Cracking shed

[Bonsai]

Hi guys I have great help here with good outcome while taming my red tegu, but now my tegu is having some kind of a shed problem, the skin is just cracking ang not peeling off, its like a dead skin attach to my tegu that looks like scales, tha humidity, temperature parameters and with in the suggested range with a water dish, coconut husk substate and variety of food, my UVB and heat lamp though is on top of the screen cover, would that matter in terms of UVB absortion and shed replated problems? I reguarly bathe him once a day everyday with some coconut oil but still the same, any ideads?

 

[Walter1]

Huh. Would you post a photo? Co7ld be helpful.

 

[Bonsai]

here are some of mu tegus pix

 

[Bonsai]

its been like this for over a month now :/

 

[Walter1]

Could be nearly continuous shed because of rapid juvenile growth. I suggest you provide a moist hide with Sphagnum moss. Helps a lot. So does fish oil in his food.

 

[Bonsai]

whew hopefuly its continous shed, thats a reliefe, I will buy sphagnum moss and I will do as suggested, is there a specific brand of fish oil that you can recomend or any will do? Thank you Wlater1 I will update you soon.

 

[Walter1]

You're very welcome.

Wring out the soaken sphag then place in hide.

Cod liver oil works well. A little on the food.

 

[mia exotic]

Could be nearly continuous shed because of rapid juvenile growth. I suggest you provide a moist hide with Sphagnum moss. Helps a lot. So does fish oil in his food.

Hye every1 ! My Teddy sometimes also has continuous shed .. Tq to Walter1 for your suggestion on Sphagnum moss . Will try to find some soon. Tq again..

 

[dpjm]

Bonsai, you asked about UV light going through a screen. Yes, the screen will reflect some of the UV, so there is less UV reaching your lizard than if the lamp was not shining through a screen. Will this affect shedding? Not sure.

Improper sheds could result from a variety of problems. It is important to realize that a bad shed reflects some husbandry problem. Some common problems that can cause bad shedding are: cold temperatures, low humidity, lack of cage furniture that can be rubbed against, stress, and nutritional deficiencies. Vitamin A deficiency is often singled out the more common nutritional problem that can lead to skin issues.

Vitamin A in its active form is known as retinol. Animals can acquire it either as preformed retinol or it can be made in the body by converting either alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, or beta-cryptoxanthin into retinol. These "carotenoids" are known as Provitamin A or precursors to vitamin A.

Preformed Vitamin A is found almost exclusively in whole vertebrate prey. Provitamin A is found in a variety of colorful plant foods.

Different species have different capacities for absorbing these Provitamin A types. For instance, some animals are very good at converting beta-carotene to retinol but iguanas are not. Research (at least as far as I can tell) has not been done regarding tegus and carotenoids.

Your best bet for good Vitamin A health is to use whole vertebrate prey as well as a variety of different colorful vegetables, especially cooked carrots and orange sweet potatoes (high beta-carotene), colored bell peppers (high beta-cryptoxanthin), and cooked winter squash (high in alpha-carotene). This should cover it safely. What is not safe is using a lot of retinol in a supplement, overdose on retinol is not good.

 

[mia exotic]

Bonsai, you asked about UV light going through a screen. Yes, the screen will reflect some of the UV, so there is less UV reaching your lizard than if the lamp was not shining through a screen. Will this affect shedding? Not sure.

Improper sheds could result from a variety of problems. It is important to realize that a bad shed reflects some husbandry problem. Some common problems that can cause bad shedding are: cold temperatures, low humidity, lack of cage furniture that can be rubbed against, stress, and nutritional deficiencies. Vitamin A deficiency is often singled out the more common nutritional problem that can lead to skin issues.

Vitamin A in its active form is known as retinol. Animals can acquire it either as preformed retinol or it can be made in the body by converting either alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, or beta-cryptoxanthin into retinol. These "carotenoids" are known as Provitamin A or precursors to vitamin A.

Preformed Vitamin A is found almost exclusively in whole vertebrate prey. Provitamin A is found in a variety of colorful plant foods.

Different species have different capacities for absorbing these Provitamin A types. For instance, some animals are very good at converting beta-carotene to retinol but iguanas are not. Research (at least as far as I can tell) has not been done regarding tegus and carotenoids.

Your best bet for good Vitamin A health is to use whole vertebrate prey as well as a variety of different colorful vegetables, especially cooked carrots and orange sweet potatoes (high beta-carotene), colored bell peppers (high beta-cryptoxanthin), and cooked winter squash (high in alpha-carotene). This should cover it safely. What is not safe is using a lot of retinol in a supplement, overdose on retinol is not good.

Bonsai, you asked about UV light going through a screen. Yes, the screen will reflect some of the UV, so there is less UV reaching your lizard than if the lamp was not shining through a screen. Will this affect shedding? Not sure.

Improper sheds could result from a variety of problems. It is important to realize that a bad shed reflects some husbandry problem. Some common problems that can cause bad shedding are: cold temperatures, low humidity, lack of cage furniture that can be rubbed against, stress, and nutritional deficiencies. Vitamin A deficiency is often singled out the more common nutritional problem that can lead to skin issues.

Vitamin A in its active form is known as retinol. Animals can acquire it either as preformed retinol or it can be made in the body by converting either alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, or beta-cryptoxanthin into retinol. These "carotenoids" are known as Provitamin A or precursors to vitamin A.

Preformed Vitamin A is found almost exclusively in whole vertebrate prey. Provitamin A is found in a variety of colorful plant foods.

Different species have different capacities for absorbing these Provitamin A types. For instance, some animals are very good at converting beta-carotene to retinol but iguanas are not. Research (at least as far as I can tell) has not been done regarding tegus and carotenoids.

Your best bet for good Vitamin A health is to use whole vertebrate prey as well as a variety of different colorful vegetables, especially cooked carrots and orange sweet potatoes (high beta-carotene), colored bell peppers (high beta-cryptoxanthin), and cooked winter squash (high in alpha-carotene). This should cover it safely. What is not safe is using a lot of retinol in a supplement, overdose on retinol is not good.

Hye dpjm , tq so much for the info. I'll take note on that, tq again.

 

[dpjm]

Animals tend to store retinol mostly in their livers, so liver meat has a ton of retinol, much more than any other part of the animal. Muscle meat has almost zero, kidneys have about about a tenth of what liver has. This does not mean feed out a lot of liver, that could cause an overdose of vitamin A, but does show why whole prey items are so much better than just meat.

 

[mia exotic]

Hye dpjm. Tq for the info. I'll take note on ths matter . Nyway, yes i do feed chicken liver to Teddy once in awhile , chicken slices, tomatoes, cucumber , grapes , salmon, blue & black mackerel , lettuce . Last few mths i fed him white mice once a mth . When he was small , i fed him crickets , mealworms, fruits & vegetables . Bt sometimes he is picky though,hahaha , bt i still love him ..

 

[MrExotic]

It’s normal .....bath time more regularly make sure tank or living area is misted and moist reagularly mean while invest in a rept fogger if don’t already have one and you should see a big difference humidity levels play a big role in skin health and shedding