Retained shed causing tail to be highly constricted

[SmithSe]

Hi all! I very recently received several 3 month old panther chameleons, and the breeder on Fauna (who shall remain unnamed) was kind enough to throw in a free unrelated female ambilobe with the two males I purchased. They arrived in excellent condition, with the exception of the female. She has a highly constricted retained shed that is in several pieces at the tip of her tail (as pictured), but is otherwise very healthy and eats like a champ. It's evident to me that this has been a longstanding issue, as you can see how much her tail has grown around these retained shed pieces. The tissue between the pieces of shed appears to have maintained normal coloration and doesn't look necrotic. I've already tried soaking her tail in warm water, mineral oil, and tweezing the pieces off, but she's having none of it. I have a vet appointment scheduled for this Tuesday (earliest I could get), but I'm guessing they're either going to anesthetize her and remove the retained shed, or potentially amputate the end of the tail. I was just curious if anyone has ever dealt with something similar to this extent, and if there's anything else you might suggest for treatment to save the tail. I appreciate the help!

 

[JacksJill]

If she didn't like that she won't like this but you can try using a damp Qtip to coax the pieces of shed off. This is one of the rare cases I would try to do this.
One other possibility is that these could be scars from episodes of tail biting. Juveniles in over crowded conditions will end up biting each others tails. The scar tissue if that's what it is may always have shedding issues or eventually be fine.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

You definitely need to get that shed off! The chameleon is at risk of losing part of its tail!

 

[jannb]

Put some baby oil on it. I know you are not suppose to do this but I did it several times before I knew you weren’t suppose to do it and it works great.

 

[Darthroastcoffee]

I always use all natural coconut oil or pure extra verging olive oil works well and all natural. Just don’t over do it do it 2 times a day on the bad shed usually will loosen up in a day or 2 after that

 

[SmithSe]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I truly appreciate it! I'd like to do all I can for her before the vet appointment, so I'll try a few of the methods ya'll advised and let you know how they work out!

 

[nick barta]

Another method is to get a small knitting needle at Joanns' fabric, hook under the skin, it will break easily. This also works well with hornworms who can'r seem to shed the skin on their but.

CHEERS!

Nick

 

[Remkon]

looks to me the tail is already thinner under the shedding, I'm pretty sure the tail will die from there on down and fall off...
Hope I'm wrong, fingers crossed.