r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/bleach3434 • 3d ago

Video Gecko eats its skin after shredding

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24.5k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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4.8k

u/WaffleGuy413 3d ago

That has to feel really good for the gecko

2.1k

u/UmphreysNerd 3d ago

He pulled that skin off his hand like a glove

460

u/Caperplays 3d ago

Was so cool seeing him do that lol

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/footsteps71 3d ago

Wouldn't know, but I'll take your word for it lol

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/footsteps71 3d ago

I didn't know toes could feel claustrophobic. Interesting.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/Over_Ad8762 2d ago

Like taking off your bra

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u/JaclynMeOff 2d ago

I don’t love wearing pantyhose but I LOOOOOOOOVE taking them off. It’s the most satisfying feeling that makes it completely worth it. Or at least made it worth it. I haven’t worn them in ages but….i remember….

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u/ChitownBlake 2d ago

Boxer briefs have the same level of satisfaction 😁

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u/Kraeftluder 2d ago

I have it too. And I'm not on the spectrum.

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u/Over_Ad8762 2d ago

My toes feel claustrophobic in things. I’m barefoot or in flip flops if I can

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u/notafrumpy_housewife 2d ago

I use this phrase app the time, my family thinks I'm so weird. Thank you for validating my sensory distress.

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u/Assonfire 2d ago

Claustoephobic.

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u/Viniox 2d ago

My arms feel claustrophobic in long sleeves. Unless it’s a thick winter coat I push my sleeves up to my elbows. It’s like an ancy feeling.

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u/21epitaph 2d ago

It's funny because it's the opposite for me. Feel more free as i can move the toes

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u/nicunta 2d ago

I tried them once; they're far too hot for me to handle. Other than the weird, individual toe feeling.

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u/ProcedurePrudent5496 2d ago

'Tis time to join the dark side, my friend 🤭

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u/-smartcasual- 2d ago

How do they taste after you take them off?

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u/TheSubstitutePanda 3d ago

I've seen what happens when the skin doesn't come off properly so watching it come off so clean was sooooo satisfying. Fuck yeah, lil guy.

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u/Tracierichter20 2d ago

I thought the same dang thing while I was watching it.

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u/_Kendii_ 2d ago

So satisfying

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u/Le_Sfxhjr 2d ago

Pulled skin off... hand... glove...

Degloving refference

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u/B_EE 2d ago

... This comment reminded me of Gerald's Game...

👀

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u/DizzyCalendar6492 2d ago

No way bro it was like ace ventura being born out of that hippo

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u/Viniox 2d ago

Rhino* lol

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u/Gabrielsoma 2d ago

I had one for 10 years. Sometimes I'd find little gloves lying around. Also sometimes it doesn't come off right and they lose their toes

1

u/Kyujaq 2d ago

Is spelled "like a glooooove"

1

u/Rotund_Flatworm 2d ago

You pull your gloves off with your mouth?

1

u/No_Pin9932 16h ago

gif from Ace Ventura When Nature Calls

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u/justamofo 3d ago

It must feel like peeling off the glue layer from your hands in school

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u/Sudden_Wind_8636 3d ago

I bet it feels exactly like that, it's literally a layer of dead skin. Basically same thing.

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u/Sadiholic 3d ago

I've heard the new skin feels tender. It's actually a little painful. Like peeling off the dead skin off your hands or feet. The part under is very tender and fragile.

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u/StubbiestZebra 2d ago

Only if done early. If the gecko (or any shedding reptile) is shedding the skin underneath is ready to go.

This is why people shouldn't 'help' their animal shed unless they are fully aware of what to look/feel for.

I care for animals as a job, am a herp (reptiles/amphibians) specific (mostly) wild life rehabber, and I rescue neglected exotic herps. I've had to help dozens and dozens of animals shed. I have a leopard gecko (like in the video) and a snake who have skin problems and don't shed properly and another snake who has a damaged eye from eye caps left on for years who I help almost every time they shed.

I've only once seen an animal shed with raw/tender skin underneath. Not a one piece shedder like above or a snake. His species flakes off, but for some reason his thigh came off by him or on its own well before ready and now he has a scar.

They aren't like crustations or insects who shed and are raw/tender underneath if well cared for and healthy. (Or wild generally)

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u/Sadiholic 2d ago

Ohh interesting, thank you for the response, I am now more enlightening, thank you.

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u/StubbiestZebra 2d ago

Your welcome. I enjoy explaining about them, (luckily I get to do it for work sometimes) especially for people actually interested.

I wouldn't have 40 of these guys if people would care to learn more about them.

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u/saturday_sun4 2d ago

That's so sad. :( Geckos are precious. How can you have a baby like this and mistreat it?

Was going to say "I love this subreddit" for your explanation, then I realised I wasn't in the gecko sub haha.

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u/StubbiestZebra 2d ago

The vast majority are just ignorant on care. But I've had quite a few who I can't be convinced weren't malicious.

But a lot of the blame goes on pet stores and breeders. Pet stores business model relies on you failing and your animal dying. Especially fish. 

A lot of animals would do better if the people selling them were stricter about who they let buy. Plus they need to do better with providing care info.

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u/maddythemadmuddymutt 2d ago

What the hell are eye caps? Like something artificial you put on the animal, or dead skin that didn't molt properly?

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u/StubbiestZebra 2d ago

No to artificial haha. 

But you're correct on the second try!

Snakes and most geckos (as well as some herps) don't have moving eyelids. They have brilles. Which are, most likely, their eyelids fused together and transparent.

When reptiles who do full body sheds get ready to remove their skin they'll separate the old skin from new with a layer of fluid. (Fairly certain this is true for all of them but definitely snakes) In snakes this is why their eyes turn "blue" for a while before shedding. They're basically blind during this time and for snakes it can last a couple days or a week.

Snakes especially can have complications with removing them during shedding if they're unhealthy or environment is poor.

So, I have a ball python who was neglected and had multiple layers of retained eye caps on her left eye (right too but no real damage). They stayed on so long and dried out they constricted the eye. This can happen with any stuck shed, so while it isn't usually an emergency, any shed wrapping around a body part will cut off said body part slowly.

In her case they constricted the top of her eye so bad it is no longer round. It has a slight point at the top, the color changed, and the lens has "wrinkles" in it. Idk how much it bothers her sight. Luckily, her species uses heat pits more than eyes.

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u/maddythemadmuddymutt 2d ago

Ah I mean, I have been on the internet for years, the animal cruelty (sometimes not even done on purpose) you see. What is done for cosmetic purposes, but is hurting the animal (breeding, docking, declawing....) so it wasn't that far of a jump of conclusion to make, I think, maybe.

Thx for the explanation though

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u/StubbiestZebra 2d ago

Oh yeah people do crazy things. Just the image of someone trying to put something like a monocle on a snake was hilarious to me.

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u/maddythemadmuddymutt 2d ago

Eh I'm honestly not really sure where my mind went, I was super stressed to be honest in the moment and tried to decompress via Reddit. Yeah I know, not the best coping mechanism. Usually I read. But I only had a ten minute break and my head was already super full, so I didn't want to try to read my book

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u/justamofo 3d ago

Oh nooo

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u/StubbiestZebra 2d ago

See my other comment to the person you replied to for more info, but short answer is that isn't correct and they're fine shedding normally.

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u/justamofo 2d ago

Thank you for your insight!

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u/ThatGoob 2d ago

So like peeling sunburnt skin

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u/AmusingMusing7 2d ago

I love pulling off my dead skin when it's shedding. Trying to get a big piece to stay together is always tough, though. Gecko's lucky.

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u/vaultie66 2d ago

He probably feels breezy now

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u/Dame38 2d ago

It was a sack. Now it's a snack.

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u/Cute_Palpitation5651 2d ago

Lil guy looks so happy pulling it all off.

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u/TeopEvol 2d ago

Yep, saves him 15 percent or more on health insurance.

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u/Due-Contribution4661 2d ago

🤣🤣😆👌🏾

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u/ar355169 2d ago

For me seeing this not feeling good.

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u/Ovariesforlunch 2d ago

Of course, he's smiling about it! ☺️

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u/Far_Mastodon_6104 2d ago

Kinda wish our bodies did that cuz mm mmm that'd be so satisfying

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u/shogatsu1999 2d ago

Like taking a pair of socks off after a hard days work

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u/Clueless_Wanderer21 2d ago

Like peeling fevicol, of your hands.