My bearded dragon suddenly is discolored from her normal orange tint in a few places. It's like she's losing pigment and becoming pale. Most of her body is her normal color but she has a big area on her back that is really pale. Her beard is half orange and the other side is pale, which has never happened before. She is supposdly around 8 months old.
I got her a new UVB and UVA light that she loves and has been basking under for the past three days. She is eating, not as much as usual, seems active and is moving around frequently, and is popping normally.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. She's my class pet and I have 31 fourth graders depending on her!
Hi Jon, that's just a normal patchy shed. They shed in stages + you can see all types of irregular shed patterns. Nothing to worry about at all. See one of mine in this pic :
You CAN spritz her in the tank 1-2 X a day very lightly to aid in the process.
BTW, she is a beautiful healthy looking girl which is nice to see in a class pet. ! Just be careful that her weight does not creep up any more, she is already on the hefty side. Obesity is becoming rampant in beardies but there are so many on the forums that people think it's normal size.
This will be a good learning experience for the kids to see that it's not just snakes that shed! Misting or a warm bath in very shallow water can help ease any discomfort, and her appetite and/or behavior might change a bit during this time. Mine goes off food when he's shedding. I'd just recommend not trying to 'help' the shed along by picking at the loose skin. Let it fall off on its own because pulling at it when it's not quite ready to come off could cause injury.