Shed question

Hi. I've been through the sticky and several other threads concerning the shedding process, but I want to make sure of something. I peeked into Gene's enclosure just now, and the best way I can describe it is, he looks like he's sunburned and starting to peel. His skin is starting to crack and peel all over his body. Is this normal, or is this a sign of a bad shed?

It's a bad shed. You have low humidity in your enclosure. Put Gene inside a damp pillow case. tie it and let her stay there for 30 mins to an hour to help with the shedding. She'll rub off the old skin on the pillow case.

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Originally Posted by rexrem

It's a bad shed. You have low humidity in your enclosure. Put Gene inside a damp pillow case. tie it and let her stay there for 30 mins to an hour to help with the shedding. She'll rub off the old skin on the pillow case.

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This ^^^^^^^.

Individual pieces always are a sign of low humidity. I usually put them in a rubber maid tub with water halfway up their body and put a towel in there so they can rub it off. I used to have to do this with a glass aquarium, but never with tubs!

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Originally Posted by steveboos

This ^^^^^^^.

Individual pieces always are a sign of low humidity. I usually put them in a rubber maid tub with water halfway up their body and put a towel in there so they can rub it off. I used to have to do this with a glass aquarium, but never with tubs!

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I got a closer look at him. Its not as bad as I thought, but I put him in the damp pillowcase just to be on the safe side. Afterward I'll see if he'll tolerate a quick swim in the kitchen sink, then I'll put him back in his tank for awhile. Should I repeat the pillowcase procedure again later today to try and help him out?

Let him move inside the pillow case so he will rub off the dead skin. The most important thing is to check for retained eye caps. Check his eyes and see if there's no dead skin in the eyes (they also shed their eye caps). A good shed is like a sock inside out, you should have a skin of a whole snake including the eye caps.
If there's no retained eye caps, you can just help him by peeling the dead skin yourself but if he retained it, put him inside the pillow case again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rexrem

Let him move inside the pillow case so he will rub off the dead skin. The most important thing is to check for retained eye caps. Check his eyes and see if there's no dead skin in the eyes (they also shed their eye caps). A good shed is like a sock inside out, you should have a skin of a whole snake including the eye caps.
If there's no retained eye caps, you can just help him by peeling the dead skin yourself but if he retained it, put him inside the pillow case again.

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I checked him when I put him in the pillow case, but I didn't see any eye caps on him. That's one thing I told my girlfriend I was the most concerned about. I'll check again in another 40 minutes or so.

What is his set up by the way? tank or tub?

He is in a tank. I've got it surrounded on three sides by a blanket (Until I get something better) and most of the screen on the top is covered by tin foil.

you can also do this with a tank set up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wroPySnv9HM

I'm not positive if he has eye caps or not, I'm trying to figure out what they look like so I can tell. Gene's shed was pretty bad and the damp pillowcase seemed to help a little. I put him back in his tank and sprayed it and him down. Fast forward a couple hours later, he still hadn't shed completely. My girlfriend took him out and put him in the pillowcase and held onto the shedding skin while he moved around, helping him pull it off. She put him in a little warm water, and it seemed to help quite a bit.

He's still got a few pieces, but I think he'll be able to do that no problem with all the rough things in his tank. I'm amazed at her actions, though. A week ago, she was absolutely terrified by snakes. One look at him and the trouble he was having and she went into "mother hen" mode.

The bad shed happened for a purpose :D if the eyes are clear then it's good.
Good luck on the next shed! Kudos to your girlfriend.

Now that's what i like to hear!!! Great job, glad you have poisoned another person with the addiction we call reptiles (specifically Ball Pythons). Keep it up and see if a cypress mulch as substrate would be a good option.

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Originally Posted by steveboos

Now that's what i like to hear!!! Great job, glad you have poisoned another person with the addiction we call reptiles (specifically Ball Pythons). Keep it up and see if a cypress mulch as substrate would be a good option.

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Haha, yes, Steve! We are even considering getting her mom and stepdad a BP. Before we do, though, I am talking to them about everything we are experiencing. Sharing my experiences with them will help them be better snake owners, I think.

My cornsnake just shed today. Here's a picture of a good shed.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/show...3&userid=18322

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/show...3&userid=18322

Gene just has a little bit of old skin on the top of his head and I -think- a little bit of an eye cap on one eye. maybe that'll come off with the old skin. He is so gorgeous though! His colors are amazing, and he's soft, and he can move on our hands so much easier now. He's in his tank right now though. I'm handling him as little as possible until he's totally done with this horribly bad shed.

Next month I'm buying a new enclosure and spending a couple hundred dollars extra on everything we need, top quality. No more bad sheds for my little snakey. It kills me!

A tub set up and flexwatt tape will solve your humidity problem. Less than $10 if you already have a thermostat. Don't spend too much on his enclosure, you can save your money and get him a girl friend

Either buy a Vision cage or other PVC/ABS/HDPE cage to help with humidity and regulating temperatures. Also they still look nice and are actually better tanks if you want to display your reptiles. although you may spend $150 on a cage, it will be well worth it!

I think we'll do something like that. He doesn't seem to mind being in this 10 gallon tank so something that size would be fine, for now at least. I would love to get him a "girlfriend" as you put it, haha! Breeding may be a possibility in a couple years, its something we will have to seriously discuss and research, but I bet its very rewarding to see all your hard work pay off when those eggs hatch and you see those beautiful little creatures.