indents behind front legs
- Thread starter DotZilla
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Allee Toler
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He's fine. Some have them some don't. I have skinny geckos with them, too. And some fat geckos who don't have them.
Do you mean the little indentation behind the front legs, no a bubbly type bump?
The 'holes' are called mite pockets, quite common on lizards and geckos, used to limit damage from mite and tick bites by creating a dark humid spot to attract them.
There's a lot of info online about it, mostly research papers, but also some easier to understand articles.
This photo shows a pocket in action. It's not on a leopard, so the location is a bit different, but the results are the same: Flickr Photo Download: Tick in a Mite Pocket
An easy to understand write-up at: Leopard Geckos (Sauria: Eublepharidae) of the World
Some researchers say it's just a result of the skin being restricted in that area, making it an accidental advantage, but others say it evolved specifically for that purpose. Whichever it is, that 'hole' is normal, nothing to worry about.
The 'holes' are called mite pockets, quite common on lizards and geckos, used to limit damage from mite and tick bites by creating a dark humid spot to attract them.
There's a lot of info online about it, mostly research papers, but also some easier to understand articles.
This photo shows a pocket in action. It's not on a leopard, so the location is a bit different, but the results are the same: Flickr Photo Download: Tick in a Mite Pocket
An easy to understand write-up at: Leopard Geckos (Sauria: Eublepharidae) of the World
Some researchers say it's just a result of the skin being restricted in that area, making it an accidental advantage, but others say it evolved specifically for that purpose. Whichever it is, that 'hole' is normal, nothing to worry about.
I disagree with the comment "he's eating too much"That is not a sign of eating too much but it is a calcium deposits.I have leos that have them and they eat mormal amounts of food
For calcium to be stored in a 'bubble' under the arm, there's got to be something wrong.
There is a lot of info online that states the bubbles are fat, calcium, vitamins or a mix of them.
Typically, the large amounts of calcium are found in bones and teeth, though there's some circulating in the blood for other uses. For calcium to be stored in other tissues, you've got a big health issue coming up. Over supplementing with vitamin D3 can lead to excess calcium absorption, which can lead to calcification of soft tissue and kidney failure, which leads to gout and even death.
For vitamins to be stored in those bubbles, it can only be Vitamins A, D, E and K, the fat soluble ones, the other vitamins aren't stored in the body. This means there's got to be fat in the bubbles to store those vitamins. Under normal circumstances, Vitamin D is stored in the liver, but if it's filled to capacity, the excess, along with any extra fat soluble vitamins gets stored in the fat storage areas. Typically these include the tail, liver and around the kidneys. If one is at capacity, other places get pulled into service.
So, if there are vitamins in the bubbles, there's fat as well. If there's fat, it's got to come from food. Fatty foods can speed up the development, but even too much low-fat food can eventually cause it.
In the end, you've got excess fat that the tail can't handle, being stored in various parts of the body, including those bubbles. Excess fat soluble vitamins and calcium get added to it when the need arises.
The whole process is actually more involved, but it gets quite technical, a bit too much for a general discussion like this one. If you want to search for the full processes, check into calcium metabolism, vitamin D3 synthesis and UVB, the "how and why" of gout, soft tissue calcification, blood calcium levels, hypervitaminosis and a few other terms you'll find during the research.
The whole vitamin - mineral supplementation is tricky, keeping things balanced can be a challenge, specially with just a one or two item diet. Unless your supplementation, gutloading and feeding routines are spot on, you'll have to adjust them off and on over the months and years as some nutrients build up toward excess and some aren't supplied fast enough.
Some gecko species in the subfamily Gekkoninae have large "chalk" or endolymphatic sacs on each side of the neck. This is not the same deal as the bubbles on leopard geckos. The chalk sacs are meant to be, the bubbles are a sign of a problem. But even these sacs can become overloaded, again, a sign of something not being done right.
What it boils down to is that the bubbles are not a good thing, something is wrong and has to be fixed.
There is a lot of info online that states the bubbles are fat, calcium, vitamins or a mix of them.
Typically, the large amounts of calcium are found in bones and teeth, though there's some circulating in the blood for other uses. For calcium to be stored in other tissues, you've got a big health issue coming up. Over supplementing with vitamin D3 can lead to excess calcium absorption, which can lead to calcification of soft tissue and kidney failure, which leads to gout and even death.
For vitamins to be stored in those bubbles, it can only be Vitamins A, D, E and K, the fat soluble ones, the other vitamins aren't stored in the body. This means there's got to be fat in the bubbles to store those vitamins. Under normal circumstances, Vitamin D is stored in the liver, but if it's filled to capacity, the excess, along with any extra fat soluble vitamins gets stored in the fat storage areas. Typically these include the tail, liver and around the kidneys. If one is at capacity, other places get pulled into service.
So, if there are vitamins in the bubbles, there's fat as well. If there's fat, it's got to come from food. Fatty foods can speed up the development, but even too much low-fat food can eventually cause it.
In the end, you've got excess fat that the tail can't handle, being stored in various parts of the body, including those bubbles. Excess fat soluble vitamins and calcium get added to it when the need arises.
The whole process is actually more involved, but it gets quite technical, a bit too much for a general discussion like this one. If you want to search for the full processes, check into calcium metabolism, vitamin D3 synthesis and UVB, the "how and why" of gout, soft tissue calcification, blood calcium levels, hypervitaminosis and a few other terms you'll find during the research.
The whole vitamin - mineral supplementation is tricky, keeping things balanced can be a challenge, specially with just a one or two item diet. Unless your supplementation, gutloading and feeding routines are spot on, you'll have to adjust them off and on over the months and years as some nutrients build up toward excess and some aren't supplied fast enough.
Some gecko species in the subfamily Gekkoninae have large "chalk" or endolymphatic sacs on each side of the neck. This is not the same deal as the bubbles on leopard geckos. The chalk sacs are meant to be, the bubbles are a sign of a problem. But even these sacs can become overloaded, again, a sign of something not being done right.
What it boils down to is that the bubbles are not a good thing, something is wrong and has to be fixed.
Glad he's got indents or 'holes' instead of bubbles, then. lolYour trying to tell me there is something wrong just because they have calcium deposits??? i have a leo that is fed a combination of Super worms crixs and the very odd treat of wax worms.he's robust and in good health.He has calcium deposit and hes healthy as a horse.To tell someone that there is something wrong with their leo just because they have calcium deposits is wrong.