Help! Shedding and bleeding!

Letting the snake soak in lukewarm water for an hour is a good idea but make sure you fill it up 3/4 the height of the snakes body, so he can rest his head on his body and not be forced to hold his head up. Also, use a wet towel and let the snake squeeze through it. Use your hand to make a gentle fist around the towel and apply an even amount of pressure to the snake as he slithers through, and the shed will come off with ease.

Theres a good thread about it here: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43403. Its called the towel method. Worked wonders for me. Some snakes just don't shed as well as others.. even with proper humidity.

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,


There are circumstances where leaving him in there all night works and ones where it isn't as helpfull so it's not a cut and dried issue.

Leaving him in all night gives him longer to move around inside and possibly remove the stuck shed himself but does mean the pillowcase (and snake) will be mainly dry in the morning. If you are planning on removing the skin manually yourself then you still want him nice and moist so would typically leave him in for a shorter time.

I know what you mean about the air circulation Bearhart but it's only really a concern with close threaded pillowcases while wet - anything with a low to normal thread count shouldn't pose any significant risk and what risk there is drops as the pillowcase dries out.:)

This is one of those occasions where buying the cheap pillowcases is actually the best course of action.:D



dr del

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Yea, I would be terrified of asphyxiation (sp?). But I haven't ever done it so I can't really comment on the actual risk.

I would guess that snakes don't need as much oxygen as warm-blooded creatures. Is this a factor that makes the pillow-case technique safer than it appears?

I have made air hole in the containers i use. Also i don't leave them in there all night. The snake's safety and comfort is always my first priority.

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Originally Posted by bearhart

I would guess that snakes don't need as much oxygen as warm-blooded creatures. Is this a factor that makes the pillow-case technique safer than it appears?

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Hi,

Yes their lower overall metabolism means it is a small risk as long as you use the cheap cases. :yes:

The Pillowcase does not start out sodden or running water so they dry out quite quickly to the point oxygen exchange is at high enough levels to avoid any problems.

I have to say I have never used or tried any of the high thread count pillowcases ( I'm stricktly low-rent :P ) so am not entirely sure how much extra risk they pose and am going purely on anecdotal(sp?) evidence.:)

If anyone has direct experience I for one would dearly love to hear it.


dr del

You know I used to use spaghnum/fir bedding but I got started on this recycled paper bedding when Snakey had an RI. Originally the change was to minimize lung irritants but I've stuck with it because it comes packed so your standard $20 bag is 60L vs 20-30L for other beddings. Also, it is super absorbent.

But Snakey used to have a perfect shed everytime, but since I switched he's had a bit of retained shed every time.

Hi,


Do you have any ideas on how to get the humidty back up to the levels it was before you changed? Assuming it was extra humidity coming from the old bedding that kept it high obviously. Admitedly that was an assumption and I think umption is getting sick of me ruining his rep.:P


dr del

Thanks for the advice! He got half of it off the first night, and the rest off the second night. =] And the cut seems to be healing nicely, I'll update in a few days!

Also I didn't want to soak him for long, I tried that before the pillowcase technique. He is still a baby basically and just over a foot long. Barely thicker then my thumb at his gurth. He freaked out everytime I got him in the water, it is hard to hold on to smaller snakes!

And I'll bring the bedding up with my sister, she has a larger snake that she keeps on reptile bark. It doesn't hold moisture well. I end up spraying the bedding twice a day because she doesn't do it.

ALSO, I never posted about this origionally but I'd like to say this now:

My humidity was jumping all over the place. It would be normal, then it would spike so I would turn it down and a few hours later it would be too low so I'd turn it up and it would be normal. The next day it would spike again. My dad had been spraying my tub! I asked him to stop and I guess he has, no humidity problems. I have no idea why he did that! He NEVER sprays my sister's snake! & I think my sis' snake has an RI. I can hear him breathing when I have him out. Sort of wheezy, and I heard him sneeze/cough. She doesn't take the best care of her snake. But she is gettin a bigger tank. Doesn't believe in the tub technique.

Sorry for the life story!

Linds

Hi,


Glad he's doing better.:)


dr del

If this happens again and you soak him just put a lid on. you don't actually need to hold him then. they're just too darn slippery anyway.

Glad he's on the mend and doing better! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by catzeye21138

Thanks for the advice! He got half of it off the first night, and the rest off the second night. =] And the cut seems to be healing nicely, I'll update in a few days!

Also I didn't want to soak him for long, I tried that before the pillowcase technique. He is still a baby basically and just over a foot long. Barely thicker then my thumb at his gurth. He freaked out everytime I got him in the water, it is hard to hold on to smaller snakes!

And I'll bring the bedding up with my sister, she has a larger snake that she keeps on reptile bark. It doesn't hold moisture well. I end up spraying the bedding twice a day because she doesn't do it.

ALSO, I never posted about this origionally but I'd like to say this now:

My humidity was jumping all over the place. It would be normal, then it would spike so I would turn it down and a few hours later it would be too low so I'd turn it up and it would be normal. The next day it would spike again. My dad had been spraying my tub! I asked him to stop and I guess he has, no humidity problems. I have no idea why he did that! He NEVER sprays my sister's snake! & I think my sis' snake has an RI. I can hear him breathing when I have him out. Sort of wheezy, and I heard him sneeze/cough. She doesn't take the best care of her snake. But she is gettin a bigger tank. Doesn't believe in the tub technique.

Sorry for the life story!

Linds

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Hey! Don't let your sis mistreat her snake!

Can you clarify what you mean when you say that the humidity would spike and then you would "turn it down"?