His Time of the Month

The first time Citrus shed skin, it happened so quickly that I didn't even know that it had occurred. However, I soon learned that the rapidity of this event was atypical for him. Having been raised without a wet hide or water bowl, Citrus would sometimes struggle for three to four days with the skin barely peeling off of him.

Citrus sheds skin with some irregularity, and the frequency of his sheds depends largely on his food intake and growth during the period between sheds. It occurs at the very least once a month, which has led to some rather tasteless jokes among my college-aged friends. Citrus also seems to have most trouble shedding the skin on his toes and head, particularly the area around his jaw, though that is not always the case, as can be seen in the photo below.

He looks like a monk in a sheer habit. Scandalous.

Seeing his struggles, I've been compelled to help him, and he now regularly gets baths and warm towel rubdowns (what a spoiled lizard!). His wet hide is misted with more regularity. Oftentimes, I also dip a Q-tip in water and gently nudged at the skin on his delicate toes and mouth. I also confess that I have held down corners of his skin against, say, the counter top that he is walking on so that he can tug to get the skin off. I figured that snakes do this against tree branches and rocks -- yes, I'm an avid watcher of the Discovery Channel from the days when it was actually about nature and animals. To date, he doesn't seem to have suffered from it.

It is important to note that herp veterinarians highly discourage manually pulling skin off, as the gecko's new, tender skin can be injured, leading to many other health issues.

The skin is eaten after shedding. Evolutionarily, this increases energy efficiency (why waste good protein?) and decreases the probability that a predator can ascertain the presence of a gecko. Still, Citrus is much less likely to consume the skin if it is wet from his baths, which means that I occasionally remove some from his tank.

Thus, shedding is a significant event for Citrus and I monitor his progress closely so that it can be as smooth a process for him as can be. He certainly gets plenty of loving from his mommy during his time of the month, though I'm sure he'd rather be left alone. Such is motherhood!