Another bad shed and other woes...

Jackson shed last night, and it's his third bad one with me. His humidity is at 65. Is that really too low? Are some snakes just kinda bad at shedding?
He's got the entire back 3/4 off. The stuck shed starts at the back of his head and there's really not much of it. I tried to assist according to directions in the sticky thread, but instead of running through the towel- he just sits there like a dead fish! If he was a human child I would swear that he was being intentionally un-helpful. So, will he eventually just get it off himself?

My other concern is that he is almost always in his hot side. And he looks just cozy over there... but when I put him in his tank after trying to assist with the shed, he immediately went to his cold hide! And he's been there ever since! (About three hours). If he gets too cold (and it is cold in my room), will his instincts bring him to his hot side?

Although I've never had problems with our balls shedding at 65% humidity (are you sure your hygrometer is accurate?), some do seem to have a little harder time shedding than others. Try adding some damp sphagnum moss to his hides.

I wouldn't worry about him being in his cold hide. He is probably just stressed out right now and doesn't want to leave his hide. Leave him be for a while and he will come out when he feels ready.

During shed you should bump the humidity up high... around 85, also if it's that cold in your room you should consider heating both sides of the tank with one side a bit lower than the other, leaving the middle as the cool spot this makes for a good temperature gradient.

I got two hygrometers, one digital because I didn't trust the needle pointy one. they both go between 60-70 throughout the day. I think they're alright... Next time I will try the moss.
I do have a small UTH that I put away in favor of my new one. I can put that one on the cool side. :) Thanks, feeling a little better about this...

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Originally Posted by blueberrypancakes

Thanks, feeling a little better about this...

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:gj:

What I like about you is that you ask! I've been reading about you and Jackson for a while now. There are so many people out there will argue any and all advice offered to them and ultimately not do anything to fix the problem.

You mentioned your cool side is really cool. How cool are we talking about?

Where is the humidity being read from? It will tend to be lower directly over the heat, so if he's in the hot side the majority of the time, his humidity could be much lower than the overall tank reading.

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Originally Posted by gardenfiend138

Where is the humidity being read from? It will tend to be lower directly over the heat, so if he's in the hot side the majority of the time, his humidity could be much lower than the overall tank reading.

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Hey, that's true! I have the hygrometer in the middle, and since he does spend the majority of his time (especially during shed) in his hot hide... well, that just makes sense! I feel like kind of a ditz...

Thanks AK907! My temps on the cooler side are at 69 right now, but I know it has to get real cold at night, 'cause I wake up to get more blankets. (I have a tendency to kick them off while I'm sleeping and then I wake up freezing- but hey, this is about the snake, not me...)