Serious shedding problem with uromastyx. Need help!!

Hello! We have two uromastyxes, a male and a female. The female has been having problems shedding on her tail. About half the tail is done, and the lower half remains. It's evident that the scales are ready to come off, because you can see through them like they were made of glass or plastic. The problem is that they are absolutely rock hard!! I've managed to get some off, and we also went to see and expert who managed to get some off too, but even the ones that come off are hard as rock! Even if i put those in water (just to test, to see what it would take to get the scales on the actual lizard to be soft), they stay rock hard! I mean, you could build houses and use these as a foundation, they're hard as panzer. Anyway, the expert we went to, put some oil/salv on the scales, some silver stuff i think. He also told us to dip the tail in hydroperoxide once the scales come off, and then apply some antiseptic. We found all the salves in the pharmacy store so that's not a problem. The problem is getting them off without hurting the poor lizard. Does anyone have a clue about this? It would be so so much easier if the skin/scales were softer. I often read about using a toothbrush to get the scales off in a careful manner, now that won't work here. These need force!! I'm not happy about it. I'm also pretty sure it's not too early for them to come off, because it was some time before the first half of the tail shed. And as i said, it's very obvious when you look at the tail that the scales are supposed to come off. They just don't.

Also, any idead about what might have caused this (feeding, lighting, humidity etc) are welcome. Reply to the message here, or write to us directly at terrorskater@hotmail.com

/Jonas

JonasE,
What you are describing sounds like the animals have had a couple of previous sheds that have failed to come off. The easiest way I can describe it is that its layers upon layers of stuck on shed. I have a nigerian(uromastyx geyri) that had what you are describing. Here is what I have done, and it is a very slow process. I soaked the tail area with the accumulated shed in about 110 degrees F water. Depending on the disposition of your animal this can be easy, or a true exercise in patience. After allowing the tail to soak for around ten minutes, I would then take a towel and dry the tail off, (if alot of moisture is left between the whorls, it can cause tail rot, however, if your enclosure has an established temperature gradient, this should pose no problems). I then return the nigerian to his enclosure, and leave him be for the day. The next day, I would then apply mineral oil(non scented baby oil works as well) and I would liberally apply this to the top most layers of the accumulated shed. Wipe off any excess and return him to his enclosure. After this process I would then check back on him in about 5 days. This process seemed to loosen up the shed by layers. Upon removal of the top layer, I found another layer, lacking of color, almost white. Repeated the process listed above every week. It took me about six months to finally get this tuff stuck on shed, and his tail looks much better after this. Its just so long of a process. However, I suspect that the cause of the initial shed sticking on was due to a lack of humidity in his previous owners enclosure, or just poor husbandry practices of the previous owners. One would think that being from such arid environments, that humidity would be a detriment to their well being. I believe from what I have read and experienced that uromastyxs, in captivity, due to require a certain amount of humidity(I would say roughly 25 to 30 percent during the onset of a shed).
I hope this helps with your situation, and I hope that others might be able to offer you there experiences as it pertains to your current issue. A good place for information on uromastyxs is the deerfernfarms website, Urotopia, and ProExotics has some interesting information on Uromastyxs. Best of luck with your Uros.


Best regards,

Carson Grindstaff