Stuck Shed

:strawberry: ras :strawberry: 12/11/20

Hello! Welcome back to another Animal Advice Team post! This time, the theme was shedding (in any animal).

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Table Of Contents

i. What is Stuck Shed?

ii. How to Remove Stuck Shed

iii. How to Prevent Stuck Shed

iv. Species That Most Commonly Have Stuck Shed

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What Is Stuck Shed?

Stuck shed is the result of a reptile being unable to fully remove it's shed. it is commonly found on eyecaps, toes, limbs, and tail tips of reptiles.

Stuck shed is mainly caused by inadequate humidity levels. The enclosure needs to be humid, or have a humid hide to assist with the reptile in it's shedding phase.

Unefortanetly, having stuck shed on a reptile for too long can result in the loss of limbs, toes, and tail tips. This is caused by blood flow and circulation being cut off from the toe or limb for extended periods of time.

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How Do To Remove Stuck Shed

Soak your reptile in lukewarm water. The water level should be low enough that the reptile's neck and head are not submerged. You can also use a bunch of damp paper towels in a little bin, as that will be this enough to help. This step will help loosen the shed without ripping or tearing away at the stuck shed right off the bat.

After, use a q-tip to gently remove the stuck shed, being careful to not rip off scales or toes.

Be careful and very gentle during this process. You do not want to risk hurting your pet, tearing of scales, toes, and tail tips.

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How To Prevent Stuck Shed

Prevent stuck shed by making sure humidity levels are always on point before the shed. If the tank has coconut fibre or moss bedding, bump up the humidity slightly more by misting the enclosure. For enclosures that have dry substrate that can create mold, add a humid hide.

Moist hides are hides stuffed with moss or paper towel that is sprayed down frequently to have higher humidity in that specific area. Humidity hides definetly aid in having a perfect shed, are cheap, and can easily be made as a DIY.

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Species That Are Commonly Found With Stuck Shed

Ball pythons. Ball pythons are a very common snake to keep, if not the most common. They are widely reccomended to beginners. Ball pythons can commonly be impulse bought at petstores because of their pretty colour and pattern variations. This also causes rushed research (if any at all), and misinformation about enclosure needs from pet store employees.

Bearded dragons. These lizards are found all over, and are on high demand. As this demand rises, so does the amount of misinformation. Multiple components of their care can be left out in guides, which results in neglect and stuck shed, even if it isn't intentional. Many rescues receive multiple bearded dragons with stuck shed every week. Some owners find managing the humidity hard during shed because their enclosures are normally so dry.