Bathing?

My bp is going through shed and I want to be prepared to give him a good soak in case it goes badly. How does everyone bathe their snakes? (i.e. temperature, place, time, etc.) Does the chlorine from tap water irritate their skin?

I saw a thread somewhere on here about soaking. Some people recommend using a tupperware container lined with damp paper towels. Leave him in there for some time, and when he comes out the stuck shed should come off.

I have had this shed aid stuff for a while now. I'm sure it's useless, but it has aloe in it. If my bp has a stuck shed, I spray that on her and the stuff just peels right off with no resistance.

As long as your humidity is up in the 60-70% range and your enclosure has plenty of things to rub on, you should be all set.

If its going into shed you can assist by misting the tank a little bit. Dont overdo it just a slight misting. What kind of substrate do you use and what hide of heating? It will make a huge difference in your humidity levels.

Hi,

Your right not to soak before the shed but to keep it in mind if it goes badly.

I think most of the info you need is in the bad shed sticky.

But just in case;

Temp: Around 80-86f is fine.

Place: Variable but a tub with a nice secure lid would be a good idea - you don't want it to have too much ventilation either to keep the humidity up - but you do need some. And do not make the water deeper than half the depth of the snakes body and remember to supervise it to make sure nothing untoward happens.

Duration: I would think 30 minutes should do it.


dr del

I use aspen (planning on switching to cypress mulch) and a heat mat under half of the cage at a solid 90 degrees above the bedding. I mist and have a damp towel covering part of the cage lid for humidity. Thanks, everyone.

He shed beautifully! One problem, though: Some of his old skin is stuck to the last 1/2 inch of his tail! Should I bathe all of him, or just his tail?

Hi,

If he will let you you can try spritzing it with warm water and working it off with either a washcloth or your fingers.


dr del

Thanks everyone! That last piece of skin came right off. I have a very happy snake, who is also hungry!

Sometimes with a stuck shed you just hold the ball python with a wet towl and let him squirm through it.