Weird stuck shed?

[vbtegu91]

Well I have had my tegu for about 9 months now, and she has always shed with no problems. However, after I returned from a weekend of off shore fishing I noticed that right in the middle of her back she seemed to have some stuck shed that was almost a reddish color. I tried soaking her, and using olive oil without success. So if I can't figure out the problem I will be taking her to the vet Wednesday. Her enclosure stays around 70% humidity if not more, and her basking spot gets to about 111 F. Anybody have any idea, or suggestions about it?

 

[Mootworm]

Its kind of hard to see on my phone, but it looks like a burn. Are you positive it's stuck shed?

 

[vbtegu91]

I'm pretty sure it is stuck shed. I don't know how she could get a burn because she can get that close to either the basking lamp or uvb bulb.

 

[Mootworm]

Could the lamp have malfunctioned? Or could she have jumped? I'll be the first to admit I'm a very new tegu owner, but I've seen a fair amount of burns on snakes. Dead giveaway is the discoloration. With stuck shed, I would think you'd see more of a 'lip' around the edge, if that makes sense. That, and it would be more patchy. I'd be more inclined to think it was stuck shed if it was around the feet, tail or face.

Was she shedding before your trip? Or is she shedding now? I'm not seeing any flakiness in the pics :/ Hopefully it is just stuck shed that comes off soon!

 

[Deac77]

That's a burn. It can be caused by a number of things. What's the basking setup like? How many bulbs? How large a area?

 

[vbtegu91]

Damn... I was afraid it was. I have a raised platform made from garden bricks. The temperature stays at 111 F maybe a little more, but the one heat bulb is around 1 1/2 from the basking area. So I don't understand how it got on her back? I could understand if it was on her nose from jumping, but on her lower back doesn't make any sense. Is there anything I can do?

 

[Mootworm]

She could have basked for too long, in a way that the highest concentration of light was where the burn is. Especially if you have a single light that doesn't encompass her entire body. I hope that makes sense lol.

Thankfully it doesn't appear to be too bad, I would keep her enclosure sterile, temps on the warm side. It doesn't look like an open wound, but if you see any splits in the skin, you can give her a soak in betadine diluted with water to a weak tea color. If it were a snake with an exposed injury, I'd switch her to paper towels, but I'm not sure how it goes with tegus... Hopefully someone with more experience with wounded gus can chime in.

 

[Deac77]

You shouldn't have to change substrates.

 

[vbtegu91]

Yea, I mean her substrate doesn't need to be changed. That would be quite a bit of money to through out haha. I understand what you are saying, but even at the most concentrated spot of light it is only 111 F

 

[Mootworm]

Yeah it's much easier to switch a small tub to paper towels than a giant enclosure

Back onto the basking spot, is that the temperature of the bricks? I assume the bricks are red or a lighter color. Keep in mind that she's black (ish). If she stayed on that spot for hours on end, she very well could have surpassed that temp. You'll probably never know exactly what happened, but keep her clean and warm and I bet it goes away after a few sheds

 

[Deac77]

Yea, I mean her substrate doesn't need to be changed. That would be quite a bit of money to through out haha. I understand what you are saying, but even at the most concentrated spot of light it is only 111 F

That didn't answer anything. Most burns like this come from low basking temps actually. What kind of basking spot you have. I'm sure that's a burn

 

[vbtegu91]

Well I thought you had read my above comments. As I said before I have a raised platform that is made of garden bricks that. It's raised 9 inches from the ground, and the bulb (120w ExoTerra) is a foot away from the top of the platform.

 

[Deac77]

So one bulb? At 111*? That's the problem

 

[vbtegu91]

How so? Shouldn't the basking temp not surpass 115? I mean I have one bulb for basking, and a reptisun 10.0 for uvb?

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

It can be higher than 115 but like most things not all are the same, meaning not all tegus like high basking temps. The higher the temp, the quicker they warm up, spend less time basking and helps with digestion. Lower temps can equal the opposite and some do just as well and prefer lower temps. I do agree that it looks like more than just a stuck shed to me also. What are you using to measure basking temps? Best gadget out there, and is a must have with reptiles and high basking temps is a Temp Gun.

 

[vbtegu91]

Alright. Well I use a Temp Gun for all of my reptiles. I just put in another few bricks earlier today, and the surface temperature at the center of the concentrated light is around 48 C or 118 F. Yea, I agree after looking at it now that it does look like more then just stuck shed. I just don't understand how she could have gotten a burn? I have started looking for some betadine to use when I soak her so it doesnt become infected.

 

[Deac77]

It tends to happen when the basking spot is to small. That's why most monitor keeper use a cluster light system. Basically since the light is only heating part of the body, the back, they sit their longer trying to warm the whole body. Reptiles don't feel heat like we do. Maybe try 2-3 bulbs similar to this.

 

[vbtegu91]

Ahh I see what you are saying now. Should I drop the wattage of the light bulb, and use the other fixture I already have built in there? I have two fixtures in there, but I only run one because I thought it reached the needed temps.

 

[Deac77]

I use 3 to get a big enough. Spot but only use 75 watt halogen bulbs

 

[vbtegu91]

Well I changed to two 75watt bulbs, and took her to the vet. He said that she will be fine, but to watch the area for infection. Thanks for the help!