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To fasten the shed, it might be useful to bathe or spray the iguana with water. Indeed, in the wild, humidity in the air helps keep the old skin supple and therefore easier to peel off.
 
To fasten the shed, it might be useful to bathe or spray the iguana with water. Indeed, in the wild, humidity in the air helps keep the old skin supple and therefore easier to peel off.
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Generally speaking, don't pull the skin if it isn't ready to come off. Iguanas and other lizards will rub themselves against things to help loosen and rid themselves of skin. Mostly, though, they just sort of look like they are wearing raggedy clothes, with strips and patches of skin hanging loose and flapping around. If the skin is ready to come off, you can help it do so by gently pulling at it. If the skin is not ready to come off, there will be resistance, and the skin you remove will be damp.
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If the dead skin isn't shed, it may constrict the growth of the living tissue and result in tissue necrosis.
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Often times, spikes need help to shed completely; gently working at them over the course of several days, loosening the skin at the base and spraying them with water will help. If shed is left on, it may constrict the growth of the living tissue from which the spikes are made, resulting in the tissue dying and the spikes falling or breaking off.
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A healthy iguana will shed every 4 to 6 weeks but young iguanas (2 to 3 years) may shed more often. Occasionally, a new shed may start before the previous one has ended. Shedding will slow down or stop during colder weather and decreased food intake. Absence of shedding which cannot be linked to seasonality may be an indicatior of an underlying problem.
 
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The same problem can happen with toes and the narrow tail ends. If old shed is not removed, it can constrict the toes and tails, killing the tissue by strangling the nerve and blood supply that feeds it. Many books and vets claim that carpet fibers are dangerous for this reason yet, in all my years of free-roaming iguanas on wall-to-wall carpeting, I have never had such a problem. I have taken in many iguanas, however, with two, three, up to five layers of retained skin shed on toes and spikes...many of who lost toes and spikes as a result. Part of your regular weekly, if not daily, overall examination of the iguana should be checking toes, tails, and spikes to ensure that they are clean, free of skin, fibers, and human or pet hair.
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Sometimes the grommet-shaped pieces of skin around the nostrils may not come off and, as your iguana nears its next shed, you begin to hear a sort of distant whistling sound as it breathes. After the next bath, work at this area gently to remove any such retained shed.
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A healthy iguana will shed every 4 to 6 weeks. Iguanas aged 2 to 3 years may easily shed more often. It is not uncommon to have an iguana be in the middle of one shed when the next shed starts. During these times, they seem to be little more than skin-producing machines, inhaling food and producing prodigious amounts of both poop and mounds of shed. It is common for such growth to slow down during our winters, and during this time of slowed growth and reduced food intake, iguanas will often not shed. Where I live in Northern California, the last shed usually occurs in November, with the first shed of the new year occurring in January or February, depending upon our weather patterns.
      
If your iguana is not shedding and it is not the winter slow-growth period, there is a problem. It may be that the environment is wrong, the diet is not nutritious enough to promote growth or normal skin renewal processes, or your iguana is sick. The iguana may also be psychologically stressed. A review of the environment and diet is necessary, as is a review of any other factors that may affect how the iguana responds psychologically/socially to his environment. Slow growers should also be seen by a reptile veterinarian to ensure that they are not suffering from bacterial infections, parasite infestations, or other medical problems.
 
If your iguana is not shedding and it is not the winter slow-growth period, there is a problem. It may be that the environment is wrong, the diet is not nutritious enough to promote growth or normal skin renewal processes, or your iguana is sick. The iguana may also be psychologically stressed. A review of the environment and diet is necessary, as is a review of any other factors that may affect how the iguana responds psychologically/socially to his environment. Slow growers should also be seen by a reptile veterinarian to ensure that they are not suffering from bacterial infections, parasite infestations, or other medical problems.
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