Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it normal for A capra to spot shed? Iggie's back and feet and most of his tail (small portion at the base not shed yet) shed about 2-3 weeks ago. Now his face is starting, and there has been no hint of any shed on his belly yet. Is it normal for a shed to spread out over a long period of time?

The only comparision I have is an Anole which sheds her whole body in a matter of a couple days. I figure since the capra is a bigger size it would take longer, but the gap in time seems a little odd.

The terrarium humidity had consistantly been in the 90's up till the last few days. Now that the temps are getting warmer, I'm struggling to keep the humidity in the low 70's, there is a pond with waterfall in the tank and plenty of plants so I'm real dissappointed the humidity has dropped so low. The tank is also sprayed 2X a day. The tank temp is starting to climb also, high of about 82-84 at the top and mid 70's at the bottom (was high of 80 at top and mid to high 70's at the bottom). Looks like I'm going to need to get a fan set up going before we get to summer. I tell you all of this, but not certain it makes a difference to the length of time for shed since there was no flucation when his back started to shed a couple of weeks ago up to a couple of days ago.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Linda ö¿ö

It is quite normal for MHDs to shed a section at a time over a period of time. Lack of humidity would result in small shed tags hanging on in tiny spots and it doesn't sound like that is what is going on with iggy. It seems that the head, the back and stomach, and the limbs all shed as sections. Just when you think the shed is done another section starts.

With the temps you are describing it would be wise to set up a fan. If one in the room doesn't do the trick then you may want to check into getting a computer fan at radio shack and set it up to exchange the tank air. That may mess with your humidity a little more but watering the substrate often enough to prevent it from drying out should conteract the drying effects of the fan.

Hope you can solve the temp/humidity but you don't need to worry about the shed as it sounds mornal.

Marcia

Thanks for the quick answer Marcia, I figured the shedding was normal but am real glad to have it confirmed.

I hope to play around with some different things this week end to adjust the humidity in his tank. I can't believe with all the water from the pond in there that such a drastic drop happened so fast. I will try the fan on the outside first, but have also considered that I may need to hit radio shack. I give him a good shower in the AM and hubby gives him a shower early evening so I'm not worried that he is going to dehydrate. I'm also thinking about a fog maker as another option.

Gee, I just deceided Iggie has better living space than I do LOL

Well, thanks again and by the time he's fully shed it will be time to start again. LOL

Linda ö¿ö