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My panther has been having trouble spots but I have done a lot tthat I thought would work. Like put him in the shower for 30 min, and it has also been raining here almost every day for at least an hour and has been very humid, so I thought this would take care of it. He is still having problems and I know a couple spots the cells might have died from the dead skin staying there but I read something about mineral oil. Where can I get this and how to apply and how often and all that good stuff. Thanks a lot!

Justin,

You can help the shed along. I did this with my leaf chams so it will be much easier on a big guy! I used forceps to gently pull loose pieces off. Some were easier than others and I did not force anything that didn't want to come. I would spritz the area with warm water, let it soak in for a minute then remove. The worst was around the eyes. I had two shedding at once and Bart's eye shed hung on for days! But with steady hands and some experience with this sort of "surgery" I was successful.

The ones I worry about most is on the feet. I opted for Jojoba oil, which is plant based, rather than mineral oil, which is petroleum based. You should be able to get jojoba (ho-ho-ba) at a natural food store or you can order it online. Be sure to get the straight oil with NOTHING in it. It is actually a wax but at room temp is in a fluid form and is great for us, too! Not greasy and absorbs right into the skin. Boston Jojoba Co. is the best - see link below.

I have been using it on one of my girls' foot that has a ring of shed that never fell off so I have been keeping it supple so that it doesn't strangle her foot as she grows. I am sure it will come off in the next molt. I use a small paint brush to apply daily

I would NOT suggest using any oil near the face, especially the eyes! Hope this helps you out

lele

>>My panther has been having trouble spots but I have done a lot tthat I thought would work. Like put him in the shower for 30 min, and it has also been raining here almost every day for at least an hour and has been very humid, so I thought this would take care of it. He is still having problems and I know a couple spots the cells might have died from the dead skin staying there but I read something about mineral oil. Where can I get this and how to apply and how often and all that good stuff. Thanks a lot!
Boston Jojoba Company

I know its a bit late for a response, but i thought my suggestion might just help your problem. A rather easy and pretty cheap way to deal with your shedding problem is by using a product called "shed Away" by Nature zone. Initially i thought this product doesn't work properly, but after about three days of applying on my cham, the skin starts to peel of by it self. Its a great product! It worked on my Dwarf jacksons, and dwarf jacksons have much more shedding problems than other chameleons.Its pretty cheap too, like about 4 bucks i think. You can get it onlien at lllreptile.com. good luck and let us know the progress!(if you havnet already solve the problem!)

I looked on the site but there is no additional info - like ingredients. Can you give a rundown from the bottle? Often this sort of stuff is something the keeper is already doing or could be doing - and possibly with less chemicals.

lele

>>I know its a bit late for a response, but i thought my suggestion might just help your problem. A rather easy and pretty cheap way to deal with your shedding problem is by using a product called "shed Away" by Nature zone. Initially i thought this product doesn't work properly, but after about three days of applying on my cham, the skin starts to peel of by it self. Its a great product! It worked on my Dwarf jacksons, and dwarf jacksons have much more shedding problems than other chameleons.Its pretty cheap too, like about 4 bucks i think. You can get it onlien at lllreptile.com. good luck and let us know the progress!(if you havnet already solve the problem!)

The ingredients of "shed away" by Nature Zone:

Water, glycerin, Aloe vera,propylene, glycol, dimethecone
Benzalkonium chloride.

It is non toxic, moistens, softens and illubricates skin.
What do you think?

personally? I'll stick with water or jojoba oil. Here are some links to the last 4 ingredients. Go down to toxicity for each one. Even if only in minimal amounts I would not want to put anything "foreign" on my cham (or any of my other critters). As for the Aloe Vera, which is great stuff, I am sure it is so small an amount to have little effect (is a skin emollient, healer, etc.)

Water is the main ingredient (listed first) so why mess with the rest. I don't mean to bash their product, I'm not, but you asked what I thought I know people are varied on chemical/synthetic/natural issues, but my approach is that we (any living organisms on earth) take in so many foreign substances beyond our control so why take in more when we DO have some control? Again, just my personal take

lele

http://www.safe2use.com/poisons-pesticides/pesticides/misc/dimethicone.html

http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/ET/ethylene_glycol.html

http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/BE/benzalkonium_chloride.html

http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/PR/propylene_oxide.html

>>The ingredients of "shed away" by Nature Zone:
>>
>> Water, glycerin, Aloe vera,propylene, glycol, dimethecone
>> Benzalkonium chloride.
>>
>>It is non toxic, moistens, softens and illubricates skin.
>>What do you think?