Soaking in pre shed?

Hi, my male BP is in pre shed right now, I soaked him earlier for 1 minuets or so because he sat on his crap and is very smelly. I heard that you should now bath them in pre shed or anytime. Could this hurt him?

Baths are stressful to most bps and so you want to try to avoid it. It also isn’t good to handle your snake during shed time because they have a specific type of oil that is between their shed skin and new skin, and that oil helps them separate the two layers. Not to mention it’s even more stressful, and they might become more defensive during this time. So a bath probably isn’t a good idea when they’re coming close to their shed day.

If you are worried about the possibility of stuck shed then a humidity box in the enclosure will do the trick. You could also up the humidity to about 70% when you notice your snake’s colours starting to dull or when they’re in blue. If your snake does get some stuck shed, then a bath afterwards is required, or you can place them in a damp pillowcase.

A 1 min bath to wash off some poop is fine, I'm sure no harm was done. As Faith.luu said though, soaking is generally stressful for snakes and should be avoided unless a) the snake has stuck shed (they started to shed but not all of it came off) and is dehydrated b) the snake is constipated and showing signs of "sausage butt"

If you ever do need to soak your snake, ensure that the temperature of the water is around 85F and doesn't get higher than 89F or lower than 80F so it's comfortable for your snake. It can also help to give the snake a rock or a towel to hang onto while soaking them as the sensation of losing traction in a smooth tub and water can be stressful for them.

I think it's also okay to give snakes a quick wash if they've gotten themselves into poop...etc. but it might be more effective to wipe them off with a damp paper towel in that case.

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Originally Posted by Luvyna

A 1 min bath to wash off some poop is fine, I'm sure no harm was done. As Faith.luu said though, soaking is generally stressful for snakes and should be avoided unless a) the snake has stuck shed (they started to shed but not all of it came off) and is dehydrated b) the snake is constipated and showing signs of "sausage butt"

If you ever do need to soak your snake, ensure that the temperature of the water is around 85F and doesn't get higher than 89F or lower than 80F so it's comfortable for your snake. It can also help to give the snake a rock or a towel to hang onto while soaking them as the sensation of losing traction in a smooth tub and water can be stressful for them.

I think it's also okay to give snakes a quick wash if they've gotten themselves into poop...etc. but it might be more effective to wipe them off with a damp paper towel in that case.

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Ok, next I will just use a towel, I did watch the water temp, it was around 84. I will quit handling him.

Sounds like you did everything right, then :) There shouldn't be any problem with his shed because of this (assuming humidity and other environmental factors are correct) if you were worried about that!