I'm new -- just registered last week & now I have a problem. I've ben keeping Mali Uros, Bearded Dragons, Cuban Anoles, Green Iguanas, etc for almost 13 years now. One of the first uros I got, Mr. Petey, is now approximately 8-9 yrs old. I'm disabled, at home all day and so all of my "babies" get tons of attention from me and are all very tame and docile.

I just got Mr. Petey out of his cage for some special attention, as I do with the
all at times during the day. When I picked him up I noticed a fairly large piece of very dry skin hanging below the vent area and down below the base of his tail. Now b4 I go any farther, let me say that I know bettet than to pull skin off a lizard when they're molting but if the skin is very dry and is in the process of falling off, my vet (and other experts) have told me its OK to just pull the dry hanging part off as long as u don't pull it too far so as to get into the edges of skin that aren't ready to come off yet, as it can b wet and cause irritations or infections if u do that. I do NOT ever "peel" my lizards as I saw someone do this once & the poor thing walked with his back totally arched up so his belly wouldn't touch the ground. It was horrible. Anyhoo, the skin on Petey was extremely dry & I began to pull off the parts that were hanging down between his hind legs and tail. I've never in 13 years had a problem doing this till now. Somehow when the skin came off, it completely pulled one of his femoral pores out. They are all very large and waxy right now and protrude a little farther than they normally seem to. This of course left a huge hole which had been previously filled with the waxy substance or whatever's in there. I thought it was OK until I put him down to walk which looked pretty normal but he did arch his back very slightly when he turned to come back to me. I picked him up and examined the area again & thats when I noticed there was a little blood right where the hole is. I feel terrible!!! Nothing like this has ever happened b4 and I checked the skin that came off and it was very dry, ready to fall off anyway and showed no sighn of anything like this happening. I cleaned the area really well with lukewarm water. By then there was no more blood. Then I applied topical Tritops (neomycin sulfate) which my vet gives me to keep on hand for any scrapes or abrasions any of them might get into. I didn't want to put him back in the cage where sand would stick all over it so he's now resting with me in bed. I'm in bed 75% of the day, more on weekends, and I have rigged an iron/wood stand on the right side of bed, next to wall, where I have a heat lamp and a UV lamp hanging down so that when they're up here with me they can still get the needed light and heat. They have a long pillow which several of them can lay on & still get light/heat. So thats where Petey is right now.

I'm sorry this is so long but I wanted ya'll to understand I do not mistreat my lizards by peeling them and that I love them very much and take care of them properly. This was an accident and I dont no what to do. I hope I've done the right thing already but am not sure. Could someone out there give me any suggestions or help as I feel very guilty rite now and I just want my Petey to b OK!! Thanks a bunch from a newbie!

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