Bad Shedding = Genetic?

[RaiQuee]

Alright, this has been bothering me for awhile now. I have certain leopard geckos, that have TERRIBLE sheds. They can't get it off their toes, some even can't get it off their legs! They are all set up the same, all have the same size and dampness of a nest box. But it's the same geckos everytime, and they have -never- had a good shed for me! I am always picking shed off their toes, and quite honestly It never all seems to come off each time.

So what do you guys think? Anyone else have this problem with certain geckos just shedding terribly. Now outta my 40ish geckos, Only 3 I have to check on for bad sheds.

What is your opinion? I am gearing towards it being a genetic, but I could be wrong!

 

[Jeremy Letkey]

Desire', a few months ago I would have not thought twice about answering NO WAY.

Now however, I'm not so sure. I believe the Cory (salt water reptiles) had asked a while back. I said something to the effect that "different geckos shed differently".

Well I have actually lost a pair of Bells (clutchmates) this season due to them not being able to shed properly. I tried everything I could to get them going. Multiple sauna soaks daily. Q-tip rubs. The whole nine. After about 3 weeks I decided to put them down (a very hard decision). The retained shed had to be very painful and they were getting very lethargic. Hadn't eaten in two weeks and were only about 2 months old. I'm starting to ramble but in closing, there may be some merit to the genetic angle.

 

[RaiQuee]

Well what got me thinking was, it wasn't ever just a couple of bad sheds, it was every time the leo would shed, I knew I'd be pulling it off their face, tail, toes etc.

I also find intresting, that out of the three geckos, two are from the same bloodlines and same project line. The third is a SHTCT Baldy which is beautiful, however this is a very ...well inbred trait in itself. I wonder if the weakening of genes could have anything to do with it. As the other two are tangerine dorsal stripes, which is also, a very line bred animal.

Jeremy, I am also so sorry for your loss on the bells It's always a hard decision to make, however I know you'd only do it if it was best for the animals.

Off Topic: How is your wife doing?