Whitish tail/shedding?

[Dvc41]

As i said in another topic I'm new to bearded dragons, just bought my son the one he's been wanting for a while. Today we noticed that his tail looks kind of white, he seems to be eating fine and no other signs of trouble. My son seems to think it means he's growing and should start shedding that white looking skin on his tail. Just wanted to see if that sounds right or get any other opinions.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Thats what it sounds like if you post a picture we can be sure.

 

[Dvc41]

I had a feeling. My son has been wanting for so long to get his beardie that he's read everything he could find about them so I figured he was right but wanted to be sure. Having some issues with downloading photos right now but I'll post one in a day or so if I can get it figured out.

 

[RaptorTheBeardie]

Yes, beardie's tails do that when they shed, and their whole bodies for that matter. Mine have done this many a time. If you could post a link to a picture of it that would be great and i could answer it further.

 

[Dvc41]

Well, I haven't had time to take and post any pics but it appears he was just getting ready to shed some skin as everyone guessed. He had his first bath yesterday (at least first since we got him) he splashed around in a shallow tray of water while we cleaned his tank, and today there are many obvious pieces of shed skin in the tank and you can clearly see the color where the skin has been sheaded so it appears all is well.

The book I have simply says to bathe them in a shallow tray of water. Just checking, is that all there is to it? Let him splash around in the water for a while and they take care of the rest or is there more to it?

 

[RaptorTheBeardie]

Put them in a sink bowl and fill it up to a little higher than their feet can touch. Then the beard should swim around in it. This will ensure that the water gets into all the cracks in his tail. Also make the water lukewarm and he will poop. Well, not guarenteed, but most likely

 

[Dvc41]

Ok thanks. That sounds about right. Water was warm, he didn't swim much just looked like he was trying to climb out more than anything else but he stayed in 15 minutes or so while we cleaned the tank. No poop either but later in the day and today there's lots of she'd skin in his tank so it seems to have done the trick in helping him shed the dead skin.

 

[RaptorTheBeardie]

Good for you. Im glad i was able to help someone out. Hope he has a good life and successful sheds in the future. - Zach

 

[Dvc41]

Yep, we're figuring this all out slowly. He seems to be doing well. My son left him alone most of the first few days just occasionally petting him so he could get used to his new home, then started handling him a little more and now when he pets under the dragons chin after a minute or two he climbs right up into my son's hand so he seems to be adjusting well.

My son has wanted a beardie for about a year and a half so now that he got one I'm just trying to make sure all goes well. It's his pet but "our" project. He got a pair of frogs as a test run kind of thing. They lasted about 6 months and my son really did everything he was supposed to in taking care of them but they didn't last that long (which I'm told is about normal) but he was heartbroken when they died. I want to do all I can to be sure that doesn't happen here, for both the dragon and my son's sake.

 

[RaptorTheBeardie]

A beardies lifetime will be about 15 years at max, usually 12 years is usually about average. The thing you have to do enjoy the years as much as possible so when he dies, you will think of all the good moments. I had my first beardie, he died at 7 months old for no reason. The vet said she couldn't explain it either. I thought of the good times that we had over the months and it lessened the pain a little. Hope he lives for a long time and has a very happy life.

 

[dangit12]

can you post a picture of the shed.