About Crested Geckos Shedding

Why Do Crested Geckos Shed?

The skin of crested geckos consists of two large layers: the dermis and the epidermis. The epidermis is the outer layer of the skin and new cells are constantly created at the bottom of it. These skin cells fill up with keratin, a protein that gives protection and prevents water loss.

When the skin cells are fully grown and filled with keratin they die off. The resulting old and dead skin needs to be replaced with new skin. Unlike our own skin cells, the old and dead skin of crested geckos comes as a whole layer. In some cases, the dead layer breaks in pieces and the shedding process happens in stages.

The entire shedding process is called ecdysis and is associated with your crested gecko’s growth.

Signs of shedding

The telltale sign of the shedding period is off course the visual sign of old dead skin coming off your crested gecko. But there are a few other signs that let you know that your crestie is (going) to shed:

dull or pale color
loss of appetite
sticking problems (for example, problems with sticking to terrarium walls)

How often do crested geckos shed?

Because shedding is associated with your crested gecko’s growth it will occur more frequently when the crested gecko is young. Hatchlings will shed more frequently than juveniles and juveniles will shed more frequently than adults.

Of course, every crestie is different and the shedding process will depend a lot on how fast your crested gecko grows. It’s possible that your crested gecko takes three weeks instead of two to shed its skin. You might not even see the shedding when your crestie sheds and eats the skin while you were sleeping.

How Do Crested Geckos Shed?

When it’s time to shed, your crested gecko’s skin will usually become grayish and will look dull. The old skin layer will come off and your crested gecko will use its mouth and tongue to peel of the old skin. As I already mentioned the skin can come off in its entirety or in large pieces.

It’s sometimes not easy to tell if your crested gecko has shed because it will eat the skin (also called ceratophagia). Crested geckos do this to get the nutrients from the old skin cells back in their system and to prevent leaving a trail for potential predators.

When the shedding process is completed your crested gecko will be as colored and patterned as before or can even have brighter colors or more patterns. This is especially the case for hatchlings and juvenile crested geckos.

Shedding Problems

What causes shedding problems? Most crested geckos won’t have any problem with shedding their skin. However, sometimes your crested gecko might need some extra help.

Shedding problems (dysecdysis) can be caused by:
improper living conditions: low humidity is one of the most common reasons for shedding problems. Your crested gecko needs to have a relative humidity of at least 50 percent and preferably 70 to 80 percent. Such high humidity will help loosen the skin.
underlying health problems: a less common reason for problems with shedding is an underlying health issue. Your crested gecko might be sick and not have enough strength to complete the shedding. Diseases and parasites can cause your crested gecko to have problems with removing the excess skin but can also cause it to shed more frequent than usual. It’s essential to get your crested gecko diagnosed by a specialized vet and get it treated in such cases.

How to treat a shedding problem

When your crested gecko (regularly) experiences an incomplete shed and isn’t able to remove the old skin by itself you’ll need to intervene.
You can do this by:
increasing the humidity levels when shedding
removing the dead skin with misting or massage
Of course, when you notice that the dead skin is constricting the blood flow around body parts, like the toes and tail, you need to intervene immediately and try to remove the skin yourself.

Increasing the humidity to 80 to 90 percent

Shedding problems are often caused by poor hydration and improper humidity levels. When you notice that your crested geckos have regular problems with shedding its old skin you might want to increase the humidity in the shedding period in the range of 80 to 90 percent with proper ventilation and only for a short period.

Helping your crested gecko

When your crested gecko experiences an incomplete shed and isn’t able to remove the old skin by itself you’ll need to intervene. The usual problem areas are the top of the head, the toes, and the tail tip. When the old dried skin is left in place it can constrict the blood flow to the toes and tail tip. If left untreated, this will cause a loss of the toes or tail tip.

So, if you need to aid your crested gecko with his shedding you’ll have to manually remove the skin yourself.
You can do this by:
misting your crested gecko with tepid water
use mineral oil and apply it with a cotton swab
massaging the skin with a cotton swab
Next, you’ll gently remove the old skin from your crested gecko with a cotton swab or (in rare cases) with a tweezer. In both cases, you should be very careful but when using a tweezer you should take extra caution to not damage the new skin of your crestie. Also, never pull off the skin with your hands!

Tips and Tricks

If you want to make sure that your crested gecko gets the perfect conditions to shed its skin and stay healthy, you can use the following tips and tricks:

- keep the humidity above 50 percent: in dry areas, it can be difficult to keep the relative humidity in a terrarium at the right levels. The humidity should never fall beneath 50 percent and should be at levels of 70 to 80 percent for most of the day and night. High humidities promote the shedding process and make it a lot easier for your crestie to peel off the skin.
- get a “shedding” box: although not a necessity, you can promote shedding by creating a special area in the terrarium where the humidity is high enough throughout the day. A “shedding” or “moist” box can be created by putting damp paper towels in a hiding area or container. The humidity levels can reach above 80 percent in this area. You can also buy premade shedding boxes which also serve as a hiding place for a crested gecko. Just make sure, like always, that your terrarium is large enough to fit it in.
- use moist-absorbing substrate: certain types of substrate are more suited for a high humidity terrarium. Substrates like coconut husk and spaghnum moss aid in keeping the humidity in the terrarium at an acceptable level.
- limit handling your crestie: getting a new skin can be stressful for your crested gecko and is usually not the time to handle it. Give your crested gecko some time to rest so it can fully have its attention to peeling of the old skin unless there are shedding problems in which case you have to handle your crestie (see above). remove any leftover food: crested geckos aren’t big eaters and when they shed they’re even less hungry. You should still give food to your crested gecko but pay special attention to remove any leftovers so there’s no buildup of bacteria.