shedding

katkat669

New Member
hi, i have a 4 month old panther chameleon and i am worried about his shedding habits. He hasnt shed in about 3 weeks, is this normal or should he be shedding more frequently? His humidity is around 60% and the temperature in his basking area stays around 85-90 and the rest about 80. He is eating like a pig, about 7 crickets and 20 flies a day. He seems to be growing and looks perfectly healthy but hasnt shed in a while. It is starting to worry me, can someone help please? Thank you.:confused: :)
 
It is possible he shed when you were not around. If not, he should be shedding soon :)
 
In lower humidity levels, sometimes chameleons have a bit more difficulty with their shedding. Perhaps try to mist more often or raise humidity levels a bit. This might help induce easier shedding as he grows. :)
 
thanks

:) I will try misting more. It is possible he shed while i was at school, but where did the shed go? Do they eat it like geckos? because i didnt think they did. Thanks for your suggestions.:)
 
I have never seen any of my panthers eat their shed. If your panther has shed, you'd see the shedding everywhere around the cage and even a few bits left on his body here and there.
 
Ezhno shed today and I saw him eat some skin :eek:
I was watching him for a few minutes and admiring his colors. He had finished shedding and was hanging out on one of his favorite branches, staring at a large piece of dead skin about 6" away. I never though he was going to eat it. Just when I was thinking I should remove the skin, he shot his tongue at it and had engulfed it almost instantly.
 
LOL.... I have to admit, I've never seen my panthers eat their skin. But, after what you just witnessed, I suppose anything is possible :D .
 
Just a thought

ok, you know how when your body needs something, you will get a really wierd craving? Like when a pregnant women gets the wierd cravings. I myself craved vegetables. I was obsessed with salad and subs from subway. Just the thought of lettuce, tomato and fresh green peppers...MMMMmmmmm!
(It's a good thing my food is already in the oven!)
So do you think their might be something in their skin that their body is craving? Just an idea. Tara
 
So do you think their might be something in their skin that their body is craving? Just an idea.
This is a very reasonable assumption and could be true. I think it is most likely a behavior that has been reinforced through evolution due to the calcium content of the skin. According to the link above, it is common in other reptiles too. To be safe, I have been adding an extra calcium dusting for the past couple days.
 
I'm sure the response is due to something they might be lacking or need from the nutrients they get from it.

I have yet to see my chameleons eat their shed, but I suppose they may have eaten some I haven't noticed prior to me picking the pieces up from their cage once they are done.

Here is another off the wall theory about chameleons eating their shed... I wonder if it could be possible to cover their tracks in the wild? Just a crazy thought on my part. But hey, it's Friday night and I've been spending all day writing a care sheet (which is still underway) and I guess the fact I've been doing that all day, I'm entitled to crazy thoughts :p .
 
Jenna, you are so funny!

Thanks Brad! I missed that link. To add ...I must admit to a not so healthy diet. Veggies are definatly not the norm for me. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense that my body needed that for my baby. Even now, I get these intense cravings for salads and subs.

Jenna! Funny girl! My mind does that too! It makes sense though. I mean, a mother cat eats her placenta and the sacks on her babies for exactly that reason, doesn't she? When I woke up to find my mommy cat had given birth during the night, I could only find a few specs of blood left to clean up and nothing else. Tara (looking forward to your caresheet:D )
 
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