PLEASE HELP!

[NickLovesTegus91]

I've recently moved my 6 month old b&w tegu from a 40 gallon tank to a custom built 6ft x 2ft enclosure. However, in the last month of living in the 40 gallon tank he was not receiving adequate humidity levels, and as a result, his tail has multiple layers of stuck shed. With daily baths of mineral oil and water (about 50:1 water to oil ratio) I have been successful at removing about 1/3 of the stuck shed. Unfortunately, from the tip of his tail and up 2/3 of the way, the shed is being stubborn and wont start peeling.

I am afraid there is a risk he will lose part of his tail if something isn't done to remove his stuck shed. Please if any knows any tricks or tried and true methods for removing his shed in this circumstance will you let me know what I can do?

 

[millyme11]

I'd take him to the Vet, its better to be safe than sorry. If there is a lot of shed then it might be putting pressure on his tail or cause/ have an infection. I think the baths will help a lot but the vet probably knows how to pull/ get it all off safely and quickly. I had a similar shedding problem on one of my reptiles head and it can caused puss to form underneath and made it poorly.
Hope he's ok

 

[millyme11]

Moisturiser also helps with shedding, and maybe when you have soaked the tail in the bath, try gently brushing at it with a toothbrush

 

[NickLovesTegus91]

Moisturiser also helps with shedding, and maybe when you have soaked the tail in the bath, try gently brushing at it with a toothbrush

Okay thanks! What kind of moisturizer is safe on the tegu's skin? I don't want him to have some sort of harmful reaction to anything.

 

[millyme11]

I just use what I use on myself to be honest and works great. I wouldn't use a fragranced one though, just to be safe and my Tegu will always sit still for moisturising. Have a look on youtube at 'Macgyver the Lizard' cute and informative videos on Tegus

 

[NickLovesTegus91]

And yea he seems okay, he's energetic, he eats a big meal everyday with regular bowel movements during his baths, and he is always rearranging his nest so it seems like he's not in too much pain for now but I would love to solve this problem without a pricey visit to the vet. But, if it comes down to it I am financially ready to handle a decent vet bill.

 

[NickLovesTegus91]

I've watched many, if not all, of Mac's videos which he never mentions the brand of lotion which he applies daily! But I've also been rubbing his tail with Vaseline about every other day after his baths, do you think a moisturizing lotion would be more effective?

 

[millyme11]

Not sure to be honest, but I think as long as you apply it regularly it will soften the shed so that it will rub off with a little scrubber brush

 

[NickLovesTegus91]

Not sure to be honest, but I think as long as you apply it regularly it will soften the shed so that it will rub off with a little scrubber brush

Awesome, thank you. I will try gently scrubbing his shed and if I don't see promising results in the next week or so I will make an appointment with his vet to see what he suggests.

 

[millyme11]

Nice one, keep me posted

 

[NickLovesTegus91]

Will do!

 

[Deac77]

Best cure is a proper diet, proper heat, and proper humidity. You can try offering particularly oily fish such as smelt and sardines. Also is he a red or bw? That can help play a role. Also for immediate situations you can apply regular A&D ointment (not the stuff with pain killers but the original.)

A side note, Mac isn't the wealthiest gu out there so be extremely careful when modeling care after him.

 

[NickLovesTegus91]

Best cure is a proper diet, proper heat, and proper humidity. You can try offering particularly oily fish such as smelt and sardines. Also is he a red or bw? That can help play a role. Also for immediate situations you can apply regular A&D ointment (not the stuff with pain killers but the original.)

A side note, Mac isn't the wealthiest gu out there so be extremely careful when modeling care after him.

Okay noted, I've been taking most of my advice from Johnny Larocca. But I feed him ground turkey, crickets, scrambled eggs, ground beef, occasional FT fuzzies and wild caught salmon, kiwi, strawberries, and superworms. And his humidity in the new enclosure is 55% on the low side and 80% on the high side which he's been living in for about 2 weeks now. He has a basking spot of 105ish and ambient temp is around 85. I bought A and D ointment but wasn't sure if it was safe or not. And he is a B&W by the way. Hopefully I'm on the right track.

 

[Deac77]

His basking temps to low, best to bask at 120-135. His diet could also use a huge change. Stick with whole prey and fresh fruits. This is a typical meal for my guys and I've never had a shed problem.

A lot of data is outdated and we are finding they do a lot better off the ground meat diets.

 

[NickLovesTegus91]

His basking temps to low, best to bask at 120-135. His diet could also use a huge change. Stick with whole prey and fresh fruits. This is a typical meal for my guys and I've never had a shed problem.View attachment 7741

A lot of data is outdated and we are finding they do a lot better off the ground meat diets.

Ok thank you, I will lower his light to get that temp of 125 or so and I just placed a large order of fuzzies from Mice Direct. Would you still recommend supplementing his food with calcium or will that not be necessary with whole prey items?

 

[NickLovesTegus91]

Also do roaches provide the same benefits as crickets in regards to phosphorous and other nutritional qualities? In other words can I replace crickets with roaches? Because I feel like he is getting to large for crickets.

 

[Deac77]

Roaches are far better than crickets. However I don't feed insects anymore (my Gus are quite large lol).

I'd always supplement insect and ground meats. But since I NEVER feed organs or ground meat I don't supplement

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

Deac77 gave good advice, I agree - up the temps and change the diet. A&D is good, sometimes tails can be fussy so just work at manually taking it off during soaks once its softened a bit.