Bad shed Issue please help

[Tripppysmurf]

Hey guys and gals. I have mojo who is doing great other then the fact that his shed is not looking exactly right. He is shedding on the sides and top of the head but not by where his spine would be running down his back up to his "neck" area. I have yet to see him get any caps in this shed. I am worried as this is his first shed with me and the guy at the store said he was only about a month old when I bought him. I have been religiously keeping my humidity up but I am fighting with a glass tank as the darn thing will not keep the humidity as high as I would like. Any suggestions or comments please.

[Ekama Exotics]

How long have you had him? He could still be acclimating to his new home. Sometimes stress causes a poor shed. It's even possible that he was dehydrated when you bought him (if that wasn't too long ago).

I had a female given to me that was having a bad shed, so I ran some hot water and soaked a towel, rung it out and put it in a container, set her inside (with the lid on of course) and it really helped. The humidity loosens things up and as she moved around in there, the towel acted like and exfoliant

Also, how high are you keeping the humidity? Normal is about 50%. I try to keep mine near 65-70% when they are shedding... too much humidity can cause health issues.

[SoundUnsleep]

Not sure about how you have your glass tank set up. I have hinged screen lids on mine and whenever I get a baby in that has a stuck shed, I place a damp towl over about 2/3 of the lid (raises the humidity to about 70%) after rubbing the snake down with shed-aid. Make sure you have something in the tank for the little one to rub up against.
Good luck!

[bearhart]

Hey guys and gals. I have mojo who is doing great other then the fact that his shed is not looking exactly right. He is shedding on the sides and top of the head but not by where his spine would be running down his back up to his "neck" area. I have yet to see him get any caps in this shed. I am worried as this is his first shed with me and the guy at the store said he was only about a month old when I bought him. I have been religiously keeping my humidity up but I am fighting with a glass tank as the darn thing will not keep the humidity as high as I would like. Any suggestions or comments please.

You do know that shedding is a 15 min procedure right? Unless you were writing that post while it was going on then you have what is called "retained shed" , which is not going to come off without help.

Search the forums for "retained shed" and you should find at least 2 or 3 methods to deal with it. Most importantly, realize that the shed is over and nothing short of soaking your snake is going to get the skin off. Keeping the tank humid is just going to breed mold and bacteria.

[Tripppysmurf]

15 minutes? Really? I thought it took longer. He seems to be fine for eating so I figured maybe it was just this once. I have only had him for about 4 months now. He is definetly eating well as he is a very aggresive eater.What would you guys say is best for him to rub up on? I am using wettened papertowels right now in his cage. Three at once. How often should I be changing them? I am changing them right now about 5-6 times a day.

[Nate]

This worked wonders for me.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=43403

You're not keeping wet paper towels in there are you??? That will definitely cause problems.

[SoundUnsleep]

Trippy, something's really wrong! I'm gonna summarize some of your info:

The BP was about one month old when you got it.
You had it for four months.
This is the first time that the BP is shedding for you.

A healthy baby BP sheds every four to six weeks.

As nathan already indicated, the damp papertowel in the cage isn't such a good idea. Perhaps you have one of those wooden hides (you know, the ones that look like a half log)? If you don't it's not a big deal, I'm sure you can find something else that has a rough surface without sharp edges.

Most BP's will go off feed when they shed. They do so knowing that it's not good for them to eat while shedding, because it will break the shed skin prematurely, which can lead to a bad shed.

Since this appears to be the first shed cycle in four months, you are probably looking at a stuck shed. Can you, please describe exactly what you mean by saying he's shedding on the sides and top of head? Are there loose scales that have actually already lifted up? Have pieces of the shed fallen off?

[lillyorchid]

I have been religiously keeping my humidity up but I am fighting with a glass tank as the darn thing will not keep the humidity as high as I would like. Any suggestions or comments please.

Chuck the tank and move him in to a one of those plastic clothes storage tubs that you can by at Target and Walmart. It will help out with holding humidity so much better and in the end your snake will not have issues with bad sheds. If he is still having an issue shedding and has stuck skin on him, then try soaking him in a few inches of warm water for about 15 minutes. That stuck skin should peel away from the snake. Best of luck to you and your your little buddy!

[Tripppysmurf]

I took out the papertowles. Only reason I had them there was because someone off these threads suggested it lol. Thanks for letting me know as I took them out pronto. Monday I am going to go out and get him anew hide with thebark and everything. The wierd thing about mojo' shed is he never missed a feeding at all. If anything he ate better then previous. My fiance says he l;ooks bigger already which I am not sure about but he seems happy enough. I tried a tub but he UTH I bought with it got all wierded out and warpy looking and would not heat the bottomr ight even with lifters that came with the UTH on the plastic tub. If anyone has a picture of there plastic setup I would apprciate the pic and in detail specs on the tub so I can make the best possible one. I would rather go tub but I will admit I have no clue how to build one properly.

[bearhart]

This worked wonders for me.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=43403

You're not keeping wet paper towels in there are you??? That will definitely cause problems.

What's wrong with putting wet paper towels in your tank?

I have found putting a ball or two of wet paper towel in the tank is a great way to raise and stabilize the humidity during shedding.