For seasoned iguana owners, iguana shedding off their skin is a natural process – where the iguana will shed off their old skin like other reptiles, but in pieces (rather than the whole skin), and perfect shedding is usually a sign of a healthy iguana.
A baby iguana usually sheds every 4 – 6 weeks, but for adults, it can be once in a year. Usually, the adults don’t shed all of the skin like the baby iguana does. Iguana shedding their old skin needs to be taken care of while in the process. Rarely, but it may happen, shedding may cause an infection because iguanas don’t completely shed their skin like other reptiles do. Instead, they do it in pieces.
Unsuccessful shedding could have fatal consequence to the iguana.
Gentle soaking, bathing routine (the water should be around 95F/35C) is great way to help your lizard to shed . The longer he sits in this warm water, the softer and more pliable his shed will become. Let him soak for 5 minutes, then get some old toothbrush and gently brush the animal.
If you have baby or young iguana, you can put a flat rock or a flat piece of wood in the bathtub, so that they could hold on to it and feel more comfortable and safe. This way they will spend more time in the water.
You may assist to peel those skins on spike, nail, mouth and tail end (easy to reach). Just be careful not to make any open wound, otherwise, it can cause serious infection to your iguana. When you’re pulling off the shed, don’t pull too hard if it’s not ready to come off. If removing of dead skin requires effort, don’t do it. You can help by peeling skin that has been loose, but be very cautious not to accidentally rip their healthy skin.
Spike and nails should be avoided by inexperienced iguana’s owner because if this area is not fully exfoliated, the skin will harden and act as a tourniquet (blood will clot due to constriction). If this happens, it will become infected and swell, in the end, the claw will fall off by itself.
Also, regarding spikes, don’t try to pull them off until they are ready to start shedding – that is, when they start turn opaque or blue looking. Just work them loose at the base and when they’re ready to come off, they will. If you try pulling off too soon, you can damage the tips and then, the next time, they won’t come off at all. In that case, when you give them baths, water can get up underneath old spikes and rot the new spikes underneath. When the new spikes come in, they won’t be as tall.
Focus on helping near the mouth area, because the iguana during shedding will try to rub its mouth to the periphery of the cage, this causes iguana thrush and lead to infection.
Generally, iguana won’t need your help in shedding. They just need something in their habitat to rub against, to get the old shed skin off. Make sure there is a wooden plank or tree bark for your iguana to climb, this can help in the process of shedding its skin. Also, spraying the enclosure will help the shedding process of your iguana.
The whole shedding process also helps remove wounds from previous rubbing, mildew, or scratches. Though, to completely remove the traces, it might take 3-5 rounds of shedding.
If the shedding fails to occur on the spikes, it becomes very dry, the tip will be irritated and cause fungus growth, so then the spike will break and fall off.
It might help to moisturize iguana skin during shedding, by using moisturizing oil – but just don’t use any oil. Check with the local pet store if there is any specific reptiles’ skin friendly cream, or oil to help iguana shedding. There are some shedding aids on the market help your ig through the tough sheds. Spray it on your reptile, starting from the tail, and wait until the shed is completely soaked before removing it.
Good shedding is a sign of healthy iguana. It is a natural process that should go without any issues. Most of the problems with shedding can be attributed to poor nutrition or bad conditions in habitat. Humidity and temperature should be kept in recommended ranges (check out our article about heaters, UV lights and humidifiers for iguanas)
Use high quality UVB lighting. That also helps their skin to function properly and, when it comes time to shed, old skin will be released easier and the new skin will be nice and healthy. UVB lighting also kills bacteria, mold or mildew that tries to grow on the outside of iguana’s skin.