MHD Losing Spikes!

Question
QUESTION: Hello! I have had my Mountain Horned Dragon since early October, and after a few rough patches at the beginning, I think I finally have his habitat up to parr, and he is parasite-free :)

One problem that I have noticed is that he is starting to lose the long spikes on the back of his neck. The first one came off about a month after buying him. I noticed it started to look very translucent, and after playing with it a little it slipped right off, revealing a thinner black looking spike. About a month later that too fell off. About a week ago another long spike on the back of his neck came off, and now one of the smaller ones along his back have also fallen off.

Before the last two fell off he had begun shedding a lot. The entire top portion of his head is now a glossy darker green. Are losing spikes part of his shedding process??

His habitat (according to all information I can find) is up to parr. He has running water that is cleaned out every few days, heat and UVB lamps, coconut fiber subterrain, etc. Heat is consistent and good, but the humidity could be better. Could that be a factor??

He had his last vet check up around Thanksgiving and had some parasite medication, so there shouldn't be any issues with parasites.

The last two days he has also seemed very sluggish and sleepy during the day, and I haven't seen him in his water dish, should I be forcing liquids??

Sorry for all the questions at once, and thank you for all your help! Happy Holidays!

ANSWER:   Sounds like he lost his spikes from shed that was retained too long.  Old shed will "strangle" the spike, cut off it's circulation so that it dies and falls off.  And MHD should be misted a few times a day and even more so during a shed.  The loss is permanent, but only a cosmetic one, he will do okay without them.  Don't force liquids, but do keep misting, if you can introduce a fogger into his habitat, this may restore a more tropical atmosphere like Southeast Asia and could perk him up.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for the information. I feel better knowing that the loss of spikes is not something more serious :)

As I mentioned at the end of my last question, he has been VERY sluggish the last 2-3 days, and seems to be getting worse! He hasn't eaten anything in the last 2-3 days, he stays in the same spot the whole day, amd when I pick him up he will usually keep his eyes closed. Even when he tries to jump it is very un-energetic compared to last week. I'm really worried because he seems to be deteriorating very quickly. Last week he was nice and plump, pretty light green color other than shedding, energetic, and good appetite. Now he is very skinny, no appetite, no energy, turning a darker color, and the area around his neck looks wrinkled (which I believe isn't good).

I'm worried that he may be dehydrated, but I don't know why he wouldn't be drinking from his dish? It has a bubbler in it to create moving water, I don't know what's going on?

Today I used a small dropper and tried force feeding him some water. At the begining I had to force it, but later in the evening when I tried again he was opening his mouth to lap up the water dropplets from the end of the dropper. Should I continue to do this? I started to do this before I got your response about not forcing water (eek!).

So what might be causing his sickly state? If it's dehydration, what might be causing it? What can I do to help Jim get healthy again?? I am really getting worried :(

Answer
 If you looked at my original message, I did say he should be misted frequently.  MHD are tropical and do need the humidity of a rainforest.  I would suggest a nice waterpan for him to sit in and frequent mistings.  There are automatic misters you may want to invest in.  I have a Mist King for my iguana, also a rainforest arboreal lizard, and she really stretches herself out and enjoys it.  Just put Mist King in your search engine and you can get a good idea of the set-up.