Below is in a nutshell a perfect metaphor of my life at this stage. It suffices to say that "skin" here equals "cultural norms and values".
"All animals, at regular intervals, shed their skin. Some, like humans, do it relatively unobtrusively in a sort of ongoing process (we shed 1.5 million skin cells every hour with a new skin surface every 28 days or so). Others do it quickly and cleanly, like the one-piece sheds produced by snakes and tarantulas. Most lizards are rather more leisurely about it, with their skin coming off in patches. Some lizards are like snakes, tarantulas, and stick insects: they climb out of their old skin, leaving it behind in one piece.
Going into shed is apparently not a real fun thing for snakes and lizards. Most get rather cranky during this time, with some individuals becoming hissy or snappy, objecting to being held or touched. The best thing to do is to respect their ill-feeling as much as possible. If you need to get in and service their enclosure, do it, but restrict actual handling to that which is necessary.
While reptiles may still eat when in the very early phase of the pre-shed period, as the period progresses, they usually lose their appetite. Most greatly reduce their food intake; others stop eating altogether until after they have shed. Some snakes will not eat while their eyes are milky; some will take a meal once the eyes have cleared but before they shed, while others will not eat until after they shed.
If your iguana is not shedding, and it is not the winter slow-growth period, then there is a problem. It may be that the environment is wrong, the diet is not nutritious enough to promote growth or normal skin renewal processes, or your iguana is sick. The iguana may also be psychologically stressed. A review of the environment and diet is necessary, as is a review of any other factors that may affect how the iguana responds psychologically/socially to his environment.
Generally speaking, don't pull the skin if it isn't ready to come off."
