don't you want to leave that on? Once theres dried blood I would put neosporin on it and leave it alone. Definatley check on him everyday, but leave him alone. I'm not trying to be mean, but didn't you post earlier about trying to help his toe skin shed and accidently pushing it off and his toes bleeding?? You don't have to help them shed. I would watch and see if he does it on his own and it may take a minute. I'm not sure how long to wait before intervening but you can give them a second. Just put some neosporin on is what I'd say, then maybe another Vet trip. At least if it doesn't start lookin better. You could put him on lockdown from anything you think he could of snagged his tail on. Just one safe hide and some water. We have a smooth rock hide for our Gexie, no accidents there. Has he always since you first got him had shedding problems?? I would think they would know when to pull their skin off? I donno? Well thats just my advice, and opinion for now. :)
 
He did not pull that off, I have no idea how that skin lifted up. It isn't shed skin either because he already did that, its his new skin, but it is nowhere near his shedding period yet. The flap It was caked under a lot of dried blood which I brushed off. But brushing downward doesn't make a skin flip up like that! I emailed my vet the pictures and story, but I just want to keep him safe in case I don't get an answer for a couple of days.
 
A few days ago (even at the vet) there was a spot on his tail the size of a couple of pinheads, where the shedded skin had come off to early and it bled a little.

Ok, the Vet didn't say anything about it??? I donno, that is just one weird case you've got girlie. I'm not understanding. I saw the picture. Are sure that skin wasn't a scab? What in his tank could he have cut himself on? It definatley looks like a cut to me! I'm baffeled.
 
It was nowhere near as bad when the vet saw it. There was a small little dot. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe my brushing might have loosened it. That is how I noticed it. Because it was not exposed to be cut, unless he cut it before all the dried blood appeared. There is a log in there, he may have cut it on that. And I fed him crickets today, and he's moving around and dashing at stuff when he eats those. Carpet strings? It's kind of a rougher carpet surface. I don't know if I should cut off that surface layer of skin to expose the fleshy part underneath or just leave the fleshy part back on. Like a scab you know? I don't know if its too soon to "pick it" I just dont' wan bacteria harboring in there.
 
I wouldn't pick it, I'd leave him alone for awhile and see what progresses. I would defiantly only use paper towels. I have learned the hard way. My Anole Picolo ate some of his dirt, and Gex ate a couple Aspen pieces, but luckily no ill effects! Phew! I layer my paper towels so it feels softer, like cushiony, and possibly warmer. Paper towels down here are 50. each roll, or a dollar for three. I am glad you contacted your Vet. I have a Leopard gecko, and he has a log, and has no problems with it, he sure does love to climb it though. Maybe your little Gexy being injured shouldn't have it for now, especially if he likes climbing on it. I mean he should still have a hid though. Gexie has his smooth rock, or you could use something smooth like a deli cup, or a tuberware dish, but no sharp edges. Thats all I can say for now, just watch and see. If you leave him alone though, and theres no puss and he seems to be healing I guess you should be good.
 
Okay well I am unsure if I should take the skin off, or just fold it back on. I tried to look at it a little more with a q-tip and all the sudden he jerked really hard and it started bleeding again. So I just matted it back down to the skin and put some neosporin on it. Does that harbor infection, putting it back down? Or should I do that to contain the bleeding and help healing? I'm not sure which one is more advantegous (if that's even a word)....
 
Advantageous is a word, just not the way that you spelt it :)

The only thing I would point is to make sure that the neosporin does not have pain relief in it; apparently this can be very bad for the geckos.
 
I would just leave it alone, don't peel or poke him. It'll heal if you leave it alone it'll stop bleeding.
 
Be aware from time to time you may need to help a gecko shed. I felt that needed to be corrected. Just make sure you are doing it correctly, as it could cause more harm than good. However if a gecko that can't shed properly gets dried shed around toes, tail tips, even hands, it will constrict blood flow. In the case of toes and tail tips, the part dies off and ends up falling off without proper attention.
 
Ok, I wouldn't take the flap off. If theres blood its sticking to it, and it should heal back on just fine, all by its self. If hes jerking it must hurt. I'm not saying don't totally help them or anything. I myself would give it awhile, like a couple days with the toes, and then try and get it off, but I wouldn't FORCE anything off. Know what I'm saying? In my head I would figure that it would roll off his toes or tail, but I have never had shedding problems with Gexie. Did you get ahold of that Vet yet?? Have you tried a moist hide?? I'm just saying at least with the tail, leave it and it should heal. The scab doesn't necessarily get smaller, it might, but if it stays the same it doesn't mean its not healing underneath. That flap of skin should heal back to his tail also. I really hope your little guy is ok, and makes it through this ordeal well! Best of luck! :)
 
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