Face looking swollen and head peeling?

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Hello!
I had been thinking over the past day or two that Beans’ face was looking a little swollen, and that his head was peeling quite a bit. I’ve had him now for exactly a month, and I compared a photo of him now to a photo of him when I found him and it definitely looks swollen or at least larger and lighter color. I don’t know how long he’d been out before I got him, and for the first couple weeks I had him he didn’t have proper humidity. It’s only in the past couple weeks that I’ve been able to provide him humidity. When we found him, he had already been outside for quite a few hours on our hot rocks in the backyard. We’re lucky to have found him a month ago when the high was 85 and not this week when the high is 108.

There were also a handful of times where while I was sleeping the humidity rose to 80-90% and the temperature was about 70 F because it was night time. I’m not sure what the signs of a respiratory infection are, but I was just reading the other day that high humidity + low temp = very bad.

His scales are also peeling, and I’m not sure if that’s shedding or if he was just too dry for too long. He spends a very long amount of time under his heat lamp too, so I’ve been thinking about getting a CHE for the other side of his enclosure so he can spend some time on the more humid side if perhaps it’s too cold on the other side (usually 70-75 F). I don’t have any sort of UV light bulb yet because I’m undecided on which would be the best for him and for the setup I have, but I do have him outside before it hits 90 F for 30-60 minutes every day or two.

Perhaps I’m also feeding him too much? I give him a good handful of food that’s enough to blanket him, and he usually has leftovers which I pick out at the end of the day.

Please let me know what you think! He’s not snotty or particularly lethargic, but he does spend almost ALL day under his heat lamp or burrowed away and I did catch him yawning a couple times yesterday.

Edit: I also soak him for about 30 minutes every day or two in 90-100 F water!
 

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method89

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He looks very dry. have you been soaking him?

your temps and humidity seem to be fine. I would get the cool side up to about 80 though.

if you are getting him outside for an hour or so everyday, he shouldn't need a uvb bulb.
 
Joined
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He looks very dry. have you been soaking him?

your temps and humidity seem to be fine. I would get the cool side up to about 80 though.

if you are getting him outside for an hour or so everyday, he shouldn't need a uvb bulb.
I’ll definitely look into the CHE then to keep that other side up!

I have been soaking him, usually for about 30 minutes at least every other day. But he also spends all day under his heat lamp.

I’m getting a humidifier for my room as I have quite a few plants that need it, so hopefully that helps keep up the humidity on the warm side of his enclosure as well. It’s usually 30-40%.
 

method89

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do you have a closed chamber? it would very hard to keep the humidity at the right level with an open top.
 
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do you have a closed chamber? it would very hard to keep the humidity at the right level with an open top.
I do actually but I actually keep the lid on at an angle most often because I haven't committed to making a large hole in the top for the lamp to peek in through. The past week I haven't really had the lid on at all until he's sleeping.

The meters I have in there have been giving me good humidity readings, but they are directly on top of the substrate so they're probably not even correct. I'll use some plastic wrap for now to make up for the parts where the lid isn't entirely covering on the cool side.
 

TaylorTortoise

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I’ll definitely look into the CHE then to keep that other side up!

I have been soaking him, usually for about 30 minutes at least every other day. But he also spends all day under his heat lamp.

I’m getting a humidifier for my room as I have quite a few plants that need it, so hopefully that helps keep up the humidity on the warm side of his enclosure as well. It’s usually 30-40%.
what is the che?
 

TaylorTortoise

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Russians don't need that high/much of a humdity range.
I keep mine between 34-50 and when I spray his enclosure it reaches 80 sometimes. I give him and his basking side a rainy mist.
 

ZenHerper

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Ceramic heat emitter. The cool end of his indoor enclosure (with his hide and more room for exploration) is usually around 70-75 F which I'm thinking is too low because he sits under the basking light (95-100F) all day.
That temp range is fine. Try soaking daily if you think he's still a bit dry, and add some water directly under the basking lamp each morning to keep that local substrate from over-drying.

Considering where you started a month ago, he's made a remarkable turn around.
 
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Hello! It's been about a week and I've been soaking Beans every day since I posted this for about 20-40 minutes (depending on how long it takes him to poop...). I just wanted to update and make sure things still look alright. I do believe he looks a bit more hydrated than he did a week ago, but he's really peeling now on his head. I just soaked him for about 40 minutes before taking these photos.

If it changes anything, I use ReptiChip substrate and he does burrow into it several times a day.

I moved the lamp in his hide to the middle so throughout the day the basking temperature is around 95 F, the rest of the temperature runs 75-80 F, and the room his enclosure is in is about 75-77 F. At night the temperature is about 70-73 F and he is burrowed in his substrate.
 

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