Bad thing!!!!

Something weird is happening with my leo Smeagol. A little shed on her face didnt come off (it wasnt ready) and its now a week later. It seemed to be constricting a small area on her upper lip and now there is a raw spot on her forehead like she tried too hard to rub it off. Its not very big. Now I am soaking her and I am going to put neosporin on the raw spot. Is it a skin condition? Should I just keep doing what I am doing? The shed is taking a long time to come off and it flakes off. But it is the only spot on her that is doing it. It just started getting bad today so I am soaking her right now. Am I doing the right thing? I have a humid hide in there for her but she never goes in it and she just got switched to a bigger tank. Could it be stress related?

It sounds like you're going about things the right way. My leos seem to rely on grabbing ahold of skin on the body and using that to pull the head skin off or rubbing it off. Often times if they get off the whole body except the head, they seem to have a lot of trouble getting the head off. If I notice something like this, I moisten the area and manually remove the shed. It sounds like it's been quite awhile since your leo started shedding. I'd moisten all the areas with stuck shed and carefully remove it. Usually any wounds from rubbing etc. heal quickly. Be especially careful to get shed off the eyelids and mouth areas as sheds left on in these areas for prolonged periods can lead to things like eye and mouth infections. If there are tiny bit left on, or healed wounds she could also have difficulties with her next shed; if she does, remove any adhered pieces promptly and the following shed should go without a hitch.

-Alice

I'd also like to mention that large cage setups for single animals can sometimes be problematic. Leopards tend to thrive in small basic setups in my experience. Its almost as if in the wild they really wouldn't venture out much over any kind of distance. In my hatchling and juvenile setups I don't even supply a seperate humid hide. I merely moisten the paper towel on the heated side of the enclosure every day. The warm 90 degree temp combined with low humidity in my area usually has it dried out if not barely moist by the next day. Using this method I have NEVER once had a shedding issue!

Well, the thing is I only have a 20 for her and I'm going to put a male in. But I got a couple "surprises" (hehe!!!!) with my order as a b-day gift and I have no room for her and everyone is in quarentine so I have to keep her in it. She is my biggest (a little over 8 in and over 56 grams, havent weighed her in awhile), so I thought it would be fine.

I tried to manually remove it today but it is tight and wont come off. I thought it would loosen up by now but it hasnt. It is possible I might have to wait for the next shed for it to come off (which wont be long, she is 3 but she had a growth spurt!). She has never had problems before.

Originally Posted by dragonflame

I tried to manually remove it today but it is tight and wont come off. I thought it would loosen up by now but it hasnt.

Artificial tear eye drops work well and are sterile and they are hypoallergenic and as such can be used to remove stuck sheds and/or eye caps on various reptiles.

I've always used this to get off stuff in awkward places like eyes and lips/faces. It works, just apply a couple drops a few times a day and gently rub with a q-tip. If it doesn't come off first try, apply it again in a couple hours and gently rub again. I have rarely had any type of skin adhesion that didn't come off after two or three tries and the stuff doesn't evaporate like water does so it keeps working.

Hope this helps!