Bad shed, good humidity...huh?

One of my snakes is shedding for the 2nd time since I've had her and again it's a bad shed. Last time she got it all off up to her tail and I assisted with the rest of the shed. This time it's coming off in pieces all over. Humidity is 60-70% in her tub at all times (in fact if anything in my house it's a challenge to get the humidity down). I did catch sight of her soaking in her water bowl when I went to clean her tub.

Just wondering what else could cause a bad shed. I've seen no sign of mites and while she was a major pain to get started on regular feeding she's been doing very well for the last few weeks. She isn't handled much because of the issues getting her established in her new home & on her feeding schedule. I'll be soaking her tonight in hopes of getting the wrinkly skin off.

Any ideas what's going on and how to stop it?

Does she have something rough in her tub to rub the shed off with?

What are you measuring humidity with?

Nothing rough except the edge of her hide - I have 2 other BPs in identical setups who shed fine.

I have an accurite to measure temps/humidity.

Id say humidtity was too low.

Might I ask why your humidity is 60 to 70% at all times? That's a little high for Balls if I remember correctly.

With my Bloods, I just watch em.

Then the day before they should shed, I just DRENCH the cage and I've gotten perfect sheds every time.

Might try that.

Also, I dont have ANYTHING rough in my cages. Matter of fact, just Kraft Paper and a water bowl, still perfect sheds.

It's a challenge getting my humidity that low. When I first upgraded my hygrometer to an accurite the humidity was just showing as "HI" which I believe places it over 90%. I have over 200 holes in a 12 qt. tub and 60-70% is as low as it gets. Ahhh, the south!

How big is your water bowl?

What substrate are you using?

You can try running a fan in the room, that'll help lower humidity too.

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Originally Posted by Nae

It's a challenge getting my humidity that low. When I first upgraded my hygrometer to an accurite the humidity was just showing as "HI" which I believe places it over 90%. I have over 200 holes in a 12 qt. tub and 60-70% is as low as it gets. Ahhh, the south!

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The water bowl is about 3-4 inches in diameter. I use newspaper as substrate.

If I'm having a bad shedder should I even be thinking about lowering humidity? I'm trying to find out what else could be to blame for it.

In a 12qt tub that's a pretty big water bowl, maybe not.

Lowering your humidity during day to day life shouldn't be a big deal.

But you should try jacking that humidity way up before the shed and see if that helps.

Another thing that may cause bad sheds is stress.

I'd check temps, hides, and just re-evaluate your setup to eliminate any possible stressers as well.

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Originally Posted by Nae

The water bowl is about 3-4 inches in diameter. I use newspaper as substrate.

If I'm having a bad shedder should I even be thinking about lowering humidity? I'm trying to find out what else could be to blame for it.

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Heh........70 is not a bad humidity, its actually perfect.

Keeping a better eye on it would be my only suggestion. You say its 60-70 all the time, how many times a day do you really check it? Humidity can fluctuate quite rapidly. Unstable humidity is the better diagnosis I believe.

Bad sheds are not really THAT bad, as long as all of the shed is off. Sometimes a lil help is needed :P.

She could be a little dehydrated (internally) from not eating/drinking for you. But that should be corrected now that she's eating again...soaking is good as that will help rehydrate her (although she may have already known that by soaking in her water dish herself)! ;)

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Originally Posted by spitfireashlea

Heh........70 is not a bad humidity, its actually perfect.

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I agree


I'm not sure what advice to give you. You seem to have just about the same set up as I do. I'm almost constantly running 70% humidity. Sometimes if they are in deep shed and I don't feel like the humidity is bumped up high enough I'll either add more water, or move the water dish to the warm side. I hardly ever have troubles with shedding, but even with the humidity high every now and again I'll see a little bit of stuck shed on the neck or tail.

The only other advice I have would be to spray the tub after the snake has gone through the blue phase and is about to shed. Just make sure it's not soaked because then you might have to deal with scale rot, which is MUCH worse than a little stuck shed.

Sometimes it just happens that way and there is no explanation.

If you want to try something, add a little bit of cypress or aspen on top of the newspaper before a shed and give it a couple sprays each day or so. Works wonders. I also put a rough rock in my tubs when my snakes are shedding to help out. Sometimes it's just bad though, my pastel just had a really bad shed and I had been spraying him 2x a day with perfect humidity. Things happen.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spitfireashlea

Heh........70 is not a bad humidity, its actually perfect.

Keeping a better eye on it would be my only suggestion. You say its 60-70 all the time, how many times a day do you really check it? Humidity can fluctuate quite rapidly. Unstable humidity is the better diagnosis I believe.

Bad sheds are not really THAT bad, as long as all of the shed is off. Sometimes a lil help is needed :P.

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My daily routine during the week is to wake up and check the snakes every morning, replace water & clean as necessary. I will check temps/humidity as I pull out each tub. After work I'll look in on them once or twice. Weekends I usually peek in on them once or twice.

Thanks for all the tips. I helped her shed last night and was pleasantly surprised she ate afterwards. I suppose I'll just keep a closer eye on her and spray before sheds. Just a shame that she can't be as easy as my other 2 snakes :P

http://www.petplace.com/reptiles/dys...ems/page1.aspx

Google : Dysecdysis

And speak to a vet on the phone who is knowledgeable with snakes, and other reptiles. It is certainly something to consider, especially if this continues to be an issue, irregardless of care and nutrition. ( Im sure you take good care of your critters!)

My snakes are all (but one in QT) in the same rack, with the same basic setup - and two of mine had a bad shed in one month. Then the next month they shed perfectly, so I guess there's no explanation sometimes. :weirdface Oh, and my humidity is also 60-70 at all times, due to our foggy weather... I was told that's fine by other members here.