Retained Shed, Losing Toes

[Ryan1159]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum but I really need help. My Argentine Red tegu, Darwin, just cannot seem to get over his retained shed. He had his retained shed since just before Christmas, so it's been over a month, maybe a month and a half. I've been misting his enclosure multiple times a day, giving him baths daily, and rubbing olive oil on him/adding it to bath water. The shed just won't seem to come off! I have also tried putting him in a "humidity box" as well, and that doesn't seem to help. Now, I just saw Darwin is missing a toe and one of them is coming off. I need advice about:

1. How he can get over his retained shed

2. What should I do about the dead toe that is just hanging there?

Some info about Darwin:

1. About 5 months old, got him at the NARBC in Tinley Park.

2. I use Eco Earth substrate, and I keep the humidity levels HIGH.

3. Feeding on mostly ground turkey, every now and then will offer cooked eggs, even more rarely I will offer horned worms, crickets, mealworms. Sometimes I mix fruit with the ground turkey.

4. Really good attitude, wouldn't hurt a fly. I'd really hate for something to happen to him.


Thank you so much in advance for the help.

 

[Roadkill]

I'd say you've got more issues than just retained shed, going by that photo. There appears to be some swelling in that forearm, and some of the skin on the side of the neck looks like infection/scar tissue.

From what you've outlined, I also suspect there's a nutrition issue at play as well. Do you supplement? How much? How frequently? What are the temperatures your tegu is kept at?

That toe is likely to just come off, but I'd be tempted to apply some Xylocaine gel and then remove it. As for the retained shed, you will probably need to do more than just soak the tegu, you'll need to get in there and work the skin off with some fine forceps, particularly around the toes.

 

[Ryan1159]

I supplement with supercal HyD calcium supplement by Repashy twice a week. Right now his basking spot is at 105 and ambient temps are usually at 85-90 degrees throughout the day.

What do you suggest I do about the swelling and scar tissue, and what do you think was the cause? When I bought the tegu, I got it at a discount ($125 for a red), the breeder said it had a regenerated tail, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were other issues as well.

I appreciate the help.

 

[Roadkill]

Ok, do you only feed twice a week? And once again, how much do you supplement? If your answers are "no, I feed more often" and "I dust the food", then I would say this is not adequate. As has been stated, the diet you're offering is calcium poor; anytime you are not offering whole vertebrate prey, you are offering calcium deficient food. You need to make that food calcium rich. A dusting once in a while isn't going to be sufficient. Every meal that isn't whole vertebrate needs to be supplemented with calcium. Repashy makes some excellent supplements, but there may be a problem trying to make up all your calcium supplementation with HyD - the vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is a necessary vitamin, your tegu needs it, but numerous studies have shown that high supplementation with calcium along with high supplementation of vitamin D3 tends to lead to calcification of soft tissue (ie. a nasty disease). The problem is that no one has really worked out what a safe level of vitamin D3 supplementation is. The safest route to go is to supplement thoroughly with straight calcium, and a little bit of vit.D3.

I'd be tempted to raise the temperatures a little. If you have an infrared thermometer, take a reading of your tegu when it is awake and active. Tegus like to regulate their body temperatures around the same temperature as mammals (37C) so see if your tegu is actually getting up to this temperature.

The swelling is most likely related to the toes. As tissue dies, it sends out chemical cues that often cause other tissues in the area to swell. As for the "scar", I can't really say, and I'm only guessing that that is actually what I see in the picture.

I'd recommend mixing the diet up a little more, getting more fruits and veggies in there, and despite another thread I just started, you may want to incorporate some vitamin D3 oil. You can also use hand lotion to help the retained shed be supple instead of drying and contracting. Baby oil might even be a better alternative. Do you use UVB producing lights on your tegu?

 

[Ryan1159]

I feed every day, but I supplement twice a week. From reading your post, I will definitely supplement more with straight calcium as you said. I'll make a trip out to the reptile shop tomorrow and buy some.

I actually just got done pulling the shed away from where it was constricting her the most. Once took off the shed that was under her elbow, you could immediately see the bloodflow rush back to her hand, which, while it couldn't save the already dead fingers, probably saved the rest of the hand. The extremities are the most important to take care of before the rest of the shed with her right now.

I also started mixing up the diet, I'm offering beef liver and tilapia, and I'll try to get her to eat fruits as well. Being a young tegu, she doesn't really like fruit yet, but I'll try mixing it with the meat and see where it goes.

I do use UVB lights on the tegu.

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

In addition to all that Roadkill stated, skip the beef liver and add in more whole prey. that means rodents, chicks, quail chicks, whole fish, shrimp, etc.