Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

My ETB and GTP are both having trouble shedding. They're eating fine, but the shed is building up, especially on the emerald, whose whole back is almost black! I keep both of them in tanks on the porch, and here in FL it's about as close as the US can come to simulating these guys' natural conditions. The humidity consistently reads 80% and temp about 78-85. I can't figure out why they can't shed!

I have the open water bowl, and there are a wealth of different branches. The only thing I cannot do is add moss, since I'm fighting fungus gnats and they adore wet bedding. I'm thinking of buying the Repti-Shelter and filling it with wet paper towels everyday, anyone agree with that?

Can anyone offer any ideas on how to make their sheds more natural for them, and in the meantime how to help them with this tough one?

Thanks,
-Alex

Hi Alex,

Is this the Alex we got an animal from a while back?

Anyway, to answer your question, obviously the first thing you need to do is get more humidity in the cage. If they aren't shedding, it's not humid enough. You are going to have to figure out something to add humidity for at least a few hours a day, a misting system maybe? Even though ours are kept in a room open to the outside, we still run a hot and a cool air humidifier in the room for several hours every day.

What we have done in the past when we've had a problem shedder, usually a fresh WC, is get a good size container compared to the animals size, lay a towel that is dripping wet with warm water in the bottom, put the animal in, and lay a towel on top of the animal that is very damp, but not dripping, set the whole thing on top of some kind of heat (a heating pad on low is perfect) and let the animal sit for 15-20 minutes. Then take the animal out and with wet hands try to rub/peel the shed off a little bit at a time, dampening the animal with body temp water as it starts to dry out. You may need a helper depending on size of animal and how agitated it gets. You will probably have to repeat the whole thing several times, maybe even over several days from what you wrote. Just stop once the animal starts to get too agitated. In other words, when you start seeing lots of red liquid running down your hands and arms it's time to stop for the day. LOL

I'm a little worried about the black you mentioned. There could be necrosis underneath the old shed. Be very, very careful when working around that area. If so and if it's over a large area and/or deep, a vet visit is probably in order as the animal may need oral/injectable antibiotics. If it's a small area and not deep, then you can try putting Polysporin or Neosporin on it for a few days and watch it closely.
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Karen Clark
Gems of the Rainforest

Hi, alex. The problem that you are having, has absolutely nothing to do with " not enough humidity. " There are some physical anomolies that can cause a shedding problem, but nine out of ten times, it is "too much humidity and not enough air flow or circulation " or " the animal is dehydrated " and it is usually a combination of both.I have been working with Emeralds for 20yrs and right now have one of the largest collections in captivity. I learned things " the hard way " back in the early days and killed alot of these beautiful creatures, before I finally learned how to take care of them properly, by using good common sense and having a understanding of their enviroment. It would be a little easier to give you a more solid conclusion, if you could post a picture of this " outside set up " that you have. I have known a few people over the years down in Florida that have tried to set these animals up outside and lets just say; " The results never turned out to be what they wanted. " There is a reason for that; " They live primarily in the canopy and the canopy is a completely different enviroment from the ground and even mid-ground enviroment. " I have seen more people; " that swear to GOD, that their high humidity and higher heat set ups are working great and have for years. " Well, they are lucky and sooner or later, "it will bite them in the butt." So, what are good parameters? Give them an ambient temperature that alows them to be somewere in the mid seventies at all times and a hot spot " that they will seldom ever bask under " and keep the humidity in the 60% range " and if it is even a little lower at night, that is O.K. " and have good air circulation that can be provided by box fans or other types. Doing this will keep away respiratory and shedding problems and other ailments. Now, the exception to the " problem shedding rule. " Believe it or not, there are alot of Emeralds that will not drink out of a water bowl.Well, why should they? They drink from the rain that falls on them and the leaves and their surroundings and it is always fresh. In time, most will always start, but in the meantime they need to be submersed in water a couple of times a week for about four hours and make sure that your water is changed EVERY 48 HOURS. Now, if these animals of yours have been depositing urates, then the " process of elimination " should tell you that they are not dehydrated and that means they either have a physical anomolie causing the shedding problem or too much humidity. I GUARANTEE YOU it is way too much humidity and it will eventually cause their death, especially if these are wild caught emeralds and I assume that they are. People who use the " high humidity and hotter temperature regime, " are usually dealing with captive hatched or captive born emeralds and yes they are much more tolerant of " keeper ignorance. " Just because something seems O.K. though does not mean that it is truly as comfortable as it could be and with adult imports " their is no middle of the road " it is " the right way or the wrong way. " If these animals have only retained one or no more than two sheds, do what I have told you and they should shed out. If it is more than two sheds that have been retained, then you are probably " up the creek " and the stress of trying to pull all of that crap off of them will probably kill them. Good luck and if these do not make it, just do not make the same mistakes on the next one. Remember. " Canopy animals. " Remember, " The Canopy is breezy and cool and much less humid, MUCH LESS HUMID. " I never post around here, but I happened to be browsing today and seen your problem and I hope that I have helped at least a little. I can tell you these things, by the mistakes that I made in the beginning and my knowledge expanded through several visits to the Jungles of South America and seeing how the Canopy enviroment, really was. ....Good Luck ....John Johnson