# Ball Pythons > BP Husbandry >  Leaving stuck shed on?

## targciv

My bp Bella had her first shed since I've gotten her. It wasn't all one piece - it was more like one large piece, then some smaller chunks - but she did manage to get it all off in one day, except for a spot on top of her head, one eyecap, and it looks like there may be a small piece on her upper lip, and I mean on her lip, nothing over the nostrils or heat pits. I noticed the head piece later in the day after she had finished shedding, and didn't notice the eyecap until a day or 2 later when her skin got drier again. I did soak her briefly in warm water, but since the stuck shed is on her head, that part of her did not get submerged - she was trying to get out of the container the whole time. I also tried taking a wet washcloth and trying to get her to crawl through it or rub it against her head, but she gets scared and jerks away.

 I've looked up this issue on here before, and read that it may not be worth the stress to the snake trying to remove stuck shed from their head area, and that leaving it alone and just make sure humidity is up enough for the next shed that the old shed will come off with the new shed. I just want to make sure it's okay for me to do that, especially leaving the eyecap on. If you've read any of my former posts, you'll know that I've recently provided her with more adequate heating and temperature/humidity control measures - and she had this shed before any of those new items had arrived in the mail, so I think she had a pretty good first shed considering. So, I'm more confident that I can definitely maintain a higher humidity for her next shed.

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## bmwood

> My bp Bella had her first shed since I've gotten her. It wasn't all one piece - it was more like one large piece, then some smaller chunks - but she did manage to get it all off in one day, except for a spot on top of her head, one eyecap, and it looks like there may be a small piece on her upper lip, and I mean on her lip, nothing over the nostrils or heat pits. I noticed the head piece later in the day after she had finished shedding, and didn't notice the eyecap until a day or 2 later when her skin got drier again. I did soak her briefly in warm water, but since the stuck shed is on her head, that part of her did not get submerged - she was trying to get out of the container the whole time. I also tried taking a wet washcloth and trying to get her to crawl through it or rub it against her head, but she gets scared and jerks away.
> 
>  I've looked up this issue on here before, and read that it may not be worth the stress to the snake trying to remove stuck shed from their head area, and that leaving it alone and just make sure humidity is up enough for the next shed that the old shed will come off with the new shed. I just want to make sure it's okay for me to do that, especially leaving the eyecap on. If you've read any of my former posts, you'll know that I've recently provided her with more adequate heating and temperature/humidity control measures - and she had this shed before any of those new items had arrived in the mail, so I think she had a pretty good first shed considering. So, I'm more confident that I can definitely maintain a higher humidity for her next shed.


What I did with mine that worked is VERY GENTLY use a cue tip dipped in warm water and lightly stroke the eye cap, took about 3 days of doing it little by little but it eventually came off.

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## Tigerhawk

Put her in a cloth bag wet it with warm water. Then put it in a tub of warm water like you did before. She should crawl around in the bag while trying to escape. Which should soften the eye caps and the stuck shed which will be rubbed off in the sack by your snake. Its worked for me in the past.

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## targciv

Will that work if the skin is dry? How long should I leave her in there?

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## Zincubus

> Put her in a cloth bag wet it with warm water. Then put it in a tub of warm water like you did before. She should crawl around in the bag while trying to escape. Which should soften the eye caps and the stuck shed which will be rubbed off in the sack by your snake. Its worked for me in the past.


Never tried this but it's got to be worth a try ...

If all fails .... sit down somewhere with a wet or very damp , rough textured bath towel and wrap the snake up in it ... then let it slither around inside a while , all the time you can be applying very GENTLE pressure on the head / neck / eye regions and after 5 to 10 minutes any stubborn dead skin and eye caps will have been removed ..

Just takes some patience and a very gentle touch.

Do not be tempted to simply pull any skin off with your fingers as some snakes will ' have you'  as it hurts sometimes.

Another tip I see for retained eye-caps but DISAGREE WITH - is to put some tape over the eyes and gently pull !!    

This sounds like an horrendous idea !!!


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## DennisM

> Another tip I see for retained eye-caps but DISAGREE WITH - is to put some tape over the eyes and gently pull !!    
> 
> This sounds like an horrendous idea !!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


yup, that is a horrendous idea.

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## Sunnieskys

Tape? Wth! No, never!

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## Cheesenugget

My bp had a mostly 1 piece shed recently too.  A piece was stuck on his tail.  Fortunately, a quick soak got rid of that.  But I did not do this until after 24 hours later.  It is stressful for your snake and there might still be natural oil in its skin to finish the shedding.  Thus, I read it was recommended to leave it alone for 24 hours before stepping in.  My bp did manage to get rid of some by himself prior to the soak.

If my bp still can't get rid of it after a few more soaks, I would have left it alone as long as he eats and just increase the humidity.  It takes several stuck shed cycles for a stuck eye cap or other stuck shed to become a problem.  What does not come off now may do so in the next cycle.  If it is interfering with your bp from eating, then I would continue to try to get rid of it.

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## CALM Pythons

> .  It takes several stuck shed cycles for a stuck eye cap or other stuck shed to become a problem. .


I disagree.. You can raise Humidity and wait to see if it comes off with the Next shed, but to say it takes several stuck eye caps or sheds to become a problem is incorrect. Tail circulation problems can occur quickly and eye caps are no joke. Infections and dented eyes are not few and far between. 


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_tttaylorrr_ (03-16-2018)

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