Last piece of shed

[Ares_Iscariot]

I recently picked up a ball python, when I got her home and into her tank, I set the humidity around 55%. Unfortunately, turns out she was starting a shed cycle. So, when I came home that day I found some of her shed broken into pieces. I immediately turned up humidity and to about 70% and have been keeping a close eye on her. After a few soaks and a wash cloth I was able to get 95% of her shed off, but there is one remaining and disconcerting piece that's very stubborn. It runs from the underside of her lower jaw to probably about an inch down her neck. I still have her humidity at 70% but I'm starting to get worried. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it, or trying to work it off by herself. The rest of the tank's settings also seem to be fine (Hot spot is at 90, ambient is 80) and she's currently on paper towels as substrate. I put a piece of driftwood in the tank to rub against to try to get it off herself, but still no luck. Whenever I soak her in warm water to help her out, she seems to try to push the top off the container, so the part of her that I need in the water (her head) is always above the water. Anyone have any other ideas? She's still a baby and has been losing weight, so I'm a bit worried about not being able to feed her. http://s1049.photobucket.com/user/Ar...ary/Persephone (Pictures of where the shed is)

Thanks for any help.

[kiiarah]

I don't have much direct experience with anything like this, but I have always seen it suggested to leave stuck shed alone unless it is a ring of skin around the neck or tail. These two areas are a danger because as the snake grows it can cut off circulation. The only other thing that is thought to be a problem during shed is the eye caps being left on. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but do you know if she got both eye caps off? Typically in the case of retained eye caps it is recommended to take the snake to the vet for assistance. The eye is just too fragile and it is really risky trying to remove them without adequate experience. Oftentimes, stuck shed will come off with the next shed cycle, it isn't a danger in and of itself. Personally, I would give her a bit more time. If she just shed she may just be eager to rest and will deal with it when she is feeling refreshed. You can add a moist hide so that she has it as an option to "soak" in. Take a tupperware container (the thin plastic kind), cut out two holes and fill it halfway with damp (not soaked) sphagnum moss or even damp paper towels, then put the lid on and set it in the tank. She will go in if she feels that she needs it. Shedding for snakes is instinctual and it is unlikely that she needs any help with it. You said you are not able to feed her, is this because of the stuck skin? I have never read a recommendation to not feed when shed is left on. Are you concerned that it being on her neck will cause problems? When people recommend not to feed snakes during shed it is more because of the likelihood of refusal than any risk to them. Many snakes will not eat when shedding, and some people feel it is better to just wait than risk wasting food trying to get them to eat. The only concern I would have is that if the skin is very stuck it seems like there could be a chance that it could tear when the snake was swallowing and cause damage to the new skin underneath, but I think this is unlikely. I would still wait for others to contribute on that one, just in case, but I can say that I haven't come across any information on it being dangerous to feed in a situation like yours.

[Ares_Iscariot]

Thanks so much for the tip. I'm almost 100% sure her eye caps came off with the shed. I have a picture that I'll add to the photobucket album so everyone can see. I'd heard that during shed it was very difficult to feed, and to try to get the entire shed off before feeding, but if that's not the case I might feed tonight as she has lost some weight since I got her. Luckily the sections around her tail and neck seem to have shed (outside of the small piece still attached, but I think it's more on her jaw than her neck). Do you think it's a good idea to keep the humidity around 70% until it comes off? I'm worried about scale rot and RI, but I don't know much about their time frames. How long would it take for those to develop? She's only had the 70% humidity for 2 or 3 days now. Thanks again for any input.

[Ares_Iscariot]

http://s1049.photobucket.com/user/Ar...bile%20Uploads

Here is the link to the potential eye caps and another look at the remaining piece of shed.

[kiiarah]

If it is any help, Shesha's (my pastel) has had his humidity around 70% (sometimes as high as 85%) for about the last 7-9 days. It is common practice to keep the humidity high for the entire shed cycle, which can be as long as two weeks. The fact that he was mid shed when he arrived home with you buys you some additional time. I would say you are safe to keep it high for a couple of weeks. Keep in mind, scale rot is not something that develops from moisture alone but a combination of high moisture and unsanitary conditions. Bacteria thrives in damp, warm areas so that is really the major concern. If the tank is clean, and if you spot clean regularly you should be just fine. If you are worried you can always do a substrate change after a few more days just to be sure. I check my little guy's tank daily and sanitize the entire enclosure once a month, so he is never left in urine or feces for even a day. However, if a person were to keep a snake in high humidity and rarely spot cleaned then that would be a danger.

As for feeding, there is a chance that she will refuse food (in which case you are out a rat, but at least you offered) but also a good chance that she will eat. Snakes are typically very ready to eat after shedding, they expend a lot of energy during the process and are usually eager to feed. In your situation, I would definitely try it and see. I would rather offer and have to throw out a rat, but know she had a chance to eat if she needed to than wait and worry that she is hungry. When you say she is losing weight, how much exactly has she lost? Keep in mind that snakes tend to look strange prior to shedding due to the loose skin. Unless you are measuring with a digital scale, I wouldn't try to judge visually. Signs of an emaciated snake would be loose skin (which of course also occurs prior to shed) and a triangular shape to the body with a very prominent spine. Healthy snakes will still have a slight ridge along their back but it shouldn't be a pronounced edge. Also keep in mind that she is still adjusting to her new home. My little one went into shed very shortly after arriving home, it took me about two weeks to get him to eat well. He took his first pinky rat (which I later learned was too small for him) and pretty much went straight into a shed cycle, during which he refused feedings. After shedding I offered and due to stress of a bad shed that I had to assist him with he refused that week as well. Finally I scented his rat with tuna and tried again and he has been eating like a champ ever since. I can't say if it was the scenting or just giving him time to settle in, but I want to say the record for refusing food was nearly two years and the snake recovered and started eating again. They can go a ridiculous amount of time without food.

[Ares_Iscariot]

I measured her with a digital scale when she got in, she weighed 69 grams. I weighed her again two days ago and she had dropped 5 grams. I guess I'm just worried that she's dropping weight. I known 5 grams is an almost negligible weight for larger snakes, but she's so small it worries me. She does have noticeable folds in her skin, but her spine doesn't seem to be particularly prominent. Is a 5 gram drop in only a few days something to be concerned with?

[kiiarah]

My thinking would be that she may have eaten shortly before you got her. If she was measured right after eating it seems that the weight can be skewed by the rat body in the snake. After digestion some of that weight gets dropped. They can also drop an alarming amount of weight after a bowel movement, since they hold it for so long. Do you know when she was fed last before you got her and has she defecated recently? I always weigh Shesha the day before feeding so he has plenty of time to digest his rat and metabolize everything so that his weight reading will be more of just him and less of his prey. It seems from my experience that since they eat such large meals their weight can fluctuate quite a bit. Now if she continues refusing food, or you see only decreasing weight with no gain that would be concerning, but given the short time you have had her it seems that it would be hard to tell what her weight has been trending at. If she has only gone a couple of weeks without food it seems unlikely that the loss would have to do with that, just based on how long they can go without while losing almost no weight. If it were something like an internal parasite that could result in sudden weight loss, but again it would be a consistent trend. With my guy his weight will go (for example) 90, 105, 101, 117, 113...etc, so there is still a positive upward trend, but if you were only looking at a short section of the growth chart it could look like startling weight loss. Again, this is just a hunch, and of course you should always watch for any other symptoms or behavior that may indicate something more serious is going on, but it is certainly possible that she had a full belly at her first weighing and just recently stabilized.