Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all.

I received a rescued wild caught AZ Chuckwalla female a little while ago, and I need some tips on getting her weight up and removing what seems to be at least two layers of stuck shed.

Little background:

She is really small, maybe 8" nose to tail and she is really skinny. Her poor little tail is just about the saddest, boniest, skinniest thing I've ever seen! She was kept for about two years with no UVB because "she was in a tank by a window". She was only fed romaine sporadically dusted with calcium. I am surprised she lived this long!

Anyway, she's now eating mixed greens with grated squash and carrot. Parsley and the occasional fruit are also mixed in. She is more alert and seems a little stronger since I got her about a month ago. I figured her growth is probably stunted, but maybe she should have gained some weight by now?

She's a sweetheart, and my wife and I really want to help her out. Any help would be appreciated!

PS

I also got a beautiful baby Chuck over the weekend - pics to follow!

Thanks,
-----
Diego

Diego & Tiffany's Zoo:
SNAKES
4.3.0 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.1.0 Everglades Rat Snakes
1.0.0 Baird's Rat Snake
0.1.0 Trans-Pecos Rat Snake
0.1.0 Amel Pacific Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Het Amel San Diego Gopher Snake
2.0.0 Sonoran Gopher Snake
0.1.0 Amel Sonoran Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
2.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (River Road)
0.1.1 California Kingsnakes
0.1.0 Thayeri Kingsnake
0.0.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
1.1.0 Rosy Boas (Mexican & Mid Baja)
1.1.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
0.1.0 Indonesian Dwarf Pacific Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
1.2.0 Ball Pythons
1.0.0 Woma Python
1.1.0 Cape York Spotted Pythons
1.1.0 Macklot's Pythons
0.0.1 Ribbon Snake
1.0.0 Western Hognose
1.0.0 Yellowtail Cribo
0.1.0 Blacktail Cribo
0.0.2 Northern Ringnecks

LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
1.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.1 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
1.1.0 Chuckwalla
0.1.0 Banded Gecko
FROGS
2.2.0 Southern Bell Frogs
1.0.1 Green Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Striped Walking Frogs
1.1.1 White's Tree Frogs

I've noticed in a lot of lizards that stuck sheds will lead to decreased appetite. I'd set her up in a tank with some warm water that won't be deeper than the top of her nose, if she's laying down (very shallow or you can go deeper if you watch her to make sure she keeps her nose up). Get her back wet and let her soak for 15-20 minutes, the skin that is ready to come off should peel off easily after this.

Do you have a scale? Sometimes weight gains / losses can be difficult to detect visually. If she'll take them, I'd go heavy on the higher calorie foods like squash. Eve's chucks really like bannanas which would also be a good source of calories. Mine like fresh figs which are also good, if you can get them. Some chucks will also take insects such as mealworms and waxworms. These seem to pack on the weight fast.

The fact that she's eating is a really good sign, it sounds like you got her just in time. I hope she pulls through for you.

-Alice

Well, I went ahead and soaked her for about 20 minutes today and it only loosened up a clump of skin around her knee. The rest seems to have fused onto her. Also, some of the stuck shed on her face was coming off along with the scales underneath. Quit messing with that real quick.

Should I just soak her weekly and let it come off on it's own, or is that too much stress for her?
-----
Diego

Diego & Tiffany's Zoo:
SNAKES
4.3.0 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.1.0 Everglades Rat Snakes
1.0.0 Baird's Rat Snake
0.1.0 Trans-Pecos Rat Snake
0.1.0 Amel Pacific Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Het Amel San Diego Gopher Snake
1.1.0 Sonoran Gopher Snake
0.1.0 Amel Sonoran Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
2.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (River Road)
0.1.1 California Kingsnakes
0.1.0 Thayeri Kingsnake
0.0.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
1.1.0 Rosy Boas (Mexican & Mid Baja)
1.1.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
0.1.0 Indonesian Dwarf Pacific Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
1.2.0 Ball Pythons
1.0.0 Woma Python
1.1.0 Cape York Spotted Pythons
1.1.0 Macklot's Pythons
1.0.0 Western Hognose
1.0.0 Yellowtail Cribo
0.1.0 Blacktail Cribo

LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.3.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.1 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
1.1.0 Chuckwalla
0.1.0 Banded Gecko

FROGS
2.2.0 Southern Bell Frogs
1.0.1 Green Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Striped Walking Frogs
1.1.1 White's Tree Frogs

If the soaks seem to stress her out to the point where she stops eating, then I'd let her be and see if the situation will resolve itself with her next shed.

If she tolerated the soak and is still eating well, continueing with weekly soaks might be the way to go to see if you could get more to loosen up.

Getting a scale would also be a good move. This way you could see if she is actually gaining weight. If she's gaining weight between soaks and you're making progress with the skin, then they are probably doing more good than harm, if she's losing or just holding steady it might be best to hold off on them for awhile.

If you are able to post pictures, we might be able to get a better idea of what's going on with her skin etc.

Good luck,
Alice

Thanks so much Alice. She didn't eat as much today, but she does that every few days. If she eats normal tomorrow, I'll take it as a good sign. I will try to take and post pics over the weekend.
-----
Diego

Diego & Tiffany's Zoo:
SNAKES
4.3.0 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.1.0 Everglades Rat Snakes
1.0.0 Baird's Rat Snake
0.1.0 Trans-Pecos Rat Snake
0.1.0 Amel Pacific Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Het Amel San Diego Gopher Snake
1.1.0 Sonoran Gopher Snake
0.1.0 Amel Sonoran Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
2.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (River Road)
0.1.1 California Kingsnakes
0.1.0 Thayeri Kingsnake
0.0.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
1.1.0 Rosy Boas (Mexican & Mid Baja)
1.1.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
0.1.0 Indonesian Dwarf Pacific Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
1.2.0 Ball Pythons
1.0.0 Woma Python
1.1.0 Cape York Spotted Pythons
1.1.0 Macklot's Pythons
1.0.0 Western Hognose
1.0.0 Yellowtail Cribo
0.1.0 Blacktail Cribo

LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.3.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.1 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
1.1.0 Chuckwalla
0.1.0 Banded Gecko

FROGS
2.2.0 Southern Bell Frogs
1.0.1 Green Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Striped Walking Frogs
1.1.1 White's Tree Frogs