shedding&wierd behavior

[Estowe]

ok, heres pics of my first ball python. i bought him from a local pet store...shame on me. but he (havent taken it to the vet yet to get sexed and cheked over yet but i'll just call it a him) is VERY calm and i know that everyone says snakes dont have feelings but to me he just seems like a sweetheart. i dont know how old he is but hes about 2 feet long and i have to get him wieghed still but he looks very healthy.
his name is Oberon. =]

http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t...t=100_1729.jpg

http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t...t=100_1726.jpg

http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t...nt=oberon2.jpg



i tried getting a pic. of his stuck shed behind his head and along his neck. my camera isnt the best, sorry. but i've tried the pillowcase trick and i tried soaking him. what can i do to get this stuck shed off. its kind of a big piece and hes really head shy so he wont let me touch it.

can anyone give me a couple tips? the humidity is 50% and im having a hard time bumping it up past 55%.

also ever since he started to shed he hasnt been in his hide really, which has been the past 3 days. is this normal for bp's? he usually loves his hide. the temps are okay and so is the humidity. is it from handling him while hes shedding? what do you think?

thanks alot!

Ethan

[Drew87]

ok so have you tried to soak him and then you can very carefully peal off the old shed, but you might just want to try and bump up the humidity so he can do it himself it needs to be at 60% but during i shed i usually bump it up to around 70% just to make sure it all comes off all in one, good luck

[dr del]

Hi,

When you soaked him did you try the letting him run through a washcloth part or just soak and leave him to try himself? Just trying to get a feel for how stuck on the shed is.

Does it completely encircle his body at any point?

On raising the humidity it would help if you could tell us a little bit about your enclosure and even provide pictures if you can. When they shed we normally recomend raising the humidity to around 60 - 70%

That way we might be able to suggest ideas that have worked for us in similar cases.

When did he actually start shedding his skin (3 days?)?


dr del

[missi182]

ok so have you tried to soak him and then you can very carefully peal off the old shed, but you might just want to try and bump up the humidity so he can do it himself it needs to be at 60% but during i shed i usually bump it up to around 70% just to make sure it all comes off all in one, good luck

Don't actually grasp the loose skin and peel it off, terrible things can happen if it stuck well. Follow this sticky and do it every 24 hours until the shed is removed.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43403