HHLL38
New Member
Hey everyone,
My sub-adult male Jackson's is going through his first shed in my care.
His behavior seems normal, albeit a little restless, so I've been keeping a pretty close eye on him. I've increased misting frequencies and was gently petting him last night on the side that he was shedding more heavily on. When I pet the side of him that he was shedding on, he did not shy away or act in any way that this behavior was bothering him and in fact would close his eyes briefly. However, when I would pet his non-shedding side he would act his typical slightly suspicious self. I used a product made by Zilla (which I've read this morning perhaps is not the greatest company) called Tropical mist that has aloe vera gel, vitamins B1 and B3, an emollient and water on him last night in an attempt to help his shedding. Not really thinking too much of it then it did seem to help with his skin.
Fast-forward 12 hours and his shed is coming along nicely. He is gaping is mouth every so often which I've read is an attempt on his part to crack and remove some of the dried skin from his face, which is shedding heavily. He drank very heavily this morning and for the first time defecated in my view. Having never saw him or my Veiled defecate before, I was unaware as what to expect. At first I thought he was pooping and was in shock and horror at the red protrusion coming from his body. It then dawned on me that he was urinating and that was presumably his penis. Fascinating thing to watch, if you ever catch it. His urate came out fine, but was surrounded by some type of gel. In looking up more on the topic, it seems that a semen plug could be possible. But upon further inspection the discharge is not the same white colour of the urate, but rather a clear almost egg white looking substance.
My two current theories (which I'd greatly appreciate your input on) are the following:
1) Something is drastically wrong with my chameleon and I haven't the slightest clue what it is.
2) When spraying him last night with the Tropical Mist he ingested some and has passed it through his system. The discharge looks suspiciously like aloe vera gel were it just slightly more runny.
Thoughts/opinions?
Needless to say, I will not be using the mist any further and will stick to using warm water, more frequently during subsequent sheds.
My sub-adult male Jackson's is going through his first shed in my care.
His behavior seems normal, albeit a little restless, so I've been keeping a pretty close eye on him. I've increased misting frequencies and was gently petting him last night on the side that he was shedding more heavily on. When I pet the side of him that he was shedding on, he did not shy away or act in any way that this behavior was bothering him and in fact would close his eyes briefly. However, when I would pet his non-shedding side he would act his typical slightly suspicious self. I used a product made by Zilla (which I've read this morning perhaps is not the greatest company) called Tropical mist that has aloe vera gel, vitamins B1 and B3, an emollient and water on him last night in an attempt to help his shedding. Not really thinking too much of it then it did seem to help with his skin.
Fast-forward 12 hours and his shed is coming along nicely. He is gaping is mouth every so often which I've read is an attempt on his part to crack and remove some of the dried skin from his face, which is shedding heavily. He drank very heavily this morning and for the first time defecated in my view. Having never saw him or my Veiled defecate before, I was unaware as what to expect. At first I thought he was pooping and was in shock and horror at the red protrusion coming from his body. It then dawned on me that he was urinating and that was presumably his penis. Fascinating thing to watch, if you ever catch it. His urate came out fine, but was surrounded by some type of gel. In looking up more on the topic, it seems that a semen plug could be possible. But upon further inspection the discharge is not the same white colour of the urate, but rather a clear almost egg white looking substance.
My two current theories (which I'd greatly appreciate your input on) are the following:
1) Something is drastically wrong with my chameleon and I haven't the slightest clue what it is.
2) When spraying him last night with the Tropical Mist he ingested some and has passed it through his system. The discharge looks suspiciously like aloe vera gel were it just slightly more runny.
Thoughts/opinions?
Needless to say, I will not be using the mist any further and will stick to using warm water, more frequently during subsequent sheds.