BAD SHED.... Help please this is strange..

[NikkiePastel]

Ok so my Zeus has shed, well sort of.

He has no shed skin left on his body but his head and eye caps have not come off. I have tried to let him soak and rub through a hand towel but it's not helping..

is there anything I can do to help him??
He will let me handle him and will rub his face against my hands attempting to remove the head skin.. I feel bad for him, he seems to be frustrated and rubbing like crazy on me and andthing else in sight.. I have heard of ways to remove eye caps but how long should I wait to help with removal??

His temps are good, hot and cool side. Humidity is up to 69-71 since I noticed he was in shed.. He has a soaking tub and a few diff hides. There is a brick house/hide I built out of miny bricks that he normaly uses to start his shed.

any advice will be taken with great thanks.

nikkie

[Quacking-Terror]

Gene had a bad shed just after I got him and most of it came off except for the head and eyecaps, similar to your situation. You can try letting him sit in a damp pillowcase for 20 minutes or so, then try to gently, if he lets you, work the un-shed skin off. That and letting the snake sit in his (very) humid enclosure for a couple hours helped me get Gene's shed off. I hope this helps even a little, sorry I couldn't advise more!

[NikkiePastel]

Thanks !

your comment on humidity gave me an idea...
I took a rubber tub and screened in the top, took a warm wet hand towel and put in the bottom and put Zeus in it. I placed the tub on the toilet and turned on the shower. I let him stay in there for about 20-30 min and just put him back in his tank. He is hard at work rubbing his face so I have my fingers crossed that will do the trick..

Any tips on how to hold him without hurting him to try and roll the skin off?

and what about the eye caps? I'm really worried they won't come off... How long should I wait till I try and help with that??

[Quacking-Terror]

If the skin is starting to come loose, you can try to take hold of it and let the snake move naturally, that might help it come up.

As to the eye caps, everything I've read here says that they might come off after a few days if the snake doesn't get them off himself today. There's a chance however, that if you can get your fingers on that head skin and very slowly try to work it off, the eyecaps will come off with it. That's what happened with me.

[Trey Yeoman]

I have never had to removed eye caps (thank god)... but I know that it is not suggested because you can damage your snakes eyes... but then again I read somewhere where someone suggested using tape and like... here are some videos I found... take them with a grain of salt though... make your own informed decision.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgCo1pCymiw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WUym...eature=related

[RichsBallPythons]

Use rubber thimbles used for paper counting. These work great with removing anything off the eyes with lightly touching/rubbing

[Quacking-Terror]

Yeah, Trey. I never actually messed with the eyecaps, just the skin on his head. The eyecaps came off along with it, never had to touch his eyes at all . I hope they come off soon, Nikkie. Let us know!

[NikkiePastel]

Thanks for all the advice guys !

After a close close look, it does not even seem as tho the skin on his head is even loose..

he got his cheeks clear but his eye caps and from the tip of his nose to the base of his neck is like glued down?!?!

what in the world is going on??

[piper]

If you can't get it off of his head, what I would do is, I would spray down the tub a few times a day, just keep misting and making sure the humidity is between 60% and 70%. Just keep feeding him as normal and wait for his next shed. Depending on his size and he is eating good, generally they'll shed after 1-3 feedings and when he goes back in to shed bump the humidity to 70% and let him shed it off. With daily misting, it's possible he will just rub off the shed himself before his next shed as well. Soaking him in a tub with water won't do anything because the snake won't put his head under water.

[Xan Powers]

well the head skin you have plenty of ways to choose from to get that off in this thread but the most important thing right now is those eyecaps. while I was mentoring under justin he taught me a really simple and effective way to get them off if they are ever retained. all you need to do is make a circle of tape and wrap around your index finger, make sure it's sticky side out and just lightly tap the eyecap. it sounds bizzare and of course your snake will be startled but it has worked me the one time my normal had retained caps and I've seen justin do it effectively as well. let me know how it goes!


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