Shedding/humid problem..

My 1 year old ball python is having issues shedding, I have tried soaking in a tub like some tuts, but its not working too well. his eyes are starting to hard cap and I fear he will get seriously injured, I think it's because I don't have a humidity machine for him, I have been looking and wanted to know if a FOG machine will work? not a constant flow but here and there. I know it's better to get a mister but I can't find one that has good reviews on it, ex : Habba mister,
I have a 50g tank with aspen, if I did get a fogger/mister for my ball, would it mold the aspen? what do I do.. im a novice snake owner and I just want my snake to be happy :( money is not an issue.. please, please just give me ideas on what to get my poor snake!

note: I ordered some repti aid shedder for now, to fix his eyes :(

I'm a newbie too and I know there are many ways to deal with this, but this is what worked for me.

We were having the same problem with bad sheds and I had been reading about the various methods of providing the proper humidity.

The one I went with was to use a humid hide. I got one of the medium Repti-Dens and filled it with damp sphagnum moss - wet it with water and wring out like a damp washcloth, then fluff it out. I put the hide in the warm end of our pastel's enclosure. She went in right away. A few days later, I checked on her and, Voila!, a nice one piece shed rolled up beside her.

To help with the bad sheds, we soaked ours for an hour in tepid water, then used a damp wash cloth to work the stuck pieces off. You can add mineral oil or one of the shedding aids to the water to help. I also used the spray-on kind and it worked well.

I know as I gain experience I'll find better ways to control the humidity, but at least for now, I have at least one way to provide a proper environment.

Home Depot has Humidifiers for $30-50. No filters to mess with and all you need to do is keep the 1 gallon tank full with water. Just set it to the % you want and it runs automatically. This will fix your entire room.

Your first issue is having a 50g tank. That is your first and biggest obstacle when dealing with humidity and temp problems. I would suggest moving down to a 20g long tank.

There is no need for some auto mister of any kind. Those are meant for amphibians and reptiles that require very high humidity. A spray bottle will do just fine.

Also, covering 3/4ths of the screen top with aluminum foil tape or plexiglass will help hold in humidity.

If you are using any kind of lamp, that will also bring your humidity down considerably.



Your snake will not get seriously injured by having a bad shed unless the snake has had many consecutive bad sheds.

I have a similar question. My ball had a bad shed as well. I put him in a container with a wet towel and he went under the towel to shed but there still seems to be a piece on top of the rear of his head. Will this hurt him if I don't get it off or will he be okay? Should I keep trying the wet towel technique?

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Originally Posted by Green Tea Boa

I have a similar question. My ball had a bad shed as well. I put him in a container with a wet towel and he went under the towel to shed but there still seems to be a piece on top of the rear of his head. Will this hurt him if I don't get it off or will he be okay? Should I keep trying the wet towel technique?

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I think you will be fine. The next time he/she sheds you can provide a humid hide like mentioned above or use plexiglass to cover the top 2/3's of the tank. Get the measurements of the mesh portion of the screen top and either Home Depot or Lowe's will cut it to fit.

What I had to do to help with my humidity issues during the winter is change substrates. I went from outdoor carpet to cypress mulch. That has helped a ton! I still need to spray the inside of the enclosure every so often. In 3 weeks I hope my humidity and ambient temp issues will be a thing of the past because I'm getting two 2x3 enclosures from Reptile Basics!!!

It appears that the shed piece is most of his head and face, possibly his eye. What do I do to help him?

Bad shed sticky. :)

I tried the techniques and still no luck. It's as if he doesn't know the piece is there and he's not trying to get it off. I even tried sloughing it off with a wet towel by hand and nothing. What do I do??

Is it possible it's not stuck shed at all, just damaged new scales from too-enthusiastic head rubbing during shedding?

I'd put him overnight in a tub with a damp towel, and then try to rub the shed off in the morning. If it doesn't come off after THAT, well, I'd take him to a vet.

Hi,

Well if you have tried the pillow case and that didnt help then get it nice and soft with a soak then just use fingers to get a raised edge and go gently from there.

Be very careful around the eyes and be prepared to soak it again if it isn't coming off really easily at that point.

They don't like having their head restrained but it is the only way to stop them suddenly pulling away at the wrong time. :rolleyes:


dr del

I'm just having no luck with this. I even tried to peel it off by hand and it just seems stuck indefinitely, even when wet. What will happen if he can't get this piece off?

Look very closely to be sure it is stuck dead skin. It could be that some of the scales came off with the shed which leaves an area looking like a stuck shed, but it's actually a dull patch where the scales came off.

If this is the case, just keep an eye on it and it should correct itself with future sheds. If it is indeed stuck shed, try resoaking and possibly using the spray from ZooMed - ReptiShedding Aid. Double check to see if the eye-cap is still there too.

I believe I have read that a second shed can fix either problem, but don't quote me on that.

We did it! I put him in a container with water and a washcloth and his skin got moist but he still wasn't trying to get it off. I pinched the skin on the back of his head and started to pull it off. I got a firm grip on it and he snapped back and voila!

Now I need to make his vivarium more humid for the next shed. I'm just so pleased to have that piece off.

This is a dull spot, not a stuck shed. It happens when during a shed the scales are actually damaged a little bit. This little girl has a hard time with her head and always has.

http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/o...potondaisy.jpg