problem shed

[Hwom91]

So my 1 year old pastel has had a tough time shedding. she has been shedding small pieces here and there so i gave her a bath last night and tonight she got another bath. she got all the shed off except whats on her head and she is head shy so i cant help. I have pillow cases but they are not 100% cotton.

So my question is should i go get some other pillow cases or will mine be fine? also should i try a third bath tomorrow?

My tank is hard to keep humidity up in. Im going to build a rack as soon as i can afford it but as of now her tank has 50% humidity with a wet towl over the lid and spraying every couple hours.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

I'd go easy on the soaks. A bad shed isn't doing any harm. It's only annoying to you.

Make your snake a humid hide. That will fix your problem. Get some cypress much bedding, coco husk, moss, or any combo. These can be moistened quite a bit and don't mold.

Or you can use an old rag. Just be sure to change it out maybe weekly to wash it.

Put this into a cheap plastic storage box with a lid that you have cut a hole in the top or high in the side of.

Keep this in the enclosure and the BP will use it. The pieces of shed will come off. Don't keep the humid hide too wet. Just keep it moistened and clean. The next shed should be perfect.

If you're having a hard time maintaining humidity, I'd suggest changing the substrate in the enclosure to cypress mulch as well. Completely seal off the top with taped on foil, or wax paper. Leave just a couple inches on one end for ventilation.

[Hwom91]

okay. I have foil on 2/3 of the lid. Ill try the moist rag for now until i get to the pet store.

[SquamishSerpents]

In the future if you snake has a bad shed, the pillowcase method works 100% of the time for me, to get ALL the bad shed off. I find it less stressful to the snake (in my opinion, obviously the snakes don't tell me that!) because while they're in the pillowcase it's a dark environment.

I just wet the pillowcase with lukewarm water, wring (ring? my brain ain't workin' today!) it out, and place the snake inside for half an hour or so. Make sure you secure the pillowcase. If it's not big enough to knot, i usually just twist the end of the pillowcase and zap strap it shut.

I leave the pillowcase sitting in the empty bath tub, and every single time I've done this the entire shed has come off.

But when you get the rack system built, this should alleviate the problem!

[Hwom91]

Does any pillow case work or does it have to be 100% cotton?

[SquamishSerpents]

Never thought of that...I am guessing cotton would be best, though.