Shed Stuck on Tail Tip... Pull it?

Sierra

New Member
Hi everyone,

I have a 4 month old male veiled chameleon eating like a champ and growing like a weed, but his second last shed left a tiny piece on the very tip of his tail.

I was hoping it would come off with this past shed, but it didn't. I've been trying to keep it superhydrated by misting that area directly every chance I get, but it still hasn't come off. It's worrying me now because it's starting to look a bit constricted and knobby.

Should I catch him and gently try to tug it off? I don't want to stress him out, but I also don't want him to lose the tip of his tail. I've tried to slowly creep in with the tweezers, but he spooks and runs away every time.

Has anyone here experienced this? Any advice on how to proceed is greatly appreciated.
 
maybe try the tweezer idea when he's sleeping, usually when they have been sleeping for a couple hours, its pretty hard to wake them. if it looks like its constricting, then i would get it off immediately.
 
it should unravel fairly easy when they are sleeping, if your quick about it, maybe he/she will go back to sleep after its done fairly quickly.
 
Not a bad idea... maybe you should soak it in water, and then wait till he's sleeping and gently pull it off....
 
i wouldent want to pull it off unless you know it will come off fine if you do pull.
you might rip some on the underlying skin off with it leaving a open wound.

i heard talk of mineral oil before but i cant tell you if it is good or bad,
maybe someone could tell us if it will work or not?
 
If it's been on the there for a while, get it off ASAP. It sounds like it might be too late, but a shed can constrict their tails and cut off circulation until that part basically dies. Obviously, tails are pretty important for chameleons, so you don't want to impair him. The easiest way to do it is to submerge his tail in warm water and peel it off.
 
Warm water and some type of lubricant like KY jelly works well. Be very careful not to force it off, because as someone already said you can cause damage by ripping off skin that is not ready to go yet.
 
Ok, well he definitely was much easier to get close to at night. I've been trying intermittently to get at it without fully waking him up for over an hour. I only got a tiny little smidge of a piece off, though.

I am being very cautious. I used patience, steady hands, tweezers, a bobby pin, and a safety pin. (I thought if I could "snag" a loose bit with the safety pin and pierce it, I might be able to loosen some more.)

I have blurry vision now from trying to focus in on that area of his tail for so long in such crap lighting through all the plant leaves. I can see a constriction for sure and it's freaking me out.

I'm going to see if I can soak the tip of his tail in some warm water. He might be inaccessible because he did just wake up and take off. When I can't hold the cup of water anymore, I'll put some polysporin on it and leave him for the night. Poor little guy. Thankfully it is only the very teeny tiny tip of his tail, because I fear he will lose it.

Tomorrow I'll see if there is any shed-ease type stuff in my little town. Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. I will keep you posted.
 
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