Is there anything that completely fascinates you no matter how many times you see it? I’m sure all of you can think of at least one. I have many because I am always in awe of the world around me and especially anything to do with life and nature, but tonight in particular it was watching my son’s gecko shed. You have all met Zipper before, and I know I have already posted pictures of him shedding, but I am feeling the need to share this wonderful experience again.
Zipper is such a trooper – shedding is a tiring job you know. A couple of days ago I noticed that he was starting to turn white, so I began spraying him once a day with warm water which I have heard helps the process. After a good spray this afternoon, Zipper started to drag himself along the mesh of his cage trying to rip open the dry skin. You see, shedding doesn’t just happen on its own. Zipper has to tear the old skin off bit by bit to reveal his fresh, colourful, new skin. It truly amazes me to watch how ingenious he can be to accomplish this job – how he grabs a hold of a piece of skin, pulls and pulls and then moves his mouth along the piece of old skin to make it a shorter distance to pull once again. I love to stand and watch him, and I always urge him on telling him what a good job he is doing. I know, I’m strange – my kids tell me that every day – but it really is quite exciting to watch.
It’s extremely difficult to get pictures of Zipper while he is shedding because there is only a small opening where I can get my camera in without having to take the photos through the mesh of his cage. Luckily, he doesn’t seem to mind :). I know some of you will think this is kind of disgusting, but I’m sure there are many of you who will find it just as fascinating as I do, and I hope you enjoy my photos.
photos from the loonybin 
the last picture looks like a caterpillar..isn’t life the most amazing thing. what animals do what we need to do with our arms and legs. don’t you just want to help him out and peel that skin off him like a sunburn going dry? very, very interesting..thx Cindy..you give us a lot of information that normally we would NOT go out of our way to discover.
I hadn’t even thought of that, but it really does look like a caterpillar :). Life is amazing, I agree, and we have to keep our eyes truly open to see all of the beauty around us. And yes, I have to hold myself back from peeling Zipper’s skin for him LOL, but I know the process is an important part of his life cycle.
Ummmm….. I don’t know quite what to say here Cindy. We can tell a lot about people by their hobbies and fascinations. Perhaps the designation “axe murderer” was not so far off….. ? Thank goodness Zipper has no modesty and is rather beautiful under all that old skin though. 🙂
Trust me Dor, you would love Zipper!! He’s very gentle and never bites, and he’s so easy to take care of. Sometimes I let him sit on my chest while I’m watching TV. He loves the warmth, and I really think he feels my heartbeat. He’s cute :).
Fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing those photos. Zipper looks like a sweet creature that should be starring in a Pixar animated movie!
I’m so glad you found him fascinating too. He’s really a sweetheart, and I agree – he would be awesome in a Pixar movie!!
Clever, clever, Zipper! That is so awesome and beautiful too!!
He is very clever :). I just know that you would love him!
I want my very own Zipper!
You should get one! They’re very easy to care for, and although they don’t need a lot of human contact, they do like to be held. You just have to make sure you never take your eyes off of them though if you take them out of their cage because they can move really fast if they want to and would be very hard to find again since they like to hide in small dark places LOL!
Oh, how I wish I could do that! The other day I happened to look at my reflection in a mirror that was lying flat on a table. Big mistake! Please, teach me how, Zipper!!!
I don’t know about you Gary, but I don’t think my body would be willing to do the contortions that Zipper does to get that skin off. I’m pretty sure I would remain stuck in those positions forever!! LOL 🙂
Absolutely fascinating. So glad you took photos along the process of Zipper’s tearing off his skin. I’ve never seen anything like it.
I wish I could do that too (as Gary from krikitarts says).
My under eye wrinkles make me look 101 these days – I think I need a face lift – lol.
I am with you–the rest of my face looks young–but my eyes give me away
I’m so glad that you found it fascinating too, and I agree with all of you. It would be lovely to just peel away the old wrinkled skin :).
As one who can sit and watch nature over and over I find this fascinating… it is not something one sees everyday or in the wild… I’ve often come across the shed skin of a snake, but have never been privileged to witness the process… although some of the skins are so big I’m not sure I would want to witness it… this is just a wonderful share and to be able to witness it, let alone capture it on camera is a true privilege and you can share it as many times as you like… I will always love it, forget like it… this is not disgusting… we get sun burnt and then peel if we don’t apply sun screen… this little chap does this for renewal… we do it all the time, why do we wash our bed sheets, cause we are shedding nightly… sounds gross but true…
So very true, and I just knew you would be fascinated by it Bulldog :). Honestly, I am disappointed if he is white one night and then has fresh new skin the next day because I know I have missed him shedding during the night. You might also be interested to know (although this really grosses out some people) that he eats his skin as he sheds because it provides him with important vitamins/nutrients. I love to watch everything about him – how he eats (little meal worms), how he moves, and how he even reacts to me, although my kids think I’m crazy when I talk to him. However, I know that he recognizes my voice because when I talk to him he peeks his little head out of his house. I will agree with you though on the big snake shedding. I would love to watch the process, but I would prefer to watch it from behind glass :).
I wondered if he ate the skin, as I believe quite a few do and I was told they also do it so as not to advertise to their predators that they have just done it… apparently they need time for the new skin to settle before they are back to full speed… just what I’ve heard…
Wow, that’s very interesting, and it makes sense too because the process seems to be tiring for little Zipper :).
Fascinating indeed
Thanks Bunny :). I’m glad you enjoyed it.
it is fascinating and looks like a lot of work–thanks for sharing the wonders of nature with us
You are very welcome – glad you enjoyed it! He does seem to get kind of tired sometimes during the process and takes rests. There have even been a couple of times where he seems stuck, and I have actually taken a small pair of scissors and made a snip in the skin just to help him out a little bit. The really amazing part is that he does this whole process once a month!!
wow, that is amazing–and you helping him out does not surprise me at all — you have a very tender heart my friend
Awww, thanks 🙂
Funny how the imagination can interpret words: when I read your sentence about seeing your son’s gecko shed, I imagined a shed in which he keeps geckos. Guess you could say my mind shed your intended meaning.
LOL – love it!! Well, he doesn’t have a shed, but he does have a little “hide” which looks like a hollowed out rock cave which he curls up in all day. Geckos are nocturnal, so most of his activity is during the night while we are sleeping.
Yes, he has a little hide, and it’s a new one, too, after he shed the old one.
Your play on words today is awesome!!! 🙂
That IS fascinating! A couple of things I find fascinating – spiders and kaleidoscopes.
Oooh, kaleidoscopes are awesome. I remember having one as a child and being totally fascinated by it :).
Wow! That’s it – wow!
Well, thank you :).
These photos are very cool. I find it quite interesting, just as I did when a friend of mine told me the process of a tarantula shedding its old skin.
Thanks :). I would love to see a tarantula shedding its skin, but I don’t think I would be putting my hands and camera inside the cage for that one LOL!
It’s a metaphor for life! It’s always interesting when someone sheds their skin, and/or gets their second skin.
You’re right – it is a great metaphor for many things in life that we might want to shed :).
The new you