New Hatchling Weird Piece of Shed?

Hey guys,

Found this this morning in my new hatchlings tub. couldnt find any other pieces of shed though, except I did find a nice fat dump. Can someone shed some light on why she only shed this part? Husbandry is good, humidity is 75%, Temps are 90-95 at the back of the tub and 79-81 on cool side. I only brought her home last Thursday, and I couldnt see any signs of stuck shed but I also didnt look too long, maybe this part was just waiting to come off?. The good thing is the eye caps came off, I guess.

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/6971/img9002c.jpg

Humidity is pretty high so Im not too worried, from looking at her this morning I couldnt see any more stuck shed either, but if there was any she could easily get it all off. Thanks

I had one that did that and it looked like there was nothing else to be shed. I gave him a soak just in case and then it became obvious that there was more ready to come off.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by spitzu

I had one that did that and it looked like there was nothing else to be shed. I gave him a soak just in case and then it became obvious that there was more ready to come off.

---

Ive only had her for a week, should I still attempt to get the stuck shed off or would that stress her out? Is soaking the best method, or Ive heard using a wet towel and letting her slither around would be good as well? What should I do in terms of feeding, I was gonna feed her tonight or tomorrow, would the stuck shed change anything?

If you can't even see the stuck shed (if there is any), then I don't think the towel trick would work. Personally, I'd soak her for 20 mins and then see if there is anything to get off.

As for feeding, you can judge her temperament better than me. You can either attempt to feed her or decide if she's too pissy afterwards. Waiting an extra day or two won't hurt her.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by spitzu

If you can't even see the stuck shed (if there is any), then I don't think the towel trick would work. Personally, I'd soak her for 20 mins and then see if there is anything to get off.

As for feeding, you can judge her temperament better than me. You can either attempt to feed her or decide if she's too pissy afterwards. Waiting an extra day or two won't hurt her.

---

For soaking, what temp should the water be at? And thanks for the help.

I'm not sure of the exact temps but it should barely be warm to the touch, if at all. 90 should be safe if you're going to measure it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by spitzu

I'm not sure of the exact temps but it should barely be warm to the touch, if at all.

---

I agree, typically what I've read is that you want the temp of the water to be the same as what you'd bathe a baby in. So luke warm to the touch.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mattchibi

For soaking, what temp should the water be at? And thanks for the help.

---

I usually temp my water at 85-87. And I only soak them for 15-20 mins. If they need longer I refresh the water. I also use a damp towel after soaking for them to slither through.

Took all your advice. Just soaked for about 20 minutes, but she was really head shy and was curled in a ball most of the time, which didnt let me work her stuck shed very much. When I took her out, I let her slither through my hands and I was holding a warm damp towel, she did it a few times letting a tiny bit of shed come off, but theres still at least 90% of the shed still not ready to come off. She really didnt like the towel thing and actually striked at me once. What should I do? When I have her in the damp towel, how hard can I press down to "peel" the shed off? I didnt want to press too hard in case it hurt her, but at the same time, the shed was barely coming off without using any pressure.

Basically the shed on her entire body starting from her head to her tail still needs to come off. If you have any suggestions please let me know :)

When that happens and I don't have time to soak the snake I'll just spray the whole enclosure really well and mist the snake gently. Usually the rest of the shed will come off by itself. Then I'll clean up the tub and make sure the humidity goes back down to normal to avoid issues with high humidity.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jsmorphs2

When that happens and I don't have time to soak the snake I'll just spray the whole enclosure really well and mist the snake gently. Usually the rest of the shed will come off by itself. Then I'll clean up the tub and make sure the humidity goes back down to normal to avoid issues with high humidity.

---

So leave the enclosure moist (higher humidity than normal) for a night and see if it comes off naturally? And after the shed comes off lower the humidity again? I gently sprayed her just now but shes being all hissy and not in a good mood.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mattchibi

So leave the enclosure moist (higher humidity than normal) for a night and see if it comes off naturally? And after the shed comes off lower the humidity again? I gently sprayed her just now but shes being all hissy and not in a good mood.

---

Nevermind. Just read this thread: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...highlight=soak

Seems to cover all the different solutions I can try. Is it too stressful to try and get some of the shed off every day? Or should I just leave it alone? Will it come off before her next shed/after her next shed? The humidity is pretty high in her tub right now. (almost 80%) Sorry for all the questions, I never had stuck shed problems with my normal girl lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mattchibi

Nevermind. Just read this thread: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...highlight=soak

Seems to cover all the different solutions I can try. Is it too stressful to try and get some of the shed off every day? Or should I just leave it alone? Will it come off before her next shed/after her next shed? The humidity is pretty high in her tub right now. (almost 80%) Sorry for all the questions, I never had stuck shed problems with my normal girl lol

---

If there is a lot stuck I would get as much off as possible in one sitting if it doesn't come off by itself.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jsmorphs2

If there is a lot stuck I would get as much off as possible in one sitting if it doesn't come off by itself.

---

Thanks for the tip otherwise it would have taken me like 10 sittings. I have soaked her for the past two days but she was really twitchy so I didnt make her stay in the water for too long, but today I soaked her in the bath tub for almost an hour and got almost all of her stuck shed off! Probably one more soak tomorrow and she'll be all clean. Her colors look so cool & I cant wait to be able to take pics and show you guys :D Thanks again for everyones suggestions.

Can't wait to see her too :)

next time you could try putting her in a warm damp pillowcase (thats well tied up)

My hatchling was just like that. I gave him a warm bath it eventually all came off except the shed
under the jaw what should I do?

I just thought I'd toss a word of caution the wet pillow case if it is like most natural cotton if it is too wet the fibres swell and become air tight snakes have suffocated in pillow cases. Just be careful if you go this route.