The Original Teb
New member
There's a reason why Leopard Gecko owners and breeders are always stressing the importance of a humid hide. I always knew about this and thought my parents did when I left my seven geckos in their care.. Sadly, they didn't know, regardless of the fact that I've stressed it to them a million times before. It's a little more like ignorance, although I'm thankful they even put the effort into caring for them.. All of my geckos had no humid hides-- Or any hides at all for that matter. Just a water dish and only two cages had heat lamps. I had no idea that this was how they were being cared for until I came back from being in Canada.. To my knowledge they left the tanks alone, because they were already set-up. Heh.. Guess not, because I came back to find a gecko who was knocking on death's door. =\
This little gecko had changed so much in appearance it was too shocking for me to cry or even express how I felt verbally. What I saw was a very small adult leopard gecko, mummified in dead skin- Even over his eyes.. His movement was little to none and every bone in his body was protruding through these layers of skin. Immediatly, I worked away at this.. I wish I had taken photos of what I initially saw, because it's scary enough to make people who doubt humid hides do anything take action and get a humid hide ASAP.. It took me almost three days to get every bit of skin off.. The most painful part was peeling it gently away from his face after I let him sit in a steamy humid hide placed in hot water. The skin over his eyes came off and it made my stomach stiffen because I thought his eyes dried out and came right off... I'll notify you now that this was not that case, thankfully.
After these three days(I worked slowly because he had enough stress already.. The last few days mainly consisted of removing the skin from his toes), I was shaking my head at his apparent blindness. I couldn't stop thinking about how he had looked before this incident compared to his current state.. how he'd never see again. That was enough. I have very sensitive eyes and need to use eye drops in order to feel comfortable throughout the day, so after putting them in one day and reading the label carefully.. I got thinking. "Lubricating eye drops". His eyes were sealed shut at the time, so I began applying the eyes drops to his eyelids and to my surprise they were gradually opening. Eventually, I was able to see the entire eye on each side-- Although sunken from dehydration.
**This is what I was seeing at this point**
The eye was layered in a transparent sheet of skin, so I stayed up a couple hours, carefully removing the skin from his eyes. I repeated this for about 4 days, along with handfeeding mealworms and syringe feeding a gatorade solution for his dehydration. This morning I could see a huge difference in his appearance and personality. He's beginning to look slightly fuller in the tail and stomach region and he's becoming more fiesty(A little tougher to feed, lol). However, he hasn't bitten me or screeched at me once through this whole ordeal and has remained exetremely patient, even in the most uncomfortable of situations.. I'm excited for this little guy because I believe I'll be able to post pictures within a months time of a COMPLETELY different leopard gecko than the one I returned home to see. Here is some photos of what I saw this morning, you can see a difference already.
**This morning, soaking his toes in warm water, just in case**
"I'm just hanging out."
"Looking around as I relax."
"Sitting on a tidy cat's box so this lady can take my picture."
"Showing off my cute face AND giving a glimpse of one of my now healthy eyes."
I think this guy is like a little trooper. Even though he was in critical condition when I found him, he's had a strong spirit and wouldn't go down without a fight. Be sure to check back for updates.
This little gecko had changed so much in appearance it was too shocking for me to cry or even express how I felt verbally. What I saw was a very small adult leopard gecko, mummified in dead skin- Even over his eyes.. His movement was little to none and every bone in his body was protruding through these layers of skin. Immediatly, I worked away at this.. I wish I had taken photos of what I initially saw, because it's scary enough to make people who doubt humid hides do anything take action and get a humid hide ASAP.. It took me almost three days to get every bit of skin off.. The most painful part was peeling it gently away from his face after I let him sit in a steamy humid hide placed in hot water. The skin over his eyes came off and it made my stomach stiffen because I thought his eyes dried out and came right off... I'll notify you now that this was not that case, thankfully.
After these three days(I worked slowly because he had enough stress already.. The last few days mainly consisted of removing the skin from his toes), I was shaking my head at his apparent blindness. I couldn't stop thinking about how he had looked before this incident compared to his current state.. how he'd never see again. That was enough. I have very sensitive eyes and need to use eye drops in order to feel comfortable throughout the day, so after putting them in one day and reading the label carefully.. I got thinking. "Lubricating eye drops". His eyes were sealed shut at the time, so I began applying the eyes drops to his eyelids and to my surprise they were gradually opening. Eventually, I was able to see the entire eye on each side-- Although sunken from dehydration.
**This is what I was seeing at this point**
The eye was layered in a transparent sheet of skin, so I stayed up a couple hours, carefully removing the skin from his eyes. I repeated this for about 4 days, along with handfeeding mealworms and syringe feeding a gatorade solution for his dehydration. This morning I could see a huge difference in his appearance and personality. He's beginning to look slightly fuller in the tail and stomach region and he's becoming more fiesty(A little tougher to feed, lol). However, he hasn't bitten me or screeched at me once through this whole ordeal and has remained exetremely patient, even in the most uncomfortable of situations.. I'm excited for this little guy because I believe I'll be able to post pictures within a months time of a COMPLETELY different leopard gecko than the one I returned home to see. Here is some photos of what I saw this morning, you can see a difference already.
**This morning, soaking his toes in warm water, just in case**
"I'm just hanging out."
"Looking around as I relax."
"Sitting on a tidy cat's box so this lady can take my picture."
"Showing off my cute face AND giving a glimpse of one of my now healthy eyes."
I think this guy is like a little trooper. Even though he was in critical condition when I found him, he's had a strong spirit and wouldn't go down without a fight. Be sure to check back for updates.