Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 11-yr old son has had a Water Dragon ("Hopper" for about 1 year now, so I believe it is probably 1.5 years old. Maybe 15" long total? Anyway, he(?) is healthy, eating well etc. Hopper lives in a 100 gallon mesh reptarium that has plastic sheet over the top, back and both sides. We have a humidifier blowing into one end and the humidity hovers around 65% most of the time. The usual basking lamps, swimming pool, etc...

Recently he shed his skin, and now his tail has indented rings along the length of it - which my son thinks is dead skin that didn't come off and is now constricting the outward growth of the tail. There are about 10 of these rings along the length of the tail. I look closely but can't really see anything different at the center of these indents. But he's right, that is the impression it gives when looking at it. He is fairly upset about it, and we'd need to drive to another city to find a herp vet - so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I've never seen that happen, is the skin a different color where the rings are? Usually when my guys were shedding the skin would be pinkish-grey. You could try soaking him in warm water and gently scrubbing with a toothbrush. My other thought is that he is just skinny, maybe from growing, and his bones are showing in his tail. If he is eating well that may not be it. Does he have a UVB light?
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Thanks for the response.
His skin was a tan color as it was shedding, and there is no evidence of this in the rings on the tail. The tail is dark green/light green banded - same as it has always been. It is a good thought regarding it being just the bones showing through as he grows. He is on the skinny side, although he continues to eat 6 - 8 mealworms or wax worms each day, along with crickets occasionally. We dust them with that white powder before feeding him, and we also have some sort of vitamin drops we put in his water bowl. We see him drinking regularly from that as well. Sorry for my ignorance on the specifics - my son is the expert, and reads about all the right things to do. We do not have a UVB light, and from what I've read there is conflicting evidence regarding how much the reps can absorb from them anyway. We do get him outdoors quite a bit when it's warm and sunny.
We'll keep an eye on it and come back to this forum if it looks like it is getting worse. Hopper certainly doesn't seem bothered by it at this point! Thanks again.

He is big enough to be eating mice, if he is thin that might help. Adult dragons don't tend to eat crickets and small bugs anymore because they are too small. Without UVB lighting he may develop metabolic bone disorder, which would make his bones show up more, which is why I asked.
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