Shedding problem..

[spaceturtle]

My guy is shedding for the first time since I got him. The problem is that he never broke anything off his nose or head area and all the skin below it is where the peeling started.

By soaking him I was able to remove everything but his head, head eyes and nose. all of this stuff is 100% intact. After soaking an hour, the skin looks wet but doesnt come off with the gentle touch of a wet cloth. I tried letting him run through it head first, but it's not been enough to take anything off yet. I tried picking at it with my hands but he doesn't like it when I touch his head.

What can I do here to fix this? He's due to eat tomorrow and I want him to feed.

[Mochelem]

If you soaked him for an hour, then let it roam in cage, it may rub the rest off... Check your humidity in your enclosure bad sheds are usually related to this...

[spaceturtle]

Humidity is spot on. In his tub he gets about 60% average.. I bumped it up to 80% about a week ago by putting moist papertowels in one of his hides.

[Mochelem]

It might not be ready to come off then... that might be why he hasnt shed it on his own... If your really that worried remember that your bigger than the snake, hold him on the neck right behind the head and he wont be able to stop you from peeling it off... But remember if it seems tough to take off then its not ready to come off..

[spaceturtle]

Ok so I did just that and tried peeling it by force but it was kind of hard to move.. it looks like the area around his head is just not quite ready yet.

Is it a bad idea to feed him this way?

[Mochelem]

I would wait a couple of days.. It wont hurt the snake to wait.. Just make sure hes got a rough surface to rub against..

[gothkenny]

Try to to soak him a few times, letting him rub through the cloth then as was said before, give him a rough surface such as bark and let him rub the skin off himself.

(Oh, and if you could show us a picture of his head right now on how the skin is looking, it would help a lot.)

[spaceturtle]

I dont have any bark on hand right now. What's something else I might have around the house? Maybe this is the problem. All he has now to rub against is a heat rock with the cord ripped out. It's not terribly rough but not smooth either. It's very, rock like lol.

I'll see about getting a pic.

[starmom]

It also won't hurt to leave the old skin on and just wait until the next shed.
I wonder if the humidity in your hides is the same as the ambient humidity?? Maybe next time you could make humid hides for your snake by putting moss inside each of the hides. This might be all he needs to help him have a perfect shed

[spaceturtle]

Some pics:





I'm also wondering if anyone knows whether this line on his belly is normal or not. It's hard to see but it's just like a very straight line on his belly. It's like the scales are divided. Maybe he was cut?