My butter ball is shedding

I tried to feed him live last night and he took. In a happy owner. :)

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That's great news! May it continue!

I looked at my guy this morning and saw that most of his she'd was off but not all. I found his shed and noticed that the bottom half of his shed came off in one piece but a small portion of the top half (the head and about 3 inches down was still on. I soaked him in warm water for 5 minutes before work. Then I misted his cage to raise humidity while I was at work. I'm heading home from work in about an hour. If his she'd is still on. Should I be worried? Today is day 5-6 in shed.

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I worry about shed stuck to the head/face area. If it's still there you can soak him again and let him crawl through a moist towel in you hands or gently rub him to get it off. I would look for eye caps as well.

Either way it's not an emergency for just one shed. If it happens multiple sheds in a row you need to change something.

Don't force it if the skin doesn't come off readily when moistened. You shouldn't have to yank it off so to speak.

He is very nippy right now. I'm a little scared to pick him up

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I have never been bit. My guy is about 400g. Does it hurt? Will it draw blood?

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Originally Posted by kingkung

I have never been bit. My guy is about 400g. Does it hurt? Will it draw blood?

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If you have ever been stung by a bee...then that is, in my experience, less painful than a snake bite. It can draw a little blood, but just a dab of Neosporin and band-aid should do the trick. If he is being head shy and the retained skin is there, then I would try the pillow case before my fingers just because you grabbing at his head is going to be quite stressful.

My pastel went very strikey with me to the point I got a little bit nervous around her (when I first got her) I went out and invested in some gloves to give me the confidence to handle her. I used these gloves once, now if she strikes at me I laugh and use the "ball-up" technique. I think the best thing to do is try not to lose your confidence in handling and use slow but confident movements and don't go for the head (my pastel used to follow me with her head in a constant s mode for striking). Just keep handling for short periods of time and you'll be fine :) I have yet to be bitten but I've heard a cat scratch hurts more! They have an anti coagulant in their saliva which causes more bleeding which is why it normally looks worse than it is. That being said, I'm not volunteering to be bitten by my lot any time soon. I'll remain a bite virgin for as long as is possible ;)

I checked my guy today and he still has shed on his head. It's been a week since he started shedding. Should I be worried?

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/r...2/IMAG0441.jpg
http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/r...2/IMAG0438.jpg


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Originally Posted by kingkung

Lol. That's why I wear latex gloves when I plan on moving substrate. Hate touching poo with bare hands.

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Me too, I've even started wearing them for feeding so I don't have to repeatedly wash the rodent smell off my hands, my skin got so dry from it that my knuckles cracked :(.