Please help! Extremely bad shed (NOTHING came off)

Hi,

I really need help, I don't know what to do.

Long story short, my ball python had an extremely bad shed because there was there was no humidity and no water in her dish for up to a few days when she tried to shed.

Her skin is all cracked and old, and it's still on her.

What can I do to help get it off her?

I would soak her a bit. Why was there no water in her bowl for a few days??

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Originally Posted by Mft62485

I would soak her a bit. Why was there no water in her bowl for a few days??

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I agree. There is a lot of things you can do to increase humidity and keeping water in their dish is the easiest thing to do.. Soak her in 85-90 degree water, keep an eye on the temperature and don't let it fall bellow 78-80. Soak them for 10-15 minutes and you can try running a clean wet face cloth or towelette down over them always moving from head to tail. Do the best you can and put them back in her enclosure with something to rub against... Do Not pick the shed off with your fingers, you can pull of scales accidentally.

I agree with the other posts and you need to keep an eye on snake's husbandry minimum once a day check if not more. And you should never run out of water in my opinion. Snakes don't drink a lot and regardless require water for much more than drinking. Well I'm not going to sit here and chew you out, not my style but please ask someone if soaking doesn't help with the shed and X2 on the don't pull it off your self. Get the humidity up so that after the soak the snake can do its thing.

You could also try putting her in a wet pillow case in her enclosure.She should be able to work it off herself. Please make sure your BP has water at all times. When they are in shed you need to bump up the humidity. Misting often will help.

While soaking, do not guess at temps. Use an aquarium thermometer ($4) to get your water to 88deg. F. and do not let it cool below 82deg.

Same temps if you use a damp pillow case, be careful it will cool much faster then a tub of water and may require a supplemental heat source.

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Originally Posted by Maixx

While soaking, do not guess at temps. Use an aquarium thermometer ($4) to get your water to 88deg. F. and do not let it cool below 82deg.

Same temps if you use a damp pillow case, be careful it will cool much faster then a tub of water and may require a supplemental heat source.

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Exactly. I always put the pillowcase with my snake inside on a heating pad. Also himidifies the pillow case and throw a soaked wash cloth in the pillowcase s well so the snake can rub against it. Turn the pillowcase inside out and check the pillowcase for holes so it doesn't escape.

Thank you very much everyone, I'm going to try the pillow case.

I was out of town for a week.

I had my brother refill her water, but instead of refilling the water rock, apparently he *only* refilled the mug that I put in there for extra humidity. When I came back, my snake had knocked it over.

Seriously, freak my retarded brother, you have no idea how pissed I am.

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Originally Posted by Flowerbridge

Thank you very much everyone, I'm going to try the pillow case.

I was out of town for a week.

I had my brother refill her water, but instead of refilling the water rock, apparently he *only* refilled the mug that I put in there for extra humidity. When I came back, my snake had knocked it over.

Seriously, freak my retarded brother, you have no idea how pissed I am.

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These things happen. So don't kill your brother...lol and ask if you need anymore help. The pillowcase technique can take anywhere for 30-60 min to work. So keep a close eye on your snake and the temps of the pillowcase. Good luck.

Awe, sorry you have bad shed stress. Just went through it myself :mad:

My girl had a residual piece of shed on her tail until her next shed. It was making me crazy. Soaking did nothing, pillowcase did nothing. I finally gave up and it all came off with her next shed cycle.

Absolutely either soak her or do the pillowcase method. Both accomplish the same thing. You may need to do it a couple times with a really awful shed. The most important thing is getting the shed off the eye caps and face. That seems to be what annoys the snake the most, so they take care of it first usually. Also, you don't want shed constricting the tip of the tail. Over time, it can cut off the circulation. But if you and the snake together can get the shed off of those mentioned areas but there are still stuck patches, just give it up til next time. Provided the humidity and temps are right the second time around, it will usually come right off. You're snake will just look kind of ridiculous til that time comes.