Time to report something odd - Fawn, my big parietalis girl, is currently at the end of her shed cycle.

30 mins ago I saw her out and about and I figured she was probably going to attempt her shed. It was then that I noticed that her tail looked odd .... infact, something was missing!







I was faced with the above wound ... I cleaned the viv occupied by Fawn and the other parietalis girl, Biscuit, only 3 days ago. At this time I also noted their weights. I didn't notice that anything was amiss, if it was at the time.

Looking at the wound I estimate that this occured yesterday. All of the blood I can see in the viv is well dried and the tail, when I found it, had a faint smell of decay to it, though not overpowering.

I found the tail tip under the warm hide of the tank. A good 7 inches has been lost!





Points to consider:
  • There are no sharp point/surfaces anywhere in the enclosure.
  • There are two things that could have a chance to cause crushing damage - the waterbowl (which I they can't lift at all), or the warm hide (which isn't heavy enough in my opinion).
  • I certainly haven't trapped her tail at any point.
  • No discomfort/animosity other any other stress factors have been observed in the co-habitation of the two females since September.


A complete shock ... and a wonderful mystery for further debate ... I will have to seek out some iodine tomorrow.

P.S> forgot to add every shed in her entire history was complete.