Excessive Shedding?
(x-posted to leopardgeckos, tho' they haven't been as active lately)
I have a leopard gecko (Starbuck) who is about 9 years old (give or take a few months), female, who seems pretty healthy. We had a checkup with the vet about 5 months ago, where it was said she was doing fine/in good health, so on and so forth.
We've never really had a problem with sheds -- she has a humidity hide which I kept humid most of the time, but always is humid when she's shedding. Lately thought, she's been shedding about once every 1-2 weeks. This isn't incomplete shedding that's taking forever to get off -- I've been pretty consistent in checking her when I notice she's about to shed. She gets everything off without a problem (except for the occasional bit around the toes, that I help remove gently with a wet q-tip).
I don't know if I should be worried that she's shedding this much. She is 9 years old...I've heard that their lifespan can range from 10-20 years. I think I've taken pretty good care of her; she's my first leopard gecko, so I don't know what to expect at the end-of-life era. Other than the increased shedding, she seems fine; she eats normally, moves about the cage normally, seems very alert when feeding time comes/when I handle her.
Does anyone have any info on this? I can't seem to find anything. Should I be taking her to the vet?
Some quick info on her general care:
She's in a 20-gal tank by herself (used to have another female gecko who sadly passed away about 7 months ago). Temps on the cool side of the tank range between 65-75 F and range between 85-95 on the hot side; the heat is achieved with an under-tank heating pad, a 'day' light, and a blue 'moon' light --- only the day light turns off at night. She has 3 places to hide; a big rock on the cool side, where her water dish and mineral (calcium) dish are kept. On the hot side is a 'dry' shelter and a humidity-hide that is kept moist most of the time, always moist when she gets close to shedding/during sheds.
Starbuck gets fed mostly mealworms, that are kept on a diet of potatos, carrots, broccoli, occasional fruit, and sometimes cheese. She also gets crickets on occasion, gut-loaded in the same way (as well has having the usual cricket-feed). Not all of her meals are dusted; I dust crickets/worms probably every 2-3 feedings. But she does have a dish with calcium on one side and the leo-gecko-dust on the other side, so she has access to it.
In the past, shedding has been no problem; I've always been quick to check her for skin that hasn't come off and we haven't lost any toes or had any major problems along those lines. She's almost always been a smooth shedder. The only problem I can think of that was recent was some excess dead-unshed-skin that built up on her top jaw, right on the bottom of the upper 'lip' area that I didn't catch right away. When she wouldn't eat, I caught it, and had to take her to the vet to get it removed (I thought it was a growth of some sort, silly me --- this was at the same time she got a check up).
I have a leopard gecko (Starbuck) who is about 9 years old (give or take a few months), female, who seems pretty healthy. We had a checkup with the vet about 5 months ago, where it was said she was doing fine/in good health, so on and so forth.
We've never really had a problem with sheds -- she has a humidity hide which I kept humid most of the time, but always is humid when she's shedding. Lately thought, she's been shedding about once every 1-2 weeks. This isn't incomplete shedding that's taking forever to get off -- I've been pretty consistent in checking her when I notice she's about to shed. She gets everything off without a problem (except for the occasional bit around the toes, that I help remove gently with a wet q-tip).
I don't know if I should be worried that she's shedding this much. She is 9 years old...I've heard that their lifespan can range from 10-20 years. I think I've taken pretty good care of her; she's my first leopard gecko, so I don't know what to expect at the end-of-life era. Other than the increased shedding, she seems fine; she eats normally, moves about the cage normally, seems very alert when feeding time comes/when I handle her.
Does anyone have any info on this? I can't seem to find anything. Should I be taking her to the vet?
Some quick info on her general care:
She's in a 20-gal tank by herself (used to have another female gecko who sadly passed away about 7 months ago). Temps on the cool side of the tank range between 65-75 F and range between 85-95 on the hot side; the heat is achieved with an under-tank heating pad, a 'day' light, and a blue 'moon' light --- only the day light turns off at night. She has 3 places to hide; a big rock on the cool side, where her water dish and mineral (calcium) dish are kept. On the hot side is a 'dry' shelter and a humidity-hide that is kept moist most of the time, always moist when she gets close to shedding/during sheds.
Starbuck gets fed mostly mealworms, that are kept on a diet of potatos, carrots, broccoli, occasional fruit, and sometimes cheese. She also gets crickets on occasion, gut-loaded in the same way (as well has having the usual cricket-feed). Not all of her meals are dusted; I dust crickets/worms probably every 2-3 feedings. But she does have a dish with calcium on one side and the leo-gecko-dust on the other side, so she has access to it.
In the past, shedding has been no problem; I've always been quick to check her for skin that hasn't come off and we haven't lost any toes or had any major problems along those lines. She's almost always been a smooth shedder. The only problem I can think of that was recent was some excess dead-unshed-skin that built up on her top jaw, right on the bottom of the upper 'lip' area that I didn't catch right away. When she wouldn't eat, I caught it, and had to take her to the vet to get it removed (I thought it was a growth of some sort, silly me --- this was at the same time she got a check up).