our leopard gecko is constantly shedding, and not in one piece.

Hi,

You need to have a moist hide for the Gecko to help with shedding. This can be made from a margarine container with a hole in the side, place a paper towel in it and mositen it. This will help with shedding. The Sand is dangerous and can casue an impaction and the stick on thermometer can be off as much as 20*F. The shedding indicates the Leopard Gecko is growing. You should be dusting the prey with calcium. What you are describing is retained shed over the eyes. This can be helped to be removed by giving a soak in warm water and using a q-tip to gently loosen the skin to removed it. I am going to give you my care sheet to review and then if you have any questions you can hit reply. Joan

Hi,

The sand is not my favorite substrate since it can dry out the Leo as well as cause an impaction over time. The Moist hide you have is great, but I would sugges using a margerine conatainer with a hole cut in the side and a moist paper towel to aid with shedding. The Mulch has a tendency of molding causing more problems in a long run. The Leo needs an under the tank heat source as they are nocturnal and the respond to the under the tank heated better than an over head heat source. I will give you my care sheet and if you have any questions just hit reply for further help. Joan

Hello,

I am concerned that the Leopard Gecko may have a parasite that is causing weight loss and the problems you are seeing. Meal worms are not the Best diet and the Sand substrate can also cause an impaction. I would suggest a Herp Vet visit for this Leo. I can give you a mixture to try and feed , but it will need to be dropped on the snout for the Leo. to lick, since force feeding can cause aspiration. Sorry I meant how warm was the temps in the tank. where the hide is located. The mixture to try and get some weight on the Leo is chicken babay food, mixed with plain calcium powder, Royal Jelly (a supplement that can be gotten at a health food store) and some pedialyte. Mix this well and use a syringe to drop the mixture on the snout.TheLeo should willingly lick the mixture. This is only a first aid measure and not replace a Herp vet visit. I can locate a Herp Vet with a city and state for you. Joan

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Leopard Gecko Care Sheet

The Leopard Gecko is originally from Pakistan, India, and a few other countries in Asia. Leopard Geckos are terrestrial (they live on the ground) and they are nocturnal (active at night). They prefer temperatures between 82 and 88 degrees all day and night. They grow to between 8 to 11 inches. Leopard Geckos are available in a wide range of colors and patterns which are the result of selective captive breeding. These include albino, ghost, striped, jungle, leucistic and high yellow. These colors have been made possible through selective captive breeding. Leopard Geckos make wonderful pets for almost any responsible person. Leopard Geckos also make good long term pets. They can live over twenty years. Never grab by tail it will break off. Leopard Gecko Housing: A male Leopard Gecko should never be housed in the same cage as another male leopard gecko because they will fight and possibly kill one another. A male can be housed with several females without any problems. I do not advise housing leopard geckos in the same cage with any other reptiles. A single Leopard Gecko can be kept in a ten gallon tank. For a male and a few females a twenty gallon tank or larger should be used. The cage should have a screen lid on top of it to prevent any escapes. Leopard geckos need places to hide and sleep during the day so you must provide a couple of hiding spots. They need a warm hiding spot and a cold humid hiding spot. Just put one hide box on the side with the heat light and put the humid hide box on the side that does not have the heat light. For the humid hide box, put moist peat moss or moist sphagnum moss (Paper Towels work well and easily replaced) inside a hide box. You can make your own humid hide box from a small plastic shoebox. Cut a hole in one end of the box and place moist moss inside it. The humid box should be cleaned out every week and remoistened. A humid hide box is needed so that the gecko can go in it when it needs to shed. The humidity helps the old skin come off.
Substrate: There is an abundance of products on the market that claim to be safe substrates. All Loose Substrates however are not safe to use. A substrate is what you put on the bottom of the cage for the lizard to walk around on. If a Leopard Gecko ingests any of the substrate accidentally, the substrate must pass through the digestive system. Trust me they will ingest substrate, sometimes on purpose. If it does not easily pass through the digestive system compaction will occur. Compaction is an extreme blockage of the digestive tract and is often fatal. Some substrates that I consider unsafe because they can cause compaction are: sand, orchid bark, crushed walnut shells, lizard litter, gravel, aquarium gravel, and coconut fiber. The safest substrate is using paper towels or plain newspaper, non-stick shelf liner , cage carpet or ceramic tile. For any leopard geckos that are younger than six months I advise using paper towels or plain newspaper until they are at least six months old. Calcium sand is not fully digested no matter what it claims. The stuff just does not break down completely. . Leopard Gecko Heating and Temperature: The cage should be between 82 to 88 degrees all day and night. There is two basic ways to heat the cage. One is to use a under tank heater like heat tape. The other is to use a black, or blue night incandescent heat light. I prefer to use a heat light. For a 10 gallon tank a 60 watt bulb should work depending on room temperature. Place the heat light on one end of the cage. By putting the heat light on one end of the cage it keeps that side warmest and allows the gecko to move to the warmer side with the light or to the colder side without the light as needed to regulate body temperature.
NEVER EVER USE A HOT ROCK, HEAT ROCK, OR ANY SIMILAR PRODUCT. Hot rocks heat unevenly and are notorious for causing terrible thermal burns. Do not buy a hot rock and if you know anyone who uses one, tell them to throw it away. Leopard Gecko Feeding: Leopard Geckos will do very well on a diet of mealworms and crickets. I like to provide some variety in feeder insects to create a more balanced diet. Feeder insects I use are silkworms, mealworms, and crickets with the legs on one side of the body pulled off. Crickets will bite your geckos while they sleep, these bites are prone to infection, so if you pull off one side of their legs then they cannot move around the cage and get to the gecko and also this prevents the crickets from climbing out of the cage. Gut load feeder insects for at least a day before putting them in with the gecko. Feed geckos insects that are not larger than the width of the head of the gecko.
Adults can be fed superworms, though I advise only feeding a couple superworms at a time. Leopard Gecko Vitamin/Mineral Supplement: For young geckos dust the feeder insects every other feeding or place a small feeder dish with supplement in it and some mealworms in the cage. For adults and babies place a shallow dish or a plastic lid in the cage with a teaspoon of calcium powder on it. The gecko will lick the calcium powder as needed. You still need to dust feeder insects every other feeding though with a vitamin supplement for young geckos. Adults use vitamin supplement once a week. Leopard Gecko Water: Use a shallow water bowl, fill with water as needed. Remove bowl from cage and clean out weekly.

Do Not Feed Pinkies!