Still No Gecko Glue!!!

[ZEKESMOM]

I'm back! Chomper still is not sticking to anything. A little info from my previous posts. Chomper is just over 5 mths old. Got her from Christie very healthy and with "glue" I know this because she escaped her first week I had her and I found her on top of a tall glass topped table 2 days later! She had to of climbed to get there. Since finding her I have not seen her climbing the tank. She climbs the plant and that is it. I have tested her by putting her on to different surfaces and she just does not stick. I clean the shed from her feet when she sheds. Her humidity is good. I don't understand why she is not acting like a gecko. I am really concerned. I know some people may think its not a huge deal but it is to me and I'm sure to her since she probably would love to act like a gecko; especailly when I bring another one in and it is all over the place and she can't follow. Does anyone have any clue or something else I should try?

[frankykeno]

Well I found this quite interesting so I went googling for crested gecko's and their sticky feet. Very interesting stuff out there by the way on science studying this as they are apparently the heaviest creature that can stand on a ceiling with it's feet above it's head quite happily.

Anyways what I found out basically seems to boil down to this. Their feet pads are made up of structures called "adhesive lamellae", here's a bit of info on that...

"On the sole of a gecko’s feet there are some one billion ‘spatulae’. These are tiny adhesive hairs, about 200 nanometres in both width and length. These hairs put the gecko in direct physical contact with its environment. They sit in a three-part, hierarchically-ordered adhesive system on top of ‘setae’, which are about one-tenth the diameter of a human hair, about 100 micrometres long and six micrometres wide. The setae lie in a row and together form lamellae, which, at 400 to 600 micrometres in length, are visible to the naked eye." (Science Daily)

Here's another link about this stuff....

http://www.brookscole.com/chemistry_...ics/Gecko.html

The science says that the stickiness does increase with higher humidity or direct contact with water. Their feet are self-cleaning basically in that the more they stick to things the more they can stick to things (if that makes sense). Basically this stops them from being stuck to their substrate or having it stick to their feet so much they can't stick to anything else. The more they climb and "stick", the stickier their feet are. Their lamellae and setae hairlike structures are what causes them to stick, not a secretion of any sort of actual sticky substance.

Could your gecko have injured it's feet physically while loose those two days. I'm not sure what would happen if it walked on something hot for instance to these delicate hairs and whether if they are damaged severely they can grow back. I would see if upping the humidity in your gecko's home and encouraging it to try to climb the glass while it's beaded with water helps at all to regain it's sticky ability.

It seems by not using it's sticky feet, it's making the situation worse for itself (or at least that's what I'm getting from all the sites I just read through online). Heck if all else fails I'd see if you can find a vet that takes care of lizards and have them take a look directly at the feet of yours and see if those hairlike structures (some are visible to the naked eye, some are not) have been damaged while it was running about your house.

[ZEKESMOM]

Thank you so much. I dont think she could have injured herself while out. It was summer so there were no hot heater vents and she went about 5 feet away from her tank to the table. I did read the first info you just listed a couple days ago, the one about the hairs and science studying it. It's funny...she will stick to my clothes only. I will up the humidity and I guess I will get a piece of plexi and mist it and start "training sessions" with her to see if that helps. If it doesn't guess I will have to find a good vet here in Tucson. Thanks again

[ZEKESMOM]

I know I am probably driving everyone crazy I just cleaned her 10 gallan tank and set it vertical with the screen top at the front. Guess who is on it hung upside down..I see her belly!!! Its a start....I also brought her out and put her on a piece of misted plexi...not vrey good but maybe she will improve...thank you

[frankykeno]

Excellent news! Keep encouraging her to stick to stuff and keep the misting up and I bet she's back to normal run-up-anything gecko behaviour soon. Our crestie, Sprocket, really doesn't stick on his glass much though either hon, just occasionally really. He much prefers his tree and his fake vinery as climbing/hanging upside down things and sort of uses the glass walls just as short cuts from one place to the next. Having him run straight up the diningroom wall today while I was snapping shots of him was a hoot though! Never really understood just how sticky their little feet are until I saw that!

[recycling goddess]

giggling... sorry for laughing but this is funny. i can hear her now "i'll only walk on the flass when she's asleep... while she's awake... i'll stay on the ground... maaaaaaaaybe a leaf or two if needed but never... and i mean NEVER on any glass."

[frankykeno]

LOL yep Aleesha and my Sprocket is probably going "okay quick she's gone to bed...shed....shed.....eat my shed...okay there all gone!...hehehehehehehehe"

[ZEKESMOM]

OK so MAYBE I am freaking out over nothing LOL Do you really think she is messing with me LMAO

[frankykeno]

Nah just probably not using her glass as much as you thought she should. Obviously she can stick if you saw her do it today. Probably just like our snakes poop right after we post a thread about them NOT pooping...just timing more than an evil gecko plot to embarrass us (though hmmm maybe they are evil little plotters....all that innocent eye licking is probably just an ingenious cover!)