My baby shed but humid or drier for a successful shed?

Twitchet

Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi all, I have a xanth chameleon baby- ( also another xanth, panther, and soon a meru!! and 2 pygs )
when i first got him he looked like this


I wanted to return him as i thought the damage from stuck shed to his tail might of affected him, it turned out I couldnt ( wouldn't - if I'm honest) return him and hoped that his tail wasnt necrotic and hopefully would survive, well his tail was a bit of a mess- reason why he's called Crinkles, his tail improved day by day and he looked like this a few weeks ago


This is now - he weighs 3.4g , just a cute pic i had to share -Crinkles gone night nights - you can still see the scar area on his tail-

how cute is that??


He shed for the first time with me a couple of days ago- started one day and finished the following- He's well hydrated and the viv is sprayed and humid,everything else is fine-eating well, active etc, I misted the viv a little more that normal whilst he was shedding, the shed went well but the tail ( regardless of his problem) for example- the skin came off but some remained in loose rings on his tail- i was able to just slide them gently off but the skin was a bit leathery- watching how the dry skin flakes so easily off the panther I had a small feeling that the skin didnt fall off quite as easily as I would of liked- albeit a success in general. Maybe I'm just fussing over him too much.

I'm wondering whether the skin would of flaked off easily had he actually been kept a shade drier?? so the skin was papery and flaky rather than moister where it seemed a bit more leathery - or is he slightly a problem shedder which is why he had retained shed in the first place?
The question is ...General opinion seems to be increase humidity but is there anyone who keeps humidity either at normal levels or actually decreases humidity? I read that they thought a well hydrated animal was more important than increasing humidity but I guess it's a bit of both?
Just a thought-
To my amazement the scar area on his tail shed like a dream- that was the bit i was dreading- would he have problems or not but it was fine and he goes from strength to strength. .
 
Wow Tabitha, he is looking fantastic! What a turnaround. I'm so glad you ended up keeping the little guy.

Are you saying that the skin that shed from the scar tissue is "leathery"?
 
Hi Joel, Yes he's looking pretty good isn't he- I have to say I'm amazed too- I wouldnt of believed it. The kink in the end has actually grown out altogether-
Sorry I didn't make myself clear- I meant the skin all over his body- his tail shed very nicely at same time as the rest of his body- you wouldnt know any difference to the rest of him - actually if you look at the shedding pic the scar is the bit that is shedding in the pic quarter of the way along from base- i kept watching him all day to see what happened and all the skin from everywhere came off bit by bit -. dont get me wrong the shed was successful but I just felt it could of come off a bit easier and the pieces were just a hint difficult to come off-with the panther the skin it crispy and falls off cleanly and easily, these were more leathery and tougher not crispy. The tail skin ( nothing to do with the problem) came away from the body nicely but didnt split and fall off in pieces- when the skin came off it formed rings-hoops, free from the body but like you had threaded a couple onto his tail- made me visualise the skin on his tail that he originally had come with when i got him, and when that ring didn't come off that was what caused the original problem so was there a pattern forming.
I am probably ( definitely) being paranoid but just want to give him the best chance for the next times

I just wondered if views had changed and maybe leaving the viv a bit drier is better - I very finely misted him- tried not to mist eyes but misted his body. I guess when he sheds again i'll be able to understand him better and be aware of problems that he as an individual may have. It takes it's time to build up a case history of a particular animal doesnt it.
Crinkles is 3.4g - Newt the other xanth only weighs 2.4g , 6 paper clips so he is struggling for some reason.
Hope you are well and all your beauties.
 
Thank you Janet- I love him dearly- so proud of how well he's done.
I broke my heart over your mellers, such a sad story and wished I could put into words how sorry I was for you and Joel.
 
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