New BP...Dry skin?

We have had the snake now for 12 days and he finally ate yesterday. Today he keeps opening and closing his mouth, which I read was probably just re-adjusting the jaws but I am more concerned his skin is dry and wrinkled, of course he is laying in one spot. I don't think he is shedding because his eyes are still clear and he does not have pink belly and he did eat yesterday. Any advise? Thanks

My python gets dry and dull and wrinkled a two or three weeks before he sheds. He also doesn't get the pink belly until his eyes cloud. Your snake is probably about to go into shed.

Does he still eat during this time? I have read they won't eat when going into shed

Hi,

A nice clear picture would help us be a bit more certain if you can. :)


dr del

I agree with Derek, a picture would be very helpful to determine if the snake has a stuck shed or not.

Most snakes will eat during shed. I have only had one snake refuse during shed in all my time keeping them.

Liquid vitamin E will work wonders if you don't want to keep soaking your snake. Just rub some on your hands and let your snake go through your hands a couple of times.

Could also be dehydrated.. Is there fresh water available? How's your humidity?

yeah, make sure he is not dehydrated, cause that could cause the wrinkly skin, and also shedding, i agree with the picture thing =]

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Originally Posted by SNIKTTIME

Liquid vitamin E will work wonders if you don't want to keep soaking your snake. Just rub some on your hands and let your snake go through your hands a couple of times.

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I would recommend fixing the humidity issue that caused the stuck shed in the first place rather then rubbing oil all over my snake :) It is better to get rid of the problem from the source.

http://picasaweb.google.com/10429566...94313732246434

sorry having trouble putting pic on, any help would be great!
Also I went to take the pics and there is a little piece of skin on the outside of the log, and his head is in the log and I did not want to disturb him since he just ate and he is still new but I cannot see the eyes good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I would recommend fixing the humidity issue that caused the stuck shed in the first place rather then rubbing oil all over my snake :) It is better to get rid of the problem from the source.

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I have gotten snakes in terrible condition and vitamin E works very quickly. A 20 year vet. specializing in exotics was the one that turned me on to it. This is not simply an ''oil'' that will mask the problem, it absorbs through the skin to get the animal back on track and to buy time for the new owners husbandry to take effect.:)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_MYlFWswGuAc/S5...0/CIMG0316.JPG

There you go

Thanks Kaorte:) for your help! Also if any one looks at the pic, see the small piece of skin on the log? but I saw no signs of shedding before he ate? The humidity is about 40% and he has a bowl about the size of a butter bowl for water, aspen in bottom and UTH but also use day and night lamps for heat to keep at about 85-88 degrees on the warm side. as I said before we got him 12 days ago and he had been force fed by the pet store then, but he did eat a fuzzy last night.

It is probably a bad shed then. If he has eaten recently, wait 48 hours after he ate and give him a soak. Room temperature water is a tupperware container. The water should be very shallow and should only come up to about the halfway point on his body. I like to crumple up some paper towel and put it in there with the snake so they have something "solid" to grab on to. You could also use a wash cloth. Leave the snake in the container for 15-30 minutes. Make sure you watch the snake the entire time it is in a closed container with water. Accidents happen but simply keeping an eye on the snake while it is soaking is enough to prevent them :)

In the meantime, try to boost your humidity. It should be at 70% during a shed cycle. Misting a few times a day will probably help a lot.

Yes, a nice soak will clear it right up. Looks like a humidity problem. I am sure that you have a reliable instrument for reading the humidity? Next time you notice your snake going into shed, just mist around the enclosure and let the substrate absorb a little water. If you have those lights on all the time it would probably evaporate pretty quick. You could also try a humid hide if you wanted to be safe.

Hey maybe it is just a start of a shed, he is out and active tonight even though he ate last night and he is on the log, like rubbing his head and he is also going around the water bowl, kinda through it but not soaking in it, looked like he may have been drinking when I first went in to check on him. He is my sons snake he got for his 14th birthday and we are new to this, I do enjoy it more than I thought I would, it is fascinating to just to watch. Thanks for the tips and I will keep an eye on him, I was just worried because I did not see any signs of shed before he ate and so I was more concerned that something was wrong after he ate, it looks wrinkled like is skin is too big, even looks wrinkled on his head.

how do I make a humid hide? I guess I have an accurate way to read the humidity, it is the one they sell in the pet store and the ones they use, just like the ones I see on some pics here. Is the electronic one better? Thanks for all your help!

Humid hides are basically plastic containers, like those blue topped ziplock ones, that is big enough for the snake. You cut a hole out of it to fit the snake and you put some moss or something that will keep good humidity in it and you keep it on the humid side so the snake can choose to go in or not. Honestly, I have never had to make one. I think you could probably search the topic here in the forums.
Electronic is usually better for most reading instruments, but if your dial type is new I would not worry. I use a dial myself.

did you see the "dry wrinkles" on the pic, does that look like shed? Also do the eyes always cloud over during shed? I have not noticed any.

Yes, those dry wrinkles are shed. This would be well after the eyes are supposed to cloud over by this point. Normally, they will cloud over for a short period of time, then clear up right before they shed.
Best of luck.

At this stage, he could have had cloudy eyes before you got him considering it was only 12 days ago.

It seems everyone answered your shedding questions, but there's just one more thing I would like to address that you mentioned: the "adjusting jaws" behavior. My best guess is the snake is doing this to get some more air (or since he just ate, as you mentioned), since shed around the nostrils can be cloying. Like if you had a stuffy nose. That's MY educated guess, however.

My point being, if the snake continues to do this excessive yawning AFTER it sheds, keep an eye out. Look for mucus around the nostrils or bubbles inside the mouth. These are signs of an RI (respiratory infection).

No need to be worried, though, unless you see those symptoms. I figured since you're new to the BP world, I would throw in some more information for ya. Hope the shed goes well! :gj:

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for helping out, never had a snake before and never thought I would ...LOL! This has been my first post but I am sure not my last, thanks for everyones help! I hope if it is shed it goes well!

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Originally Posted by siggie_99

Hey maybe it is just a start of a shed, he is out and active tonight even though he ate last night and he is on the log, like rubbing his head and he is also going around the water bowl, kinda through it but not soaking in it, looked like he may have been drinking when I first went in to check on him. He is my sons snake he got for his 14th birthday and we are new to this, I do enjoy it more than I thought I would, it is fascinating to just to watch. Thanks for the tips and I will keep an eye on him, I was just worried because I did not see any signs of shed before he ate and so I was more concerned that something was wrong after he ate, it looks wrinkled like is skin is too big, even looks wrinkled on his head.

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At this point I wouldn't worry about a humid hide. If you have a screen top tank, get a towel and soak it, wring it out so that it is wet but not dripping, fold it so it will cover most of the screen. This will give you a fairly rapid humidity increase. It sounds like he is trying to shed, and will appreciate the humidity. Since this is his first shed, I would say just leave him alone to do his thing. There will be times after he gets thoroughly settled in when he will shed right in front of you and that is amazing to see...

The yawning action could also be him trying to work the skin loose from his head and face...