reptilemancan
New Member
hey all, my beardie is having some trouble shedding on his tail and leggs its not peeling is this normal?
bearded dragon shedding
- Thread starter reptilemancan
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jojackson
New Member
Your humidity may be slightly low. Move the waterbowl closer the heat, or use a bowl with a larger surface area. Be sure to use a humidity guage if in a low humidity climate.
Care needs to be taken with tail tips and toes. If they dont shed here properly, the old skin constricts and causes tissue damage sometimes resulting in loss of tail tips or toes.
You can run a few inches of lukewarm water in your bathtub and let your beardy play forhalf/hour. Be sure its never deeper than a few inches, your lizard should be able to stand easily above the waterline.
If you cannot for some reason raise the humidy levels (40% atleast) then spray a few times a day in the enclosure/ on beardy to increase humidity during shed when you notice it.
Care needs to be taken with tail tips and toes. If they dont shed here properly, the old skin constricts and causes tissue damage sometimes resulting in loss of tail tips or toes.
You can run a few inches of lukewarm water in your bathtub and let your beardy play forhalf/hour. Be sure its never deeper than a few inches, your lizard should be able to stand easily above the waterline.
If you cannot for some reason raise the humidy levels (40% atleast) then spray a few times a day in the enclosure/ on beardy to increase humidity during shed when you notice it.
Beardies don't need high humidity at all. I mist normally every morning, and what I have done in the past to stuck sheds is spray them or the area with the shed very lightly, however often I feel is necessary.
Bathing is also helpful, water temps should be mid 80s, and you need to be careful they don't drop too much while your dragon is in the water.
JoJackson is right about tail tips and toes. I frequently see beardies (especially in pet stores) with missing tail tips and toes and sometimes even feet. Something I have noticed is having calcium sand as a substrate seems to make their feet crusty almost, and they have difficulty shedding. I have never personally used calcium sand so I can't say if that is actually the cause, just something I noticed. Keep in mind that they don't always shed their entire body in one go, some parts grow faster than others.
Bathing is also helpful, water temps should be mid 80s, and you need to be careful they don't drop too much while your dragon is in the water.
JoJackson is right about tail tips and toes. I frequently see beardies (especially in pet stores) with missing tail tips and toes and sometimes even feet. Something I have noticed is having calcium sand as a substrate seems to make their feet crusty almost, and they have difficulty shedding. I have never personally used calcium sand so I can't say if that is actually the cause, just something I noticed. Keep in mind that they don't always shed their entire body in one go, some parts grow faster than others.
Vegas Chad
Avid Member
yep, what she said. also, the toe and tail nip is not something that should happen if you check on your dargon at least once a month (tho you should at least once a day). should a shed not come off and your dragon continue to grow for a long period of time then you will have a problem.
laurie
Retired Moderator
I havr raised dragons many years before I bought my first chameleon. If plenty of food is available to baby dragons, 99 out of 100 you should not see toe or tail nips. That seems, IMHO to happen when not enought food is provided or it is not offered often enough. Maybe I have just been lucky, who knows.
Now on shed, I love watching my dragons swin. I always stay with them when one is soaking/swimming, but the water is always so deep they have to swim. I think the extra moving is good for them. Sadly it usually means they have a call of nature in the water. (how was that for polite?) As soon as I take the dragon out I will take my finger nail, what little I have, and make sure all feet, toes and nails are completely shed. Sometimes I have even had to clean shed off a head. If you are gentle the dragon doesn't seen to get too upset.
I also do something else different with my dragons, they live on the cheap carpet I purchase ar home depot. Not the crap that looks like grass and is scratchy but the cheap low pile indoor/outdoor stuff off the big rolls. I keep several for each tank so I can do daily clean up then change the carpet every 4 or 5 days. I put the thing that stops my car in the garage on one end of the carpet and hit it with the power washer. Alonther carpet ready to use. Nothing they can eat, or ingest by accident to cause problems & you can easily catch any uneaten crickets, so they are not in the tank to bite the dragons while they sleep. It seems to work for me.
dondeb562
New Member
I totally agree with you on the nipping thing. The thing is most come from a place where a mass amount are housed together with not enough food, so I do totally agree with you Laurie. I have seen my share of pet stores who have a bunch together and they have bloody toes or tails. I was just suggesting in siz's case of seeing them in shops with toes and tail tips missing odds are that what it is from not a shedding issue.
jojackson
New Member
Overcrowded beardy young will bite off toes and tailtips yes, but issues with constrictive failed shed in those areas comes in at no2.
Nobody said so.
P.vitticept inland bearded dragons, the most common beardy found in the Us, comes from a drier climate yes, but they still require atleast 40% humidity.
Please bare in mind heating in an enclosed (non screen) cage with contribute to lower humidity without sufficient water/evaporation.
much lower than 40% is too dry.
They are not a desert animal.
Nobody said so.
P.vitticept inland bearded dragons, the most common beardy found in the Us, comes from a drier climate yes, but they still require atleast 40% humidity.
Please bare in mind heating in an enclosed (non screen) cage with contribute to lower humidity without sufficient water/evaporation.
much lower than 40% is too dry.
They are not a desert animal.
Vegas Chad
Avid Member
but they still require atleast 40% humidity. much lower than 40% is too dry.They are not a desert animal.
I disagree with this. Darci and I, along with many breeders, and countless keepers that we know not only keep them with less than 40% but also outdoors in desert climates like Vegas, Az, NM, and parts of SoCal. 40% humidity for long would cause UR issues IMOP. But hey, if it works for you then have at it, but its something that I would not recommend.
jojackson
New Member
OK. Must be millions of wild beardys suffering respitory issues in Australia Mate!
If you keep an animal in climatic/enviromental conditions other than is found in their natural range, and they still do ok, does not indicate such conditions are ideal, merely that the animal in question is tolerant of variation. Beardys are a tough lizard and their range does vary, but not much of P.vitticepts range would fall below 40% anywhere. Closer towards the coast where ranges overlap with p.barbata they tolerate closer to 50% and higher in warmer months.
Cheers
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reptilemancan
New Member
OK. Must be millions of wild beardys suffering respitory issues in Australia Mate!
If you keep an animal in climatic/enviromental conditions other than is found in their natural range, and they still do ok, does not indicate such conditions are ideal, merely that the animal in question is tolerant of variation. Beardys are a tough lizard and their range does vary, but not much of P.vitticepts range would fall below 40% anywhere. Closer towards the coast where ranges overlap with p.barbata they tolerate closer to 50% and higher in warmer months.
Cheers
so what hymidity should it be at?
dondeb562
New Member
I know there must be tons of info out there when doing a search, I know I did one when this came up. From what I have read 35-40 is acceptable but no higher. I am not trying to argue the topic at all, but I was very curious on this topic since I have purchased most of my dragons from very reputable breeders which do say keep humidity levels low on them and practice this themselves. So the search i did come up with 35% being best but not over 40%.
jojackson
New Member
For the most part low to mid 40's is about average. The tendency to reccomend against higher is sound because you want to avoid RI and other issues associated higher than acceptable humidity, particularly in a sick animal which will be immune compromised and therefore more prone to developing these issues.
reptilemancan
New Member
For the most part low to mid 40's is about average. The tendency to reccomend against higher is sound because you want to avoid RI and other issues associated higher than acceptable humidity, particularly in a sick animal which will be immune compromised and therefore more prone to developing these issues.
ok thanks guys, i have moved the water bowl over the heat mat and the humidity is up and he has got it all off!!! thanks god!!
cheers guys!
