I believe my dragon is shedding, but I want to make absolutely sure. He is a Chinese water dragon, and the top of his skin is flaky, but it's not coming off. The flaky area is somewhat brown, and is obviously coming off, but very slowly. He has been looking this way for about 2 weeks or so. He has gotten bigger since I got him, but this is the first time I have ever seen his skin do this, and I have had him for months without problems.
Some more background on the little guy....
He has a a lot of basking area with very warm temps (in the 90's). He has a ground temp of about 80-85. The other side of the tank is in the 70's or so. I mist him quite a bit throughout the day so his humidity should be good. He has a nice large pool to swim in, with filtration. I have reptile carpet as his substrate. He eats mostly superworms and crickets. I bought reptocal suppliment to coat his food in.
2007-03-20 18:25:22 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Reptiles
Lizardman - he is indeed in a tank. He's in a 55-gallon right now since he is still somewhat small.
2007-03-21 03:12:13 · update #1
a water dragon as with any lizard, has skin that does not grow. the animal will grow to a certain point and literally be too big for it's skin. then it will shed off the old skin and have new loose skin underneath. some reptiles like snakes do it quickly and in one piece. others esp. water reptiles shed more slowly. you sound like you are taking very good care of him. if you are really worried, call your vet.
2007-03-20 18:37:25 · answer #1 · answered by googleplex 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
Water Dragon Shedding?
I believe my dragon is shedding, but I want to make absolutely sure. He is a Chinese water dragon, and the top of his skin is flaky, but it's not coming off. The flaky area is somewhat brown, and is obviously coming off, but very slowly. He has been looking this way for about 2 weeks or so. ...
2015-08-08 06:24:27 · answer #2 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you need to check his humiduty it should be 80% this will greatly affect how easily he sheds. his shedding period should last not much longer than a week. does he like to play in the water if so this will also help to loosen the skin up. is the pool you have for him heated from the under side? this will help with humidity also kind of like the old days when people used to put a pan of water on the stove. is he in a tank or a cage? tanks are much easier to control the humidity in I keep a wire mesh cover on my 60g tank with a towel covering it and i roll a bit of it up to keep humidity at 80%. I have mentioned 80% a few times that is how important it is to keep it there. everything else sounds great. keep an eye on trouble areas around toe's on his crest (spikes) and under his chin. if he cannot remove the skin naturaly try a wet washcloth with luke warm water it will help loosen it up. if your hand is steady and he will let you, remove the small pieces in the trouble areas. best to let him do his own shedding in all the other areas, as removing the skin before it has diconnected from the next layer can lead to sores and infections. if all the other skin has shed and he still has some on his toes it is ok to remove it.
2007-03-20 21:41:01 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
My baby water dragon is doing the same thing. It is shedding(as far as I know) and it is normal. His skin will flake off little by little and underneath he is really green. He's about 8 inches(about, cuz he's really small). My tank has a few spots for basking and a pool of water, and I mist a few times daily.
Sounds like we're both doing the same thing(about) and if we're getting the same results we must be doing something right >.< lol
2007-03-21 02:57:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I know sometimes snakes will not eat when they are shedding. not sure about water dragons but you never wanna "help" by pulling shedding skin off. their skin underneath may not be ready to be exposed yet. its kind of like pulling a scab off your skin. sometimes you pull too much and u pull off un-scabbed skin. kinda hurts and makes a bigger wound. it will come off. try a humidity box in the cage and make sure the humidity is high enough for them also. he will shed when he needs to. if ur still real concerned you could try helping by rolling over the shed with a q-tip. or contact your vet....
2016-03-20 01:35:33 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it sounds like he is shedding, it's no big deal. if he's tame and likes to be handled, you can go in there and gently scratch at the flaking scales - they'll fall off.
i used to have iguanas, and i'd sit there for hours picking their loose skin off, they'd love it. Just be careful not to pull too hard, and if it doesn't feel loose enough and doesn't want to come off, don't force it.
give your water dragon extra soaks in warm water, and make sure humidity is pretty high for a little bit.
2007-03-20 18:37:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋