Review by Justin Smith
There are few things more frustrating than an animal that has bad sheds! While we, as keepers, try to do our best to keep bad sheds from happening but at some point in the herpetocultural journey they are inevitable. Of course there are a handful of ways we handle stuck shed from soaking to misting to manually pulling the flakes off by hand. Zoo Med, a brand that I’m sure we’re all familiar with, sells a product specifically catered to solving this problem with their Repti Shedding Aid.
This product comes in a small 2.25 ounce bottle which may seem small but once you use this product you’ll see that a little goes a long way! The ingredients list on the bottle is: water, solubilizing hydrotrope, glycerine, jojoba oil and vitamin E acetate in an oil base. Together these help to soften and condition the skin or stuck shed to help it come off easier. When I use it I notice if you apply it and leave it for a few minutes it becomes almost sticky which helps pull off the stuck bits even better. Combined with a rubber finger tip that is used for counting money, the stuck shed doesn’t stand a chance! The Zoo Med website states that it is safe to use for stuck eye caps.
Their site also states that this product can be used as a preventative saying “Once per month, or before your reptile sheds, spray Repti Shedding Aid onto your reptile and gently rub into the skin.” Personally, I’ve yet to use it preemptively and with particulate bedding wonder if that would be a smart thing to do since it gets “sticky” just to become a bedding magnet on your animal.
In my opinion the best prevention is keeping your animal hydrated as best as you can. Obviously our daily lives get busy and sometimes things get missed. That’s where we’re lucky to have this product around! It’s easy to find either online or at your local Petsmart or Petco at around $8 or $9 a bottle. Like so many things in my herp room, this is one that I would rather have and not need than need and not have! Buy your bottle here – https://amzn.to/3qHzuP1
Brought to you by Blackboxcages.com
