Help Your Lizard Change His Skin

As any lizard parent will know it can be a bothersome time both for you and your lizard when they start to shed. You are often left with dried skin all over your house, and a very grumpy lizard who won’t be interested in doing much, even eating.

To help you and your lizard out, here are a few tips that should help to make this transition more pleasant for your pet and to give you a lizard that isn’t so grumpy when losing his old skin.

For most lizard parents the first pre-shedding signs that your lizard may exhibit is a dulling and lightening of the scales. They will go slightly translucent, lose their color and become somewhat lackluster. For those of you with lizards who have moveable eyelids, such as Iguanas and Chameleons, you will notice that they puff out their eyes just before shedding to help them remove the skin from that area.

If you are lucky enough to notice these changes it’s a good idea to start providing extra misting to help soften the skin, or to place a bowl of water in your lizards vivarium to increase the localized humidity. For the bigger lizards (such as monitors and iguanas) you can choose to bathe them to help soften their scales ahead of shedding.

You should never peel the lose skin on your reptile during its shedding period. Not only will the lizard be rather grumpy already, you could actually be tugging on fresh tender skin that is still attached. They will often rub against vivarium decoration or the floor to help them shed all on their own. The only time you should intervene is when and if your lizard appears to be struggling shedding the skin on its spikes or tail end. This is to help promote healthy skin renewal and to prevent constriction of the new skin.

As stated, your lizard will become rather grumpy and may even hiss or snap during its shedding period, so avoid unnecessary handling during this period (though feel free to offer a massage or bath if they are willing to let you close).

Shedding is a normal process for all reptiles to go through and should generally last 1-2 weeks, though should it last any longer it could lead to stress and illness, so check in with a vet if you have any worries during this period.

For great products to help promote a healthy lifestyle for your lizard, please check out the range of lizard supplements available in our store.