Sticky toes

[Amanda1]

I read something a while back that malnutrition can cause a gecko's toes to lose their "stickiness". Does anyone know exactly what causes this and if it can be reversed? My new crestie Petrie isn't sticky at all and has trouble climbing. Could it be MBD-related?

 

[Josh2]

From what I've read this could be due to low humidity or because your gecko is in the middle of a shed. Are either one of these the case for Petrie?

 

[Gopherhockey03]

Has he not been able to climb at all since you have had him? Maybe he is just getting ready to shed and lost it or had a bad shed with his other owners that didn't tend to it. I would bring him to the Vet if it doesn't regain stickiness.

 

[Amanda1]

He's been like that since I got him. He isn't shedding now, but he has before, and I'm spraying him 2-3 times a day to keep humidity up. It does look like he's already lost the tips to a couple of toes, probably due to a bad shed, so there could be more damage done. He can climb his branches and leaves, just not glass or the fake rock background (styrofoam). Whenever I go to grab him for his medicine he tries to run away up the walls and fails. It's very sad.

 

[Gopherhockey03]

You should post a picture of his enclosure! And poor guy

 

[Amanda1]

Here's his setup. I moved him into Kai's old 10 gallon cage (Kai is now in a larger screen cage). I kept the palm trees, small vine, water dish, and stick (driftwood?) that he came with, and added a couple more plants so he has plenty of hiding and climbing places. Sorry it's kind of dirty at the moment. He has a habit of walking through his food and then trying to climb the walls.

I was reading that gecko toes are sticky because of hairs on the toe pads. In humans, hair follicles can die if blood flow is cut off for too long, so I was thinking maybe some bad sheds caused the hairs to die. Hopefully they will grow back.

 

[Gopherhockey03]

That's really cool! Petrie must love it! Did you name him after that Dinosaur cartoon movie?

 

[Amanda1]

The Land Before Time! Yep, that's where the name came from, since he thinks he can fly. Plus the uromastyx I got from the same family was named Spike, which is another name from the movie.

 

[Gopherhockey03]

I thought so! I had to rack my brain to remember I wanted to say Land before time but wasn't 100% sure =) Your going to have to get a Little foot now

 

[Amanda1]

Two nights ago Petrie shed again. He was so itchy he let me rub his back to help loosen the skin. I sprayed him down extra good, and last night when I went give him his meds, he was sticky! He was really active too; I think he's enjoying his newfound ability to climb things.

 

[Gopherhockey03]

Hooray! what a great week he can climb!!!

 

[Geckomaster743]

So Glad to hear he can Climb!!!