Stuck Shed

Symptoms

  • shed scales not coming off skink’s body easily
  • shed skin constricting toes or tail

Cause

  • low humidity

Treatment

If you notice that your blue tongue skink is having shedding issues, double-check the humidity in its enclosure with a digital hygrometer and make sure that the humidity levels are appropriate for its type (list of acceptable humidity levels here).

To raise humidity, you may need a more humidity-retentive substrate, more frequent misting with distilled water, a larger water bowl, or a combination of the above.

Halmahera blue tongue skinks in particular need very high humidity (80-100%), and may need additional humidity measures like turning on a reptile humidifier for 3-4 hours every night or programming an automatic misting system like the Mistking Starter.


More blue tongue skink health topics: