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elchupaneebrae
05-04-2005, 11:27 PM
hi, yet another elchupaneebrae problem....thats right another, the problem seems to be that on the joints of most of his toes, while shedding, somehow have cuts on them, and i think if the problem persists, he might not be able to count to twenty on his toes anymore(he could lose some toes) if anyone has experiennced anything similar, or could help me outm it'd be real nice
thanks - Chris

Bashful
05-05-2005, 06:16 PM
When shedding the toes are one of the trouble spots. Use a bit of olive oil or mineral oil and rub at these spots. They should work loose if you keep working at them, but it may take several days to work it all off. Use triple antibiotic, but not the pain relief type, on the current wounds and keep it's enclosure really clean.

Linda

drfish
05-06-2005, 10:29 AM
Do you also allow the Tegu to soak while shedding.

May be an idea to fill a shallow bowl or something and stick him in there for a while.

Junior
05-06-2005, 08:18 PM
I agree, I understand that some Tegus do not like the water much. But, it has aided so much in Ladys shedding. Previous sheddings took about three to four days to come completely off (that includes the tail). I have made her bath a regular when she is outside of her enclosure. This has reduced the sheding time to two days tops. This last shedding came off in a complete sheet like a snake rather than in pieces.

tegu_girl0
05-06-2005, 08:50 PM
i use my bath tub and fill it with just enough warm water (up to gonzos sholders) and leve him it it for 15-20 min.

the tub is better cus they can walk around and still be in the warm water

charlene
05-07-2005, 03:49 PM
I had the exact same problem when I first got my argentine. Your best option would be soaking him daily in a container big enough for him to run around a little. The water doesn't need to be deep, just enough to cover his toes. If the shed is ready to come of then try you can try yo help a little and save his toes. The problems with removing shed manually is when people remove it before it is ready to come off, since this shed is retained from previous sheds then its ready and you can ever so gently try to remove it. After a good soaking it should peel right off.

As for the olive oil, i'm not going to say not to use it because I know many keepers do but I will tell you what my vet said about it. If there are open sores liyour tegus toes where the skin is tight then it increases chance for infection, he gave me a good reason for it but I can't remember (I was to busy fuming over the $70 I just spent for him to tell me just to soak my tegu...I knew that lol). It can also cause problems the next time the lizard goes to shed if it is not rinsed off properly. There is a product out there that I definitley recommend though. Its called shed-aid and you can get it from most petstores. It worked great.

Now, did your tegu have this shedding problem when you got him or has it arisen more recently. If it started recently you may want to reconsider your substrate and tanks humidity to prevent the problem in the future. Good luck with your tegu and don't worry if he loses a couple toes. When I got mine most of the toes on the front feet were already beyond repair (i.e hanging on by a thread) and even with them gone now he gets around wonderfully and it really doesn't look all that bad like I thought he would.

Charlene