Last years clutch of E multicarinata that I hatched was having some issues with proper shedding of the tail.
We have dry air up here in Redding.
My adult female sheds complete w/o a problem, this was only a problem with the young I am rearing.
I have moss around the water dish which I do mist, but when they shed, only one of them would ever do a complete shed, and that one didn't always do a complete shed. The others would not shed the tail, and in order to avoid the dead skin constricting the tail, I would have to manually soak the tail and work at it very carefully - and could never get it all off.
A few weeks ago, I bought a ZooMed "snake cave" and filled with moss which I keep damp. All of the lizards have shed since then, and all but one did complete sheds, and once again have gorgeous looking tails without dead old skin stuck to it.
The one that dis not do a complete shed - when I worked at it, it came off complete - it looks like the only reason it didn't when the lizard shed was because of previous crusty dead skin that I hadn't manually gotten off.
Anyway - I thought I'd share this tip with others rearing alligator lizards in dry climates. If the humidity of moss just isn't quite enough, try a humidity chamber type of device - it really works.
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3.6 L. getula californiae
1.1 L. getula nigrita
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus
1.0 Boa constrictor constrictor (suriname, fostering/rescue)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata
1.1 Felis catus (neutered)
1.0 Homo erectus (me)
