Poor shed

[IchliebeTiere]

I feel like an awful owner. Azura had her first shed with me and the skin was kinding of hanging on. I bought moss, soaked it, and placed it in her hides. The next day she was still had scales hanging on so I rewet the moss. Last night I finally used shed-ease reptile bath. When I took her out a toe immediately fell off! And then another small part of another toe on the same foot!!!! I am so sorry. It makes me so sad. My poor baby lost a toe and a half because I didn't act fast enough. All you new owners beware. I still don't know how long a shed should take. I searched the care sheets and the web but can't find a length of time. Is it supposed to be done in one day?

Today I'm changing substrates to something that holds more humidity. Is Zoo Med Eco Earth the coco peat that others are talking about? Do I use it on half the cage or the entire cage? Any help would be appreciated. I can't let this happen again.

[Katrina]

Don't worry - toe issues don't happen overnight or on the first shed with a new owner. This was definitely going to happen no matter what you did. Blueys aren't delicate little creatures that will get ill or lose toes in a matter of hours if you don't do things exactly! Toes take many, many bad sheds to restrict blood flow to the point of the tip dying so it would have been something that happened before you got her and you just saw the result.

Sounds like you're doing lots of great things to keep humidity up and so hopefully it won't happen again - but don't beat yourself up. This wasn't you and lots and lots of blueys have toe tips missing, so she will be just fine and probably won't ever notice it.

[IchliebeTiere]

I have been beating myself up over this... So thanks for the words of encouragement. I got her from backwaterreptiles on January 11th. I guess we all live and learn. I can look at this two ways. That I made a big mistake or that I helped her find a new home that is hopefully better then where she was. ( still beating myself up) Do you think she'll lose more toes? When I got her she had a bunch of dead scales on her tail. This time the same thing happened. I got them all off with the soak last night. The bottle said to "gently rub to remove". I didn't have to do anything though.

Is the eco earth a good substrate to use? I have sent backwater an email on what substrate the breeder was using but they haven't responded yet. And when they do I don't know if that's a good choice since she still had part of a shed on her tail when I got her.

[Katrina]

I have no idea if she will lose more toes or not - you'll have a better idea looking at them to see if there is any damage. If you post pictures we might be able to tell. There is more information here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=17987&p=371789&hilit=Toe+loss#p371789

As for substrate - eco earth is fine. There are tons of options that will work, it depends on your climate and the humidity in your area. If your place is very dry then no substrate will stay very moist without misting it all the time or getting less air flow in the enclosure. A humid hide will help as long as it is kept moist. I've found that good diet and having lots of hard scratchy surfaces like rocks and drift wood to help wear shed off and keep nails down does a lot more good then worrying about the humidity in the enclosure. My Meraukes are kept with super high humidity and are just on aspen usually and lots of them had previous shed issues with past owners, but none have issues now.

I've never used a shed aid type product but from what I've heard they aren't worth it. Lots to climb on and walk over will wear shed off the toes and keep toe nails down. Good luck!