Shedding Skin

[HoneyBee]

Hey guys! Thanks for all your help with Clyde when I have questions.

I have another one - what does it mean when their skin sheds? When I gave Clyde a bath a layer of his dried/shedding skin fell off. Does it just mean he's growing?

But he looks bright and shiny now anyways. And maybe a little more orange. (He always loves a photo shoot.)

[Mentat]

Clyde is very cute Honey! As amphibians and reptiles grow, their skin does not grow with them, so it needs to be replaced with a new larger one. That process of discarding the old shed (frogs usually eat it) and growing a new one is called shedding. If your frog stops eating for couple days and yawns a lot, stretches, and uses forelimbs to push skin toward mouth; it's shedding. If you find pieces of skin on bath water it means some was stuck or the smart frog helped itself by removing shed skin in the water .

[Hypnotic]

I don't think it really has a reason. It's just natural in frogs and other animals, frogs however eat the shed and there is a theory about that. The theory is that they do it to cover tracks, incase of predators.
My crested gecko also does this, not as frequent as a frog however.
Edit: Mentat are you sure about that? My crested gecko and albino cranwelli both still shed and it's not like adults still grow.
Edit 2: I honestly believe they do it because the skin has gotten old, like us humans do it very slowly piece by piece, these guys just do it at once.
I honestly know nothing about it and can't seem to find why the shedding happends, but looking at it, I just think they do it more effectively then us. Amphibian skin might die off faster then ours, seeing as how it's absorbant, so they might need to dump the old skin for health reasons. I think it has something to do with growth in young animals offcourse, but I don't think that theorie would hold up for adults.

[Mentat]

I don't think it really has a reason. It's just natural in frogs and other animals, frogs however eat the shed and there is a theory about that. The theory is that they do it to cover tracks, incase of predators.
My crested gecko also does this, not as frequent as a frog however.
Edit: Mentat are you sure about that? My crested gecko and albino cranwelli both still shed and it's not like adults still grow.
Edit 2: I honestly believe they do it because the skin has gotten old, like us humans do it very slowly piece by piece, these guys just do it at once.
I honestly know nothing about it and can't seem to find why the shedding happends, but looking at it, I just think they do it more effectively then us. Amphibian skin might die off faster then ours, seeing as how it's absorbant, so they might need to dump the old skin for health reasons. I think it has something to do with growth in young animals offcourse, but I don't think that theorie would hold up for adults.

Clyde is a growing baby and I answered Honey's question for her frog and her knowledge level (a newbie I presume). Yes, old or damaged skin needs to be shed too.

[Hypnotic]

Haha, sorry. I tend to overthink things.

[DVirginiana]

Oftentimes mine will start shedding when I'm soaking her. She'll just puff up and shed there in the bath. Happens a bit too often to be coincidence... Can't tell if it's a stress thing, or if she's just taking advantage of being in water to get it off easier. She's pretty chill though, so I lean more toward it being easier to remove in the water

[GrifTheGreat]

Frogs don't actually shed to grow like reptiles do. Although they may shed more frequently during periods of growth it is just as every other function in the body speeds up so does frequency of shedding. It is supposedly controled by their Thyroid gland.

Of course it is also a small means of nourishment when eaten and to replace the old protective layer of mucus which has since dried up with the old skin.

[danfrog]

Hmm. I was thinking they shed for more along the lines of taking a shower. Cleaning themselves off.

[GrifTheGreat]

Hmm. I was thinking they shed for more along the lines of taking a shower. Cleaning themselves off.

Same reason as removing old mucus. It coats the old skin so it all come off at once.