Alexander Is Shedding

I have a question. I hadn't picked up Alexander for a couple of days and I took him out for a quick visit before I went to work this morning and it looks like he's starting to shed. He's got some flakes here and there, but he's kind of puckered looking. Is that normal? Or is he not drinking and is getting dehydrated. He seems perfectly active and is wrapped happily at the back of my neck. I fed him last Tuesday (the 6th). Is he okay? Temp on the warm side is 80 and humidity about 40.

If your temp on the warm side is 80, what's the temp on the cool side? Temps should be in the in the low 90s for the warm side, mid 80s for the cool side.

When you say he has flakes, do you mean his shed is flaking off? I'm assuming from that it means your humidity isn't high enough. I just reread your post, says humidity is at 40. Needs to be in the 50s during normal, and 70s during a shed cycle. That's why his skin is flaking off.

Edit: This is what the skin will look like when they're about to shed within a day or two. (In this picture, she had some stuck shed) I'm not sure if that's what you meant by puckered looking?

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1414.jpg

Wrinkled sort of. Right now I justnoticedsince sitting on me he's lost quite a bit of belly skin rubbing on me. Should I wrap him in a warm towel?

Put him in a damp pillowcase for about 30 mins. While they're in a pillowcase, when they move around it'll rub against them and allow the skin to come off.

He is having a bad shed which means your humidity is not high enough. You want to shoot for 70% during shed.

try soaking him in a Tupperware container with room temperature water. You only need about 1/2" of water. i like to put a few crumpled paper towels in there for them to rub up on. Leave the snake in there for 30-45 minutes. Do not leave the snake unattended at any time while he is in an enclosed container with water.

I also agree, 80* warm side is far too low. What are you using to heat the enclosure and what kind of thermometers are you using?

That is how my experience went with my BP's first shed. The skin puckered and got all wrinkled and little bits of shed we coming off here and there. I was told that my humidity was too low. It should be around 60% to facilitate easy shedding. I had to soak him to get the shed off.

I've been spraying the habitat regularly since then to keep the humidity up and his last shed was perfect!

No, if his "skin" is coming off, he's shedding. Shedding can be stressful to the snake, so don't try and handle him too much. Put him back in his tank, and spray it down till everything is just a bit damp. If you have a humidity gauge, get it up to 70%. Let him take care of the rest.

If he gets stuck shed, that's when you need to give him a bath in luke warm water about an inch deep, and then slowly and carefully (so as to not hurt or stress out you snake) try and peel whatever part of the unshed skin is left off.

If your snake is dehydrated, spray him down nice and well once a day, provide fresh cold water daily, and give him a bath in watered down pedialyte so he can re-absorb whatever electrolites he lost. Pedialyte bath should be happening once a week until signs of dehydration dissapear.

You need to get your warm spot up to 90 degrees, and you cool spot should be at 80-82. Ambient temps should land right in the middle, give or take a few degrees. Humidity should be 50-55% on a normal basis, and up to 70% during shed.

Hope it's just shed! Good luck with your little guy! :)

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Originally Posted by MissLeMew

If your snake is dehydrated, spray him down nice and well once a day, provide fresh cold water daily, and give him a bath in watered down pedialyte so he can re-absorb whatever electrolites he lost. Pedialyte bath should be happening once a week until signs of dehydration dissapear.
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Pedialyte baths should only be given to animals who are SEVERLY dehydrated. This ball python is eating. It is not dehydrated, it is having a bad shed.

New owners often exaggerate the condition of their animal and look for things to be wrong with it. It will probably do more harm then good to give a perfectly healthy snake (other then a bad shed) a bath in pedialyte once a week..

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Pedialyte baths should only be given to animals who are SEVERLY dehydrated. This ball python is eating. It is not dehydrated, it is having a bad shed.

New owners often exaggerate the condition of their animal and look for things to be wrong with it. It will probably do more harm then good to give a perfectly healthy snake (other then a bad shed) a bath in pedialyte once a week..

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I know, it's not as if I'm trying to make anyone panic. I was just going by my own experience due to my first rescue ball coming to me with cracked scales and wrinkled eyes due to bad dehydration. I had to pedialyte him until it went away, and I force fed him water because he wasn't drinking on his own. And besides, its information any ball owner should know, just in case.

Sorry if I sounded to rash or anything! Not trying to scare anyone. :oops:

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Originally Posted by MissLeMew

I know, it's not as if I'm trying to make anyone panic. I was just going by my own experience due to my first rescue ball coming to me with cracked scales and wrinkled eyes due to bad dehydration. I had to pedialyte him until it went away, and I force fed him water because he wasn't drinking on his own. And besides, its information any ball owner should know, just in case.

Sorry if I sounded to rash or anything! Not trying to scare anyone. :oops:

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I think the point is that this snake isn't dehydrated, it's shedding. So the information you posted, while useful in other situations, is irrelevant here.

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Originally Posted by MissLeMew

I know, it's not as if I'm trying to make anyone panic. I was just going by my own experience due to my first rescue ball coming to me with cracked scales and wrinkled eyes due to bad dehydration. I had to pedialyte him until it went away, and I force fed him water because he wasn't drinking on his own. And besides, its information any ball owner should know, just in case.

Sorry if I sounded to rash or anything! Not trying to scare anyone. :oops:

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I know you aren't I am simply saying that the advice you gave MIGHT freak to OP out into doing things he/she does not need to do for this animal.

Generally, the more paranoid the owner gets, the more harm can come to the snake then good.

No worries :) it is good advice for rescue situations and severely dehydrated animals, just not this particular scenario :gj:

I wasn't trying to pick on you, just pointing it out so the OP realizes it is not necessary in this case.

Ahaha, poor OP. Next thing you know, that poor snake is going to have it's own medical book dedicated to it :D

All joking aside, just put it in a nice warm bath like mentioned before, and get the humidity up. Your snake'll be fine.

If you are still using that split level tank with the screen on the side it may explain where your heat and humidity are going. If you cover the entire screen except the little door with something like aluminum foil, plastic wrap or something similar it will help hold in the humidity, and if you are using a UTH for heating, I would guess that most of the heat is being absorbed by the rocks and being dissipated by the open screen which is why your temp is low...

Good news...I Didn't have a pillowcase. I use throw pillows on the bed. So I grabbed a shirt out of the closet, wet it and microwaved it warm and wrapped him up.............And proceeded to had rub him clean. I just finished. The shirt was too heavy so he didn't move around it like he might have in a pillowcase. You know he really enjoyed it. As I would wipe him you could feel the old skin pop loose when he stretched out.

That horrid dehydrated look was just the old skin puckering. But it can be rather disconcerting after not getting him out for 2 days and you see him look like that all of a sudden. He's nice and shiny and plumped out again. And if it's not my imagination, he literally grew in my hands as I got the old stuff off.

He's curled up around my neck with his head next to my check right now...probably having a wee snooze after all that.

How often can I expect him to shed?


BTW: Yes I still use the side turned aquariums and screens. I guess I will have to use glass panels again and spray down the substrate better. He clearly hates the panels. I think because he sees his reflection in them and thinks it's another snake.

Thanks for all the advice...This is a great forum!

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Originally Posted by Arsinoe

Good news...I Didn't have a pillowcase. I use throw pillows on the bed. So I grabbed a shirt out of the closet, wet it and microwaved it warm and wrapped him up.............And proceeded to had rub him clean. I just finished. The shirt was too heavy so he didn't move around it like he might have in a pillowcase. You know he really enjoyed it. As I would wipe him you could feel the old skin pop loose when he stretched out.

That horrid dehydrated look was just the old skin puckering. But it can be rather disconcerting after not getting him out for 2 days and you see him look like that all of a sudden. He's nice and shiny and plumped out again. And if it's not my imagination, he literally grew in my hands as I got the old stuff off.

He's curled up around my neck with his head next to my check right now...probably having a wee snooze after all that.

How often can I expect him to shed?


BTW: Yes I still use the side turned aquariums and screens. I guess I will have to use glass panels again and spray down the substrate better. He clearly hates the panels. I think because he sees his reflection in them and thinks it's another snake.

Thanks for all the advice...This is a great forum!

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Glad you got the skin off. Next time, I would avoid using anything warm to the touch. Things warm to the touch to us can be uncomfortably warm to your snake. Try lukewarm water instead.

They all grow at different rates so I can't tell you exactly how often he will shed, but expect every month -2 months.

Also, snakes cannot see reflections.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Glad you got the skin off. Next time, I would avoid using anything warm to the touch. Things warm to the touch to us can be uncomfortably warm to your snake. Try lukewarm water instead.

They all grow at different rates so I can't tell you exactly how often he will shed, but expect every month -2 months.

Also, snakes cannot see reflections.

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It didn't retain the heat at all after a minute or two. I only popped it to take the cold edge off.

Well I'm gonna work at the humidity in his home and maybe I won't scare myself at a wrinkled prune of snake next time. And snake skin all over my bed. He may have enjoued the massage session but if it took that long on a 2 ft snake imagine how long it would take on a full grown one.

Really? He seems quite intent on looking at something he can't see then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arsinoe

Good news...I Didn't have a pillowcase. I use throw pillows on the bed. So I grabbed a shirt out of the closet, wet it and microwaved it warm and wrapped him up.............And proceeded to had rub him clean. I just finished. The shirt was too heavy so he didn't move around it like he might have in a pillowcase. You know he really enjoyed it. As I would wipe him you could feel the old skin pop loose when he stretched out.

That horrid dehydrated look was just the old skin puckering. But it can be rather disconcerting after not getting him out for 2 days and you see him look like that all of a sudden. He's nice and shiny and plumped out again. And if it's not my imagination, he literally grew in my hands as I got the old stuff off.

He's curled up around my neck with his head next to my check right now...probably having a wee snooze after all that.

How often can I expect him to shed?


BTW: Yes I still use the side turned aquariums and screens. I guess I will have to use glass panels again and spray down the substrate better. He clearly hates the panels. I think because he sees his reflection in them and thinks it's another snake.

Thanks for all the advice...This is a great forum!

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Let me get this straight - you're running your e-yap all over this board, passing judgement on tubs and you are keeping your poor snake in a side turned aquarium with a screen?

*hold on - I'm checking out a pic of your "habitat"*

Sweet Jesus.............anyone taking you seriously needs to see a picture of that *ahem* habitat you're so proud of.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...58&postcount=1

Ay! Credibility....shot!
Poor Alexander!!!

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Really? He seems quite intent on looking at something he can't see then.

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GAH!! I am just baffled by the words you type.