Cuts on head. Help!

[Snginsburg]

I am new to leopard gecko care. We’ve had our three for about six months at most. My male leopard gecko always has trouble shedding on his toes. I noticed him shedding last night and noticed three cuts on his head. This afternoon, we noticed that he couldn’t open his one eye. I closed him in his warm hide so he couldn’t get out (air holes available) for 20 minutes. By that point his eye was open again. My biggest concern is that he has the cuts on his head. Could he have done it trying to get the shed off or could it have been done by the other gecko (a female) in his enclosure? I plan on separating them soon but haven’t gotten around to buying her a new home. Our third gecko is also a female but we moved her a couple of weeks ago because she was being so aggressive towards the other geckos.

Another issue I have is that the male doesn’t seem to be able to see the crickets and misses them a lot of the time. I’m assuming he eventually catches them because his tail is fat and crickets do disappear over time. He definitely isn’t as good at catching crickets compared to the females. I worry that he is blind but when I took him to the vet she sad that his eyes looked good. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[ppoulto]

Hello. I would suggest that you feel around the enclosure for anything sharp. If there is, then that could be a problem ongoing. It is possible that the female got aggressive, (perhaps defending herself if the male got a bit rambunctious), but I would think this is not the case as you describe "cuts". Perhaps if you added a picture of them that may help? I do include some sterilized largish rocks in the enclosure that they can rub against then when shedding and to climb on.

I think locking him in a wet hide for a little while is great. I also give them baths if the shed is on the feet. Sometimes multiple soaks in a small quantity of water (temp in the 90s) till the skin is easy to remove with a Q-tip

My leos don't like grasshoppers as they are too fast for them You can take one or two legs off and that could help. If the vet suggests the eys look good, I would say that it is just your Leo. Mine too miss the mealworms from time to time. It is almost like they can't see, or close their eyes or something when they are striking. As long as your Leo is not getting thin.

 

[Snginsburg]

Hello. I would suggest that you feel around the enclosure for anything sharp. If there is, then that could be a problem ongoing. It is possible that the female got aggressive, (perhaps defending herself if the male got a bit rambunctious), but I would think this is not the case as you describe "cuts". Perhaps if you added a picture of them that may help? I do include some sterilized largish rocks in the enclosure that they can rub against then when shedding and to climb on.

I think locking him in a wet hide for a little while is great. I also give them baths if the shed is on the feet. Sometimes multiple soaks in a small quantity of water (temp in the 90s) till the skin is easy to remove with a Q-tip

My leos don't like grasshoppers as they are too fast for them You can take one or two legs off and that could help. If the vet suggests the eys look good, I would say that it is just your Leo. Mine too miss the mealworms from time to time. It is almost like they can't see, or close their eyes or something when they are striking. As long as your Leo is not getting thin.

Thanks for the suggestions. I did notice him on the rock hide which he is never on. Maybe he rubbed on it to get the skin off? Here is a picture of his head. I meant to attach it but I forgot

 

[Lil Biscuit]

Do you have a moist hide out of tupperware? If you cut into it and it wasn't properly burned/melted to get rid of sharp edges they could've gotten him. Anything hand made or similar too. Anyway it was probably the other gecko. If you wanna seperate them you can but as the case with my two girls. It could just be a false alarm, a one time dominance thing.

But if you wanna be safe I'd seperate.

 

[Lil Biscuit]

Also his head, something like Neosporin would do him great : )

 

[acpart]

If there's nothing sharp, it could be scratches from one of the other geckos. If you have the male in with the female, are you planning to breed? If not, I highly recommend you separate them. The biggest problem is that if the male shed again before those cuts heal, the scabs will come off and they will open up again. The cuts aren't deep, so it's not a huge issue, but it will delay complete healing.

Aliza

 

[Heloguy]

I am new to leopard gecko care. We’ve had our three for about six months at most. My male leopard gecko always has trouble shedding on his toes. I noticed him shedding last night and noticed three cuts on his head. This afternoon, we noticed that he couldn’t open his one eye. I closed him in his warm hide so he couldn’t get out (air holes available) for 20 minutes. By that point his eye was open again. My biggest concern is that he has the cuts on his head. Could he have done it trying to get the shed off or could it have been done by the other gecko (a female) in his enclosure? I plan on separating them soon but haven’t gotten around to buying her a new home. Our third gecko is also a female but we moved her a couple of weeks ago because she was being so aggressive towards the other geckos.

Another issue I have is that the male doesn’t seem to be able to see the crickets and misses them a lot of the time. I’m assuming he eventually catches them because his tail is fat and crickets do disappear over time. He definitely isn’t as good at catching crickets compared to the females. I worry that he is blind but when I took him to the vet she sad that his eyes looked good. Any advice would be appreciated.

I notice that a day or two before my gecko sheds, her colors turn grayish and she has no appetite. I run some warm water in the kitchen sink and put her in for about five minutes. She doesn't seem to mind this treatment at all. I put her back in her cage; she hides under a ball cap, and the following morning her shed is completed with just a few remnants of skin remaining. If her toes still have skin, I swab them with wet Q tips and then rub the skin off. She doesn't seem to mind this attention to detail.
As for the cut on your gecko's head, I suspect if you have an ornamental hide, that something in that hide is causing that wound. I had a hide that I accidentally dropped during a cage cleaning and it was terribly rough and unfinished inside, I was ashamed that I hadn't checked out before putting in her environment.