Shedding/humidity question

[sidhe]

I think Gambit is going to shed soon. He already did once, two days after I picked him up from the airport so, I missed the blue phase the first time. Anyway, he's been in his hide a lot more that normal (actually all the time) and it's been about 6 weeks (this week), since his last shed.

My question is....should I raise humidity now or wait until I see his eyes go blue? His humidity is currently at 60%. I figured I'd up it to the high end of normal (usually it's 55-57). I want to put it at 65-70ish for shed though, because it helped last time. I was just wondering when you all start upping humidity. Is it safe to keep it high (65-70%) for the whole time? (10 days)or are you risking disease (blister)? Should I just wait to see blue?

His last shed was in pieces (included eyecaps though) so, I'm hoping for a perfect one, or close to perfect anyway.

Thanks for the help. I did a search but didn't find anything that really helped me.

[piranhaking]

Many people make a "humid hide" they use some type of container, cut an entry into it that is a little elevated (make sure there are not sharp edges) and put something like spagum moss in the bottom and wet it so that the hide has very high humidity. That was you can provide extra humidity pretty easily, and the snake has the option of if it wants it or not (kinda like having a cool side and a warm side). Best of luck. Sorry i cant be more help on over all levels, but i dont know much about pythons. Also, if you do have any problems with stuck portions a good option is to put the snake in a damp pillow case. That will moisten the skin, and give something to rub against also.

[iceman25]

My question is....should I raise humidity now or wait until I see his eyes go blue? His humidity is currently at 60%. I figured I'd up it to the high end of normal (usually it's 55-57). I want to put it at 65-70ish for shed though, because it helped last time. I was just wondering when you all start upping humidity. Is it safe to keep it high (65-70%) for the whole time? (10 days)or are you risking disease (blister)? Should I just wait to see blue?

If you are not sure if he is going into a shed cycle, I would suggest that you provide him a humid hide instead of raising the humidity through out the enclosure. This way he can use the hide if he needs it instead of having to live in a high humidity environment for prolonged periods of time. Keeping the humidity high for lengthy periods may cause your snake to go off feeding. It also provides an environment for bacteria and mold to grow. This in turn can lead to such complications like scale/belly rot.

[sidhe]

Thanks, that's just what I needed to hear. I was debating what to do since I'm not 100% sure he is going into shed. So, then I assume if I see him in blue I can raise the humidity for a few days?

I ask this because when I first introduced a humid hide to my corn he didn't use it until I placed him right next to it. I guess he didn't know what it was. I tried it with him for three sheds and he used it the last one.