Removing stuck-shed: Methods and the dangers

I got into a discussion on Iherp answers about how to remove stuck shed from snakes.

I have always believed that a damp pillowcase for 15-20 minutes is the safest and most successful.

A few people on there then began to reveal their horror stories about how many snakes they have killed from trying to get stuck shed off in a pillowcase.

Now I had never heard of this death by pillowcase but I have heard of death by tub soaking.

I have never soaked my ball pythons. I have only once had an issue with stuck shed and putting them in a damp snake bag worked very well.

Now that I am hearing all these horror stories it has got me thinking, what can I really do to get rid of stuck shed quickly that has no risk to my snake? Well I could use a damp towel but that doesn't really up the humidity and mostly just helps to roll off loose pieces.

Then it came to me after I made some clarifications with these snakes suffocating in pillowcases. Apparently they just left them in the wet pillowcase OVERNIGHT. That to me seems pretty irresponsible. Then I thought about how the snakes in the tubs of water died, irresponsible owners leaving the snake along in a sealed container of water.

So it isn't the method that is the problem, it is the carelessness of the owner. Yet people still seem to blame the methods.

So for this topic of discussion, what method of shed removal do you recommend and what do you think about the other methods?

If you have any stories of snakes dying during one of these processes, and under what circumstances, I would like to hear them.

Maybe we can think of some new magical method that works just as well as the more "dangerous" ones.

I soak mine in a tub and remove the shed by hand after about 10-15 mins. IMO if you killed your ball python by soaking it, you did not pay attention to it while it was soaking. I could see how the pillow case could suffocate a snake and would not do it personally. What it comes down to is paying attention to your animals when YOU put them in a situation that could hurt them. Would you let you child bathe without watching them??

The one and only time I have ever needed to do this, I used a sealed tub with air holes and very little water, so the snake did not have to "swim", with lukewarm water placed in a warm room (inside the cage is good as well). After some time, I was able to assist in removing the stuck shed by handling the snake with a damp rag.

There were no stuck eyecaps, which I feel the damp pillowcase is best for.

Always keep an eye on your snake with either method, these are not "set it up and go away for a while" treatments.

Usually its during the winter months that I run into a few stuck sheds until I tweak the amount of holes I need to tape up from summer time.

I use a large Tupperware type tub with holes that I melted into the lid. I then put a very small amount of water and a small wash cloth in it. The wash cloth absorbs most of the water and gives the snake something to cling onto. Mostly it helps me feel better that the snake isn't going to accidentally drown.

I put the entire tub in the home enclosure right in the middle of the temp gradient. I usually leave them there for 20-30 minutes depending on where the stuck shed is.

What happens with pillow cases is that the thread fibers expand when wet and could potentially create an air tight environment, which could cause suffocation. Generally its recommended that you use something with a very low thread count if your going to go this route.

I like using the tub with the wash cloth because it creates a nice little sauna for the snake and I can walk away from the tub without worrying about any drowning incidents.

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

I like using the tub with the wash cloth because it creates a nice little sauna for the snake and I can walk away from the tub without worrying about any drowning incidents.

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The Wash cloth would also provide soft scrubbing fingers to help with removal. That is a good idea:gj::gj:

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Originally Posted by tonkatoyman

The Wash cloth would also provide soft scrubbing fingers to help with removal. That is a good idea:gj::gj:

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What would a day at the Spa be without some soft scrubbing fingers? :D

If its a larger suck shed, then I put an inch or two of warm water in a tub with airholes, and let them soak in it for ~20 minutes. Then I remove any skin. If some pieces are stubborn or have dried out, then I resoak them, unless they're getting pissy then I do it again the next day and let them chill out.

However, if its just a small piece, then I'll just dab it with a wash cloth soaked in warm water. No need to soak them in a tub for a small piece.

I use skin lotion with no fragrance on stuck sheds and eyecaps. I will also soak snakes in tub with water no deeper than halfway up the side of animal. I dont soak the snake with the lotion on it as it will just wash off. I have also made humid hides with damp moss.

i actually just had to do this with our male mojave last night.

what we usually do it put about an inch or so (depending on the size of the snake) of water in the bathtub, and let the snake swim around. it's great exercise, and really helps with the stuck shed. after about 10-15 minutes, we take the snake, and a damp towel, and run the snake through our hands. the skin really just rolls off nicely this way.

OBVIOUSLY we don't just leave them swimming around in the bathtub and walk away, i sit on the side of the tub and watch, 100% of the time. not only to prevent drowning, but also to prevent escape.

i've never tried the pillowcase thing, because i don't have any extra pillowcases laying around. but i kind of like the bathtub method because it's good exercise, works well, AND i like to take pictures of them swimming!

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b7...ch12-14013.jpg

When I first acquired Anubis (my normal male), he went into shed a few days later. I knew right away that it was going to be a difficult shed. It began coming off in pieces and strips. :weirdface So, on the advice of my breeder friend, I got a plastic tub and filled it with about an inch or two of lukewarm water. I then soaked Anubis for fifteen minutes, fully supervised. I panicked every time his head went under the water, so I kept pulling him back up and rubbing his head gently. :D After I soaked him, I was told to take a warm, damp towel and wrap him up in it, allow him to sit for another five minutes and then encourage him to slip and slide through my hands while I used the towel against his skin. Like a charm it came right off, no problems at all. Even his spectacles came off cleanly. So that is now what I do with all of mine, even my Corns.

I wonder how ball pythons, heck, snakes in general for that matter, manage to soak their entire bodies in water, sometimes with just the tip of their noses exposed, and not drown.

Heh. You'd think any snake in any water for longer than the blink of an eye would die by drowning.....if you took this thread at face value and looked no further.

Once you look past the stories and rumors and expert advice from relatively new keepers, you realize that maybe, just maybe, snakes won't drown in water so shallow if no one is watching them.

How many of you who won't let them soak in a cup unwatched, let them soak for days on end in a water bowl?

I've done it several different ways.

1. Sealed plastic tub with air holes with damp towel/shirt/paper towels.
2. In bathtub with water (supervised only!!!).
3. Personally helping them work the shed off with a damp towel.

All have worked, though the one that works best and with the least amount of stress to the snake (mine hate water and me picking at their stuck shed) is #1.

My vet says to never use any lotions or oils. I have nothing to back this up other than his word, but he has decades of experience with reptiles and I trust him completely. (Well, in looking up papers on removing stuck sheds, I have yet to come across any that say to use anything other than water.)

I use a tall sterilite tub with holes melted into it. I put in as much water as the BPs thickness and then put one of my rag towels in the water. Much of the water is actually soaked up by the towel so theres no risk of drowning although i left my normal girl in the tub with water for awhile and she didnt drown.
I tried manually helping my normal male get his stuck shed off but it was very time consuming, messy and neither one of us seemed to enjoy it very much.
I once read somewhere that mineral oil could be used and I also tried that. It did nothing but make more of his next shed stay on.

i just put the snake in a snake bag and dampen maybe 1/3 of the bag.
also i dont leave it in there overnight.
im sure if you had sateen pillow cases it could be a problem.

it happened to me once.. i just filled up the sink with warm water and handled him in it for about 10 - 15min and put him back in his home, the next day it was all off!

I use sphagnum moss. I'll dampen it and put it in a tupperware bowl big enough for the snake, then place them in the bowl and the bowl in their tub. It works perfectly for the smaller ones, as there's just enough of a space between the roof and the bowl that there's airflow but the snake can't get out. The big ones haven't had shedding issues yet, so I haven't had a chance to rework that strategy for them.

I leave them in there for about 3-6 hours (I check every ~30 minutes to make sure they're ok / not too stressed out / ready to get out), and by then they've either worked the shed off themselves or slips off with no issue.

I've tried soaking, the pillowcase, soaking + rubbing off with a damp towel, etc, and none have worked as good as the moss for me.

I use 2 methods depending on how bad it is.

normally i just throw them in the bath tub, but i fill it up high enough to make them swim around in it, normally sheds stuck on top and i don't see how filling it up half way up their body helps anything. I watch them 100% of the time and you have to, I have some snakes that are just dumb... go under and not come back up. I mean i know they can hold their breath for a while, but why hold their breath when you don't have to? it is also cool to watch some of the snakes that swim around that seem to enjoy it. but most just wanna escape lol.

2nd method i use if its really bad, which i've only had to use on snakes i just resently got, is take a tub with air holes and a wet warm towel and put them in there with it. It steams up and gives them their own steam room. Im usually watching tv or soemthing, so i bring them with me in the container and im not really worried about them suffocating but i check to make sure the towels still warm, i don't want it getting cold on them.

Well, what I really do is soak in an open tub for a few minutes (warm water) so the molting skin gets damp and easy to peel off. While the snake is in the water I let the snake run through my hands and I wrap my hands around the snake's body (not squeezing the snake) and let the snake run through my hands to get the skin off. With this method, I haven't had any problems at all.

I just mist them heavily and let them rub off the dampened pieces at their leisure. Repeat daily until stuck shed is off.

I've had stuck shed probably 3 times this year...I do the closed tub with air holes method...I leave a damp wash cloth in there and they seem to just swim around and when they go under the cloth I see little pieces fall away...I never leave them unattended...After around 30 minutes or so, I take them out and usually the rest just peels/slides right off...I've never been comfortable with the damp pillowcase method, but that's just my phobic opinion...

i haven't even had a stuck shed i've needed to help an animal with since i started keeping, i just make sure the humidity is appropriate. My feeling is that they can deal with a layer of shed (as long as nothing is constricted like the neck or tail and the shed is tight enough to cut off circulation). IF the shed is a hazzard, then i'll do something about it but I have yet to really run into that issue.

Haven't had a stuck shed since going to tubs, easy fix :P

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Originally Posted by katia

i actually just had to do this with our male mojave last night.

what we usually do it put about an inch or so (depending on the size of the snake) of water in the bathtub, and let the snake swim around. it's great exercise, and really helps with the stuck shed. after about 10-15 minutes, we take the snake, and a damp towel, and run the snake through our hands. the skin really just rolls off nicely this way.

OBVIOUSLY we don't just leave them swimming around in the bathtub and walk away, i sit on the side of the tub and watch, 100% of the time. not only to prevent drowning, but also to prevent escape.

i've never tried the pillowcase thing, because i don't have any extra pillowcases laying around. but i kind of like the bathtub method because it's good exercise, works well, AND i like to take pictures of them swimming!

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b7...ch12-14013.jpg

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Same here!

I just had this issue with my ball the other day, and I did a "modified" version of the closed tub with air holes. What I did was crumple up several pieces of paper towel into little balls and put them in a Tupperware after that I filled it with a very small amount of slightly above room temp water(not even half way up his body) then I put him in seal it up and place it in the center of his enclosure..the result is him moving in an out and between the moistened paper towel balls so he gets his rub on...this worked especially well for the shed that was on his back which seems to be the hardest part to get off..after about 15 min I took him out all I had to do was help him with a few small pieces which were nice a loose..surprisingly he seemed to enjoy this part even helped me out by rubbing himself on my hands. He went back to his enclosure a happy snake and ate his dinner the next day with no issue..

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Originally Posted by shoffman1019

I just had this issue with my ball the other day, and I did a "modified" version of the closed tub with air holes. What I did was crumple up several pieces of paper towel into little balls and put them in a Tupperware after that I filled it with a very small amount of slightly above room temp water(not even half way up his body) then I put him in seal it up and place it in the center of his enclosure..the result is him moving in an out and between the moistened paper towel balls so he gets his rub on...this worked especially well for the shed that was on his back which seems to be the hardest part to get off..after about 15 min I took him out all I had to do was help him with a few small pieces which were nice a loose..surprisingly he seemed to enjoy this part even helped me out by rubbing himself on my hands. He went back to his enclosure a happy snake and ate his dinner the next day with no issue..

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:welcome: this thread is 3 years old :)

This is a stupid topic. How about instead of talking about how to remove sheds you instead talk about proper husbandry!

Humidity at 55% = no poor sheds

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Originally Posted by Rickys_Reptiles

This is a stupid topic. How about instead of talking about how to remove sheds you instead talk about proper husbandry!

Humidity at 55% = no poor sheds

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Even with high humidity bad sheds can still happen.

This is not a stupid topic.


This topic is also 3 years old!

Take snake bag or any kind of coarse sack (canvas or something from supermarket)

Run it under the hottest tap water YOU can tolerate

Wring out just enough water so that is doesn't drip all over the place.

Place snake in bag, in it's enclosure

PRESTO! As the snake squirms to escape the bag, the skin will slough right off. It's rare that I have used this trick, but works like a charm.


Don't worry about temperature of the bag, the few seconds of wringing and inserting snake will allow enough cooling so there is no danger at all.

Try it!

"knocks wood" Never had a stuck shed between 5 snakes and a year of care. Maybe I've just been lucky. The worst I've had to deal with was a shed lying in 3 pieces instead of 1. But the course sack thing is a really great idea.

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Originally Posted by TheSnakeGuy

"knocks wood" Never had a stuck shed between 5 snakes and a year of care. Maybe I've just been lucky. The worst I've had to deal with was a shed lying in 3 pieces instead of 1. But the course sack thing is a really great idea.

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Don't worry, It will happen at some point. Since the time this thread was written I have had quite a few stuck sheds not due to low humidity. Sometimes the snake is just lazy! I have one in particular, my male pin, that will just shed his head and then I have to do the rest. It comes off easily, he is just lazy!

My snake was a rescue and was pretty healthy except for a couple of shed problems (a year ago appx), bits and pieces that came off her next (first here) shed and a build up of eye caps, unbeknownst to me until a vet visit. To the point, the vet said use the bathtub soak and so she went swimming a couple times. It was weird seeing her eyes cloud in the tub like that but she got them off and thanks to moss and vigilant monitoring all sheds since have been great.