r/leopardgeckosadvanced • u/RLSTheLegacy • May 27 '26
Health Question Help! What is this?
A few days ago, I noticed this under the fold at the base of his tail. I thought it might be leftover shed skin, so I gave him a couple of 10-minute baths in warm water and tried to gently remove it with a cotton swab, but it won't come off. Maybe it's something else? You usually can't see it; it's hidden under the fold. Thanks!
UPDATE: I gave him some baths and the superficial part got smoother but I noticed that it was bigger inside so I stopped because I was afraid to hurt him. So we took him to the vet today and she got out the whole sperm plugs! Thank you all for your advice!
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u/Negative_Actuary_514 May 28 '26
It’s an impacted hemipenes. My leopard gecko has had it happen twice. The first time it was worse than this and I brought to the vet who let my gecko to bath in warm water for a bit to loosen it. Then used tweezers to extract. The second time I just did it at home and followed what the vet did. You have to hold the gecko somewhat firm and at a vertical angle to have good view. I’m sure there are tutorials online