Saga has always had great sheds up until now... She would go into hiding when she went into blue, then, two weeks later, she'd shed and be as good as new, within 1-3 days of going clear.
This time, however, she was in hiding for half a week longer than usual and had been clear for five days when I finally pulled her out and gave her a bath an hour ago. After an hour in the water with a hand towel, there was a complete shed in the tub. It came off all in one piece, tail tip and eye caps included.
The only things that have changed since her last shed are her feed schedule, how often I handle her, and her substrate.
I used to keep her on reptibark, but the vet wants to do a fecal test on her (to get her "healthy" record, or something like that....), so I switched her to fine-chipped aspen in the hopes of finding the poo easier. (With next to no luck, I might add. It's like she actually enjoys hiding it from me...) That was about a month ago. It's about 2.5 inches deep... I used the whole bag. XD
My family is in the process of moving, and I'm hoping to put Saga in a bigger tank when we get moved, but there have been delays in closing the deal, money is tight, and we have no idea when we'll actually be able to move in. Since I can't afford a new tank, the closest thing I could get was a second-hand 20-high tank, but I figured that would be alright as long as she was still small enough to enjoy climbing. With all the delays, however, I've had to cut back her feeding a bit in hopes of keeping her from outgrowing her existing 10 gallon tank before we can move. Trying to switch tanks in our current house would be nearly impossible, simply because there's nowhere to put the bigger tank while I transfer all Saga's stuff into it. She used to be on a six-day feed schedule, but is now on a ten-day feed schedule. She went into blue right before her next feed day, so she has now been without food for about four weeks. T_T
Work has become more demanding over the last couple months, so Saga spends more time alone in her tank than she used to. I get her out (when she's clear) for about an hour about two or three times a week. She seems as curious and calm as ever, but still a bit skittish from time to time.
Her temps are 85-91 degrees at the glass on the hot side, between 68-76 degrees at the glass on the cold side. Saga's not much of a burrower, though. I change her water about once a week or as needed (i.e., the bowl is empty or has substrate in it). I use filtered tap water kept at room temperature; the bowl is a little small for her (too small for her to soak in), but I can't find anything bigger that wouldn't occupy the entire center of the tank, and there was never any evidence that she ever used to soak in it anyway, even when she used to fit. I spot clean the tank whenever I can find anything to clean. Humidity bounces between 70-85%, which is the ambient humidity in the room. She has a smallish cold hide that she loves and a larger warm hide, which is basically a wicker basket with fingerholes for handles turned upside down. I made a little hollow in the aspen under it and little furrows leading to it, and she seems to like it just fine (and she enjoys climbing up on top of it). She's also quite fond of her various cage foliage and climbing branch.
Can anyone see what might have caused the shed problem? Did I maybe just overreact?
