Shedding

[Brad Ramsey]

Hey everyone,

Quick question:
My veiled had his second shed a few days ago, and my concern is that there is still some residual old skin.
On his side and a little bit on his eyelid.
I have removed all loose skin and tried to wash the rest off with a warm, moist q-tip but can't seem to get him completely clean.
I have read that this skin can harbor bacteria and want to remove it but need some new ideas.
I am misting him with warm water often to try and help but the going is slow.
His first time shedding, all the skin was off in one day.
Thanks for the help.

-Brad

 

[Heika]

Hi Brad,

Sometimes misting makes the skin cling to the chameleon even more. You might want to let him dry out a bit and see if the skin pops off that way.

Heika

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Thanks.
He has been drying out between, but perhaps I'll let him have some more time off and just make sure he has plenty to drink.
Do you think this is something to worry about?

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Does he have some rough branches to rub it off on?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

He does have rough branches and he rubs on them a lot.
Also uses his feet to scratch like a dog.
It's really not very much skin and I probably worry too much.
I just don't want to promote any kind of infection

 

[Jordan]

Do not pull off skin on any reptile. This can hurt intensely. It is no different then peeling off a scab on yourself that is not ready to come off yet. The skin can still be attached to nerves. Veileds at a young age should take hours to complete a shed not days. If it takes an extended period of time you should look at the cage and evalutate it. I have recently had a problem with one of my sub adults shedding. I had to let him dry out to finish the shed as suggested.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Thanks Jordan.
I haven't pulled any skin off, just tried to swab the areas were it remains. Which I have learned today is the opposite of what I should do.
He is dry, has been all day, so we'll see.
Again, I don't think this is a huge worry. Thanks for the help and advice.
-B.

 

[Jordan]

Sorry I misunderstood that when I read it the first time. I read it again. It does not all sink in sometimes.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

moving this to top for WOW

-B.

 

[iceman214]

About Shedding

im new to all this and i have just bought a young male veiled i was just wondering how often they shed?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Fairly often while they are young and growing.
Mine is shedding about every three weeks right now.
He's about 14 weeks old.

-Brad

 

[kinyonga]

When they are young (not full grown) they shed more often than they do when they are adults....can't tell you specifically because it partially has to do with rate of growth.

 

[roo_71]

My veiled has trouble shedding in some areas too and what I use which works every time is mineral oil. I swab it on with a Q-tip and the skin if off the next day. As for the eye area, I think its fine to use mineral oil too - just dont go crazy. Some of my eye oinments I have on hand contain mineral oil as an ingrediant so I dont think mineral oil would be harmful to the eye.