Discoloration

[mpinsky]

So Shenron finally started peeling (hooray!). However, a few days ago, I noticed some discoloration on the new skin, a color lighter than the skin color normally is (he is a red brown and the discoloration is a yellow color). Is this normal, like how we have freckles and easily comes off in the next shed, or is it something I should be worried about?

Thank you.

 

[Zemanski]

he may be changing colour - each shed Trevor gets brighter and more orange

from this

to this in just a couple of months

unfortunately sometimes they get fungus on the scales and that can be yellow, can you post a picture?

 

[mpinsky]

I'll try to post a picture later. He is in his hide and I he was glaring at me when I went to pull him out. :lol:

I did get a better look though. The scales are not exactly yellow, but more grey-ish, almost like he hadn't shed them, but they seem flatter. Could they be scales that haven't come off yet? I can always put him in the bath tomorrow and see if they start to come off with a child's toothbrush. If it is fungal, is there a home remedy I could use? My parents are totally against me bringing Shenron to the vet for reasons I can't understand, and it was a fight the last time he needed to go.

 

[Zemanski]

sometimes a little does get left behind - you can actually just see a patch between Trevor's eyes and this picture is labeled 'just shed' - bathing and a soft toothbrush are worth a try

it may also be that he's going straight into his next shed - there was a point where Trevor was shedding almost continuously as he was growing so fast, he still sheds each part of his body in a sort of sequence, always starting with his head, so he would complete his full shed and his head would be starting again


vet's are expensive, parents tend to be wary of unnecessary expense, especially at the moment with banks and mortgages still a bit shaky after the credit crunch, so they will want to be sure he really needs a vet before they agree to it.


He shouldn't have a hide - beardies need to stay in the uvb light all the time to avoid getting mbd (you can see Trevor's right front foot is bent, that's from mbd from before I got him, the bones were damaged and couldn't support his weight; he still walks on that wrist although he uses his left foot properly now)

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Posting a picture would definitely help. It sounds like a little shed that has not come off. You can try the soft toothbrush...just be very gentle. Some shed areas take a little longer to come off. If it is not ready to come off, I would recommend leaving it alone. You don't want to damage any new scales underneath by removing the shed prematurely.

Having a hide in your beardies enclosure is only a problem if you notice him spending too much time in it and not enough time basking. Some people do take them out if their beardie is hiding alot , like Zemanski mentioned.

 

[mpinsky]

The hide is not a problem. He only goes in there when he's about to go to sleep for the night (which was what he was getting ready to do when I went to check up on him).

Yeah, I did double check and the scales seem a bit flaky like the very beginning of a shed would be, but I'll keep an eye on it in case, that way if it begins to spread, we know what it is.

I doubt he's going into a new shed, he's eight years old, so he really shouldn't be shedding at all, and certainly not continously. Shenron had MBD due to my inexperience when I first got him (the vet gave him a clean bill of health when he did go to be checked for it), so I wouldn't rule out that he is going through some delayed growth.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Actually they do keep shedding throughout their life. You just said yourself in your first post that he had started peeling.... :wink:

 

[Zemanski]

I think he means at his age he probably isn't going to go straight into another shed, even if he's growing it won't be at such a rate that shedding is anywhere near continuous like it can be when they are young - I didn't realise how old he was when I suggested that

 

[zebraflavencs]

Quite true, my 8 year old only shed once while he was still with us (RIP Tanker). And most of that was old sheds, that I had to soak off, over a period of a week.
Janie.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Janie...your 8 yr old beardie only shed once?! How long did you have him?

 

[mpinsky]

Okay, I have a picture (yes the color is off, I know, he was under his basking light).

I'm either thinking it's A.) yellow fungus, or B.) damaged scales.

What do you guys think?

Yes, he is very stressed out right now. Mom fed him clementines (which I told her were a no-no because they are very acidic, but she insisted, and he gobbled them up before I could take them out), so when I come home, I see a poop full of undigested stuff (it may have been vomit, but it certainly didn't smell like it), such as cricket heads, etc. I'm assuming that acid upset his stomach some.

The picture:

 

[Zemanski]

looks like old shed to me

 

[mpinsky]

*crosses fingers*

That's what I'm hoping. You can't really see the detail on the picture, but it looks like old scales, and around it is yellow, but I have no problem if it is old shed.

I think Mom would totally freak if it was the fungus and caught me bathing him in diluted betadine solution.