Squamates (the snakes and lizards) have the particular habit of shedding their skin at regular intervals, every 1 to 3 months depending on the species and its physiological and environmental state.
Shedding (ecdysis) lets the outer skin renew itself in a cyclical way.
A snake usually sheds in a single piece, the eye caps (spectacles) included. The lizard, for its part, sheds in patches. Shortly before the shed, the reptile takes on a duller look and its skin loses its shine.
Tortoises, which are not squamates, shed more discreetly, by losing scutes.
Shedding problems
A snake with a shedding problem will often shed in small pieces, unevenly, with flakes of old skin staying stuck to it. Very often it will not shed the eye caps (retained spectacles) as it should. The eyes stay dull and cloudy.
A lizard with shedding problems builds up flakes of dead but unshed scale, layer upon layer if nothing is done in the meantime. Over time these layers form lumps that less experienced owners mistake for tumours or cysts. Rings of trapped flakes constrict the toes, cutting off the blood supply and killing the tips.
The skin overall looks wrinkled, dried out and dull. Sometimes itching goes with this kind of problem. In the medium term, skin infections (dermatitis) threaten the reptile’s health, and retained spectacles can cause blindness.
When the whole shed skin (the slough) stays stuck to the body, this is known as a stuck shed (dysecdysis).
Shedding problems are rare in the wild; captivity, sadly, encourages this syndrome.
The causes are often environmental:
- Humidity too low, and dehydration in general
- Too low an ambient temperature
- Stress and handling in the days before the shed
- A poor rough surface — or none at all — in the terrarium to rub against
Other underlying conditions can also encourage shedding problems, though these too are often indirectly tied to poor living conditions or hygiene:
- Infection, or dermatitis of parasitic (mites), bacterial or fungal origin
- Neurological diseases, encephalopathies
- Hypothyroidism
- Scars from wounds or burns
Treatment
Essential.
- Treat the cause if you can identify it, and/or review the housing conditions.
- Rehydrate the reptile with baths at 30°C, then very gently try to lift the flakes with a damp cotton bud slipped into the space to be freed.
- If the eye caps are retained (retained spectacles), see a vet.
Prevention
Prevention is, as ever, the approach to favour!
Mind the hygiene, the humidity, the temperature, the ventilation, the diet and the terrarium fittings. Do not forget quarantine measures where needed.
Moisten the skin as soon as the first signs of a shedding problem appear.
Often, putting right a few mistakes in the living conditions clears up this kind of trouble fairly quickly, especially if you adapt as closely as possible to the species concerned.