Shedding in sections?

[Revler]

My two year old male Panthar has started to shed in sections the past two times. I was concerned the first time as it started with his feet and tail and proceeded to his body but he never seemed to shed the area surrounding the crown of his head. My vet said it was probably humidity related as it was the beginning of the summer and we were running our AC more. She said even though the cage has it's own temp/humidity regulation controls + regular mistings from me it now had to fight the AC drying out the air more. So I pumped up the mistings and let the odd shedding slide. But, NOW he's shedding his head and feet two monthes later but not his body. I am so confused. My humidity is at 88%! What is going on. My vet perscribed a water soluable vitamin E spray but, this seems to make him mad?!?! I've gone back to spraying him with just water but, it's been three days now and he hasn't completed his shed. The vet dosen't want me to move him till he's done with it so we don't stress him out any more than necessary so I can't bring him in right now. But, well.....okay maybe I'm stressing over nothing....but, he's my scaly baby has anyone heard of anything like this or have any suggestions? I'm stumped and frankly a little scared. Help?

 

[jannb]

I think this is normal for some chams. My veiled has shed in sections since about one year old and my daughter has a panther that does the same thing.
Jann

 

[PardalisGirl]

Not to worry!

This is very normal for older chameleons.....no need to stress out. Young chameleons shed frequently and do complete body sheds. After the first year the sheds become less frequent and they may start shedding in sections. Older chameleons like yours definitely shed much less often and will shed in sections. They are not growing anymore. Shedding of just the eyes, then the head, then maybe the feet, and on and on are very common. Older chameleons will go through a much longer pre-shed process too. Their skin will appear very dull or a bit flakey for up to a month before shedding. This is perfectly normal. Young chameleons are growing so fast they almost explode out of their old skin. Not so with your two year old. I would skip the special sprays. A healthy diet and healthy cage environment is all he needs. A daily or every other day shower during the shed process is good though. The process of wetting the dead skin and then having it dry off again helps naturally lift it away. Don't pull any skin off either (unless it is hanging). So...no need to stress out so much

 

[sandrachameleon]

I have two that shed in sections more often than all at once, and two that seem to shed everything all at once in mere seconds. They are all in the same room, living in essentially the same conditions: same sized enclosures, same humidty, same bulbs, same heat, same food. I used to worry about my partial shedders, giving them extra water, fussing about humidty, but it didnt change a thing. And its been a couple years now with them, without any other indication of anything wrong. last vet check was fine. I just keep an eye for any shed pieces that seem to hang on for more than two weeks. Otherwise I've kinda given up!
Very much looking forward to hearing suggestions from the forum.

S

 

[Cheeseball01]

My 8 month old veiled has been shedding in parts too. Fisrt his casque and i little patch on his back about a month ago. then nothing until 3 days and hes slowly been shedding everything else now. The only thing that hasnt started is his face and mouth area and his eye. Sure does seem like its taking forever though!

 

[tryme]

my veiled does it in sections to.

 

[BocaJan]

That is how my adult veild sheds. It doesn't matter how much I hydrate him either. My 7-8 month old females have started to do the same thing a bit. Legs and tail, then a week later head and body. I expect that at about a year they will be shedding totally in parts. I just make sure the part that is shedding gets cleaned off. I mis them frequently with warm water.

 

[Revler]

Thank you so much!! I appreciate all the support! I will continue to mist him regularly but, the impression I'm getting is that this is a normal thing for older chams. So.....I will take three deep breaths...I get over stressed just like my scaly babies sometimes.