Leopard gecko shedding?

Question

My 3 and a half month old leopard gecko stopped eating 3 days ago. Yesterday she ate three waxworms and I woke up today to find she's shedding. She just shed 11 days ago, is it normal for her to shed so much? also, I've read that it's normal for them not to eat after shedding, but is it normal if it's before shedding? She's been really active and she pooped last night, I'm just wondering if that's why she wasn't eating. Thanks!

10 gallon tank
72 degrees ambient
85 in the hot hide
Reptile carpet
Staple of mealworms with waxworms 2 or 3 times a week (tried crickets, she's afraid of them)

Answer 1

Yeah that's all normal. I agree with the person above that you should maybe cut back on the wax worms a bit for all the reasons they already said. My leopard geckos eat a little less before and after they shed and since your leopard gecko is still growing, it's normal for her to shed a bit more often than an adult leopard gecko. Just as a suggestion; since you're feeding worms as the main diet you might want to crank up the heat on the hot side a bit (high 80's) to help more with digestion (worms are harder to digest than crickets). The heat in a leopard gecko's tank can go up to the low 90's without problems.

Answer 2

First of all You should not feed waxworms as a staple diet because they have a high fat content and can prove addictive. Feeding them one or two per week as a treat is sufficient. Other than waxworms you could try mealworms dipped in calicum and vitamin powder, As for crickets no wonder she is afraid of them, crickets are known to nibble on geckos. Try locusts baby ones first and then move the size up to med and then large as a treat but feed meal worms throughout even when feeding locusts.

Geckos dont have a problem eating before or after shedding she may have no been hungry but just make sure your giving her the right amount for her age, Hatchlings and young geckos can be fed 4-8 food items once per day. Adults can be fed 4-10 food items of the appropriate size every 2-3 days. Geckos being nocturnal prefer to hunt their prey at night, so it is advised to place food items with your Geckos after dusk.

She will shed her skin every 2 to 5 weeks although you may not notice her shed every time that she does. Leopard geckos eat their own shed skin in order to harvest some of the vitamins and minerals from it. The illustrations below show a Leopard gecko through various stages of its shedding cycle.

They also need to eat the right diet of food aswell as vitamins and calcium to beable to correctly shed at the right point.

Remember to keep an eye on her toes, eyes and nose after she sheds.

Hope this helps hun, i remember whn i was young and started caring for geckos i was worried about everything.

Answer 3

when a Leopard gecko sheds, some skin might get stuck to the toes. If it does, the toe might fall off etc. Just provide a moist hide, which emulates a cool rock hideaway in nature which they would use to shed. Also, mist him with water every 4 hours to aid him. Some eat the skin, some don't. however, if your pet has trouble shedding in the toes you should soak him in some lukewarm water for 10 minutes, or take a tupperware and put moist towels in it and deliberately put your gecko in for about 30 minutes. After, take a Q tip and roll off the skin. They shed around twice a month

Answer 4

I am just adding in a suggestion here. Don't feed her any wax worms unless you want to use them as a treat, like when she does some thing supper awesome. My leopard gecko 'Toothless' has never eaten Wax worms. And never will. I rather keep her diet on mealworms and crickets. I know I am 3 years late here lol but just a suggestion for you. -also, I think it is kinda cute she is afraid of them :P-