Please help... shed problem *pics*

Hey everyone... I was really excited today because my ball shed for the first time since I got him about 1 1/2 months ago. One time, when I had first got him, he tried to escape and kind of scruffed up some skin on his "forehead" from the tank lid. I wasn't concerned and assumed it would just come off with his shed. However, I checked on him today and he had shed entirely except for his head. How exactly do I get it off... I can't quite soak his head for an hour. I'm worried the minor injury might be causing this problem.
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...lested/010.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...sted/006-1.jpg

I give my snakes and reptiles steam baths..I get a container and put like an inch of water in it that's nice and warm, bot not hot, enough so it creates steam. I put a large rock or something for the snake to lay on if they don't want to be in the water. I put them in the container and pop the lid on and give them 5-10 minutes. It's usually really easy and the skin easily rubs off if it's ready to come off.

I would soak it for about half an hour then try letting the snake slither through a wet washcloth! Make sure the water is about 90!

A soak in some warm water and then let the crawl through your hands covered in a rough towel.

Glad im not the only one who had this problem..my female BP had a messy shed this past week..pretty much came off in chunks, had to soak her in the tub.Which she hated...got the remainder of the loose skin off exept a small section on top of her head which doesnt seem to be lifting yet.so i guess ill wait and see what happens..the only thing that has me scratching my head is that her previous shed was perfect ..came off in one piece.had the same conditions this time.temp and humidity.and a mess...any thoughts on what happened would be appreciated...:

If it doesn't come off with a 30 minute soak, then just leave it alone until the next shed. I know it doesn't look cute and you'll probably want to pull it off but you could hurt the snake. I'd just leave it. Did the rest of the shed come off in one piece? If it didn't then you need to look into raising your humidity.

In my opinion your lucky. That is something easy to work with.
Soak with warm water for 30 min. Rub with towel or peal off. If it doesn't happen the first time try again.

I've had a lot of luck with stuck sheds coming off by tossing a warm, damp towel into a tupperware with an inch or so of warm water in it. My snakes creep around on and in the towel and rub the shedding bits off themselves. ;) Especially works great with my awful little Milk Snake who hates being handled.

I'd say let him sit in a tupperware with the lid closed (if you have one of the ones with the microwave hole, open it) in some warm water. I put in a washcloth so that if he doesn't want to be in the water he can sit on it, but still gets damp. Then I take him out and let him go through the warm washcloth. They get the picture that it helps them shed pretty quickly and they start rubbing on the washcloth, and it's great to get them used to having their heads touched a bit, making them less head shy.

I'd def try the above mentioned soaking/steaming first, but i've also heard that you can use some (aka very little) baby oil and gently rub it into their skin. It will help soften it so they can maybe rub it off on their own.

After my snake got a cut and had stiches, the vet told me I had to assist her shed in that area only. Goes back to soaking them in warm water and gently rubing the area to work off the extra shed. This was because she has a pretty nasty scar and it sometimes is harder to shed off those "ugly little black scales" that come up after an injury.

Like it was said before, it's not a big deal, and you can def just wait till the next time he/she sheds! Good luck!!!

Just stick with the water. The oil will actually cause more scales to flake off.

He looks kinda funny with that little shed hat!

yup, just soak in warm water and peel it off. make sure u go head to tail, not the other way.

LOL it looks like a lil horn on his head, or a funny lil snakey hat.

Put the snake in a wet snake bag in an empty tupperware container.
Check the snake and wet the bag daily until it clears the shed.

Also....
If you want to be taken seriously...
You may want want to change change your profile picture.

Some people will find it VERY OFFENSIVE!!!!

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Originally Posted by asixtwo

Also....
If you want to be taken seriously...
You may want want to change change your profile picture.

Some people will find it VERY OFFENSIVE!!!!

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Really? I don't think its offensive. And even if I did, that wouldn't persuade me into not taking the person asking for help seriously.

I wouldn't put any of my snakes in any water that's warmer than just luke warm. if it doesn't come off you can soak again the next day.

did the rest of the shed come off in 1 piece or many pieces? if many, you might want to raise the humidity in the enclosure a little.

Thanks everyone, yes he does look hilarious... poor thing. He's none to happy, though. Hissed at me for the first time. and yes, the rest of it came off in one piece.

Also, about my pic... seriously? Anyone who's commented on it says it's hilarious, not VERY OFFENSIVE

I think it's funny xP

my ball had the same proplem. i have pics of it in my profile if you want to check out.? i got a small tub soak snake in warm water if it fells hot to you it is to hot for the snake.soak for about 1/2 hour maybe even a full hour. i put just a little bit of water maby a 1/2 inch or so let the humidity go to work. you might be able to peel it off but if it starts tugging stop.after that if it dont work get a moist towel and place the snake in it my ball way able to get it off from there. and if he continuse to have promple after that come off. ...my ball every shed... start using reptile shedding aid works great imo just spray on and rub in once you see the snake going into shed about every otherday.not more proplems for me..

sorry if all this has been before a didn't feel like reading everyone's comments sorry.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Really? I don't think its offensive. And even if I did, that wouldn't persuade me into not taking the person asking for help seriously.

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So you don't think photos of animal cruelty are offensive?

I guess there's no problem with me posting necropsy photos of other ABUSED animals, as long as there are cute captions?

How is that animal cruelty, it's probably photoshopped! Or that snake really was a moron!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by asixtwo

So you don't think photos of animal cruelty are offensive?

I guess there's no problem with me posting necropsy photos of other ABUSED animals, as long as there are cute captions?

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Your definition of animal cruelty is pretty off.

I am pretty sure that snake did that to itself. It has happened on more than one occasion with ferocious feeders.

I am sure the snake was perfectly fine once it spit its tail out.

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Originally Posted by AkHerps

How is that animal cruelty, it's probably photoshopped! Or that snake really was a moron!

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It's actually a common STUPID prank, and a less common feeding mistake.
It NEVER happens without human intervention.

Merely posting the picture is offensive and a detriment to our hobby.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Your definition of animal cruelty is pretty off.

I am pretty sure that snake did that to itself. It has happened on more than one occasion with ferocious feeders.

I am sure the snake was perfectly fine once it spit its tail out.

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Do you even own a snake?

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Originally Posted by asixtwo

Do you even own a snake?

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What do you think. Do you think I just have 5000 posts on a snake website without having any experience with these animals?

That is not a picture of animal cruelty. If you think it is offensve then don't look at it. No one has a gun to your head forcing you to look at it and enjoy it.

@asixtwo:
I'm sorry you don't like the image, but I'm not going to change it. I also haven't heard of putting a snake's tail into its mouth as a prank... thought it was just a rare feeding mistake. Will research this.

The soaking in a warm steamy bath I'm agreeing with but the babyoil I'm not liking I've always been told you don't mix oils with snakes because of their receptors are so sensitive you can cause them to get upper respiratory infections due to clogging from the oils. Peeling the skin, I wouldn't be so quick to peel the skin, it may look nasty but if she had a nasty boo boo, you gotta understand the skin is a little thicker there too, so the shedding there is gonna be a little different, just keep soaking. :gj: