This is a bit long, but it details the bad shed experience and what I did. I welcome any thoughts.
06/26/12-Parley had a bad shed...Before I went to sleep on the 25th, I checked on her and she was rubbing up on things in her enclosure. When I woke up on the 26th, she was in her water dish and there were small shed fragments scattered around the tank. I have no idea how long she was in the dish before I woke up, but I let her stay in there for about 30 minutes while I decided what to do.
I got a hand towel and soaked it with warm water, then wrung it out so it was just damp. I got Parley out of her dish and sat her on my lap on top of the towel. (This was the first time I have held her since bringing her home on 06/15/12, so I was a little nervous.) It looked like she got the skin off her eyes as they were very clear and shiny. The rest of the fragments in the tank seemed to be from her neck. Several inches below her head there was the start of some shed on her belly then wrapping around her back. I gently took hold of the belly shed and pulled it free. The skin was very soft from her soaking and came off with very little effort. I held the skin on either side of her and she basically pulled herself completely out of it while I just kept tension on the skin, similar to what a normal shed might be like.
I checked her vent and it was clear. Her tail was perfect. Her eyes, of course were clear, but there was some shed skin obstructing her left nostril which I managed to grasp and gently began to pull away at which point she pulled backwards so fast it startled me and I almost dropped her. In the act of her pulling away, the shed came off and her nose was clear. There was a little shed on her chin I also assisted with. For the most part, she allowed me to help her. As to be expected, she was not thrilled with me assisting around her head. I also weighed her for the first time and she was 62 grams.
Now, as to why this occurred. The temps and humidity were both within an appropriate range. Temps on the warm side were between 85 and 88 degrees during the day and as low as 83 at night. temps on cool side were between 83-84 during the day, to 77-78 at night. Humidity was between 50 and 60 percent before I noticed her eyes going blue and after I noticed her going into shed I raised the humidity to between 68 and 74 percent. She always had access to water and has eaten twice since I brought her home, the second time she was in shed and still ate.
The only thing I can think of is that she is still a bit stressed and adjusting to her new home. I have researched this and a few authors have indicated that this sometimes occurs. That makes sense in light of how all her parameters are in an acceptable range. One thing I would like to try is get another container and put some damp moss in it as soon as I notice her eyes going hazy. I have seen her soaking and drinking and there is no evidence of mites or any other problem at this time.
It's amazing how much brighter her colors are pre and post shed. Also, she has not come out of her hide during the day for at least a week, since before I noticed her going into shed. In the few minutes after her bad shed experience, she was cruising around looking for a way out of her tank and then she curled up, sideways, on the outside of the cool hide and has been chillin' ever since. Sideways? Can that be comfortable?
Any thoughts?
First pic is pre-shed
Second is post shed
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