Cresteds Celaning Themselves??

[Dark_Angel_25]

Well last night I saw an odd sight... Draco, my male crestie, was ummmm licking his neither regions...

he had his tail lifted, and was bent, towards his rear, and was like cleaning (licking) and nibbling what I thought might be his spurs... I have never seen him do this before...
I took him out, and checked his bulge and vent and everything to make sure there was no blockage or anything, and it was clean...

Can he maybe be constipated? do they 'groom' themselves? could this be a sexual maturity thing? (he is about 6-8 months old)
Does anyone have any ideas?

Nothing seems wrong, he acts normal, eats, hunts whatever.. this is just baffling to me... should I be worried??

Please post your theories/opinion/thoughts/ on this... I am kinda worried....

[Linds]

Nothing to be worried about it. I've seen other species of geckos, such as leos do this as well.

[Dark_Angel_25]

it was just weird... I know he has been eating too, bu I haven't found a poop in 24 hours... that is why I thought maybe he was constipated..
I've seen my leos do it, but only to get shed off.... Could he be sheding? I had him since December, and he hasn't shed once yet... or do they just not shed all that often after 6-8 months?

Well if your sure it isn't anything to worry about... then that is a relief... I'll just keep my eye on him to make sure all is well...

[ColleenT]

they eat their sheds, you'll usually never find them.

[Dark_Angel_25]

Colleen... but could this be a product of shedding? this butt munching thing? it really looked almost like he was trying to pull off his spurs!

I dunno... anyway, is there a way to tell if they are going to shed? I know my leos get really dull... but seeing as cresteds change color anyway... is there a tell tale sign?

Just want to make sure he isn't having problems going poop... if he is, does the warm water bath thing work for cresties / leos like it does for snakes??

[Dark_Angel_25]

well Kenn just called me and said that his coloring is almost black... he is always either really pale, or orange... can this be a shed??? can anyone tell me if you can tell if they are shedding?

[ColleenT]

black does not sound good.. i think that mine get a little dull, and usually there is some smallpiece of skin on the toes or around the eyes, or mouth. i have not seen them shed and /or eat it, but that is what they are supposed to do. he may have had a spot that was itchy. a warm water bath won't hurt, as long as he doesn't get much water in his nose. it can't hurt...

[D Healey]

The licking is a sighn that he is sexually mature and possibly ready to breed all male cresteds do this usualy right before the mount the female they are licking up what i think is sperm.

[Dark_Angel_25]

ewwwww! that is pretty gross... anyway I will post apic tonight of his color...

[Dark_Angel_25]

well he was really dark, I am asking my BF Kenn (Sideshobob) to post it, but he is normal now... I think it was the light, because his body was almost black, and his head (under a leaf) was pale greeen.. musta just been camo...

[Jazzey]

Dark angel,


I would not worry about it because my boy Mung does that often.
The first time I saw him do it I thought I was going to be sick,lol.
Hope I helped?
Jazzey.

[Dark_Angel_25]

Jazzey

Is that what they are doing?? cause the day before I thought he was going poop, but it was sticky liquid that came out instead.. but he didn't go to eat it!!

And what about no poop in the last day or two? I know he's eaten....

[Dark_Angel_25]

ok here is the picture of Draco... he has never beenthis dark before.. that I have seen anyway!!

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/3538Draco_Dark-med.JPG

[Jazzey]

Dark angel


I'm not an expert but maybe the colour has ta do with the lack of light or your not using a proper bulb?? Like I said I'm not an expert but I just thought I would toss that idea to you.
Good luck,
Jazzey

[sideshowbob]

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/3671draco_dark_5.jpg

[Dark_Angel_25]

he doesn't have a bulb. he gets natural light from the room. in this pic, he is sleeping... so i guess he is tryoing to match his log... blend in, cause his head which was hidden aparently was light green.... Kenn posted another pic on Page 1 at the bottom

[Jacenta]

I always find my males crested geckos have licked themselves there too. They bend their tail in a funny way, and then their hemipenes appear to be hanging out of their bodies. They lick up whatever whitish substances come out... if you catch my drift. They usually did it when there was a female around... almost like cleaning themselves up... out with the old, in with the new?
That's the impression I've gotten.

[AnthonyC]

Doug is correct. That's semen that he's licking.

The color is just something that changes with age...nothing to be alarmed about.