Incomplete shed?

JenMae40

New Member
My son's juvenile veiled chameleon started its first shed on 1/1. Nearly all of the old skin was gone in a day, but he still has old skin on his tail. My son Googled and found a site recommending that he swab the area with warm distilled water on a q-tip. We never handle our chameleon, he doesn't like his space invaded. Do we intervene as Google suggested? Anything else we should do?
 
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It will eventually come off. It may take a little bit but the best you can do is let it be.
 
Thanks! He read something about unshed skin being dangerous, potentially cutting off the blood supply to the tail. It's like having a newborn all over again.
 
You probably read about 'stuck shed' which can get stuck and inflamed and cause some issues for a reptile. Incomplete shedding is not really the same thing, and less worrisome. This is typically caused by inadequate humidity. Make sure your humidity is the correct, and that will probably help. And remember to never pull off a chameleons shed yourself, you could really do damage to them. Just watch and make sure it isn't causing him any issues.
 
Any pictures of the tail?

The tail when shedding can in some cases typically when the husbandry is incorrect get a cuff of shed around it. This restricts blood flow as a rubber band would on your wrist. This is what we watch for. You can tell the difference between a shed not being complete and a cuff. A cuff is dangerous because of the restricted blood flow. It causes the end of the tail to become necrotic and die off.
 
Actually wasn’t as late as I thought
 

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