Just a bad shed, or something more?

Before I go gush out money to a vet, I hope I can get some answers here.

I've only had one BP, for 9 years, with no problems at all. She was a poster-snake for BP's.
Now, I have a new little guy, and this is his second time shedding with me.
Both times have been a bad shed.

Now, he hasn't actually shed, nor will he even try.
The first shed he had with me, he seemed a little bit dehydrated, and didn't try to shed.
I eventually helped shed him, and all was fine.
I wanted to wait for a second shed before going to the vet, just in case the first was bad luck.

Well he seems worse this time. He tried starting his shed at first, and only got under his chin off.
After that, he hasn't tried shedding again. I sprayed him much more this time during his shed cycle (I thought that might have been the problem last time), but it didn't seem to help.
I even gave him a nice long soak the other day.
I've read about the hydrometers being wrong, and certain cages being bad for BPs, and maybe that's the case, but I sprayed him probably.. 5 times a day.
My other snakes do just fine with their sheds.

He seems more dehydrated this time as well. I keep a large soaking/drinking dish in his cage at all times. I rarely see him drink.
Now that I've seen this twice, and him being worse, I'm assuming he has some parasite or something.

Any tips or thoughts on what it could be?
Should I take him to the vet, or does it sound like a simple mistake?


Thanks.

Oh, here are some pictures of how he looks, just in case you need to see.
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...Lvr1/002-4.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...Lvr1/001-4.jpg

its all good i had this problem with babies before

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Originally Posted by stickyalvinroll

its all good i had this problem with babies before

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How long did it take them to have a normal shed?

Try putting him in a warm wet pillow case for an hour and let him slough off some of the stuck shed. Just tie it closed and set it in a plastic tub. You can always repeat that again tomorrow if he still has more.

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Originally Posted by rlditmars

Try putting him in a warm wet pillow case for an hour and let him slough off some of the stuck shed. Just tie it closed and set it in a plastic tub. You can always repeat that again tomorrow if he still has more.

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Thanks! I've been doing it for 30 minutes now. Hopefully in another 30, I'll see some decent results. If not, it's time-out time for Maki! c;

Did it work because I'm having the same problem

Did it work because I'm having the same problem

Let is know if it worked :)

Well it worked and didn't work. He did nothing at all. I helped him shed of the really wet and already coming off pieces.
I'll try again tomorrow.

If it doesn't work tomorrow, it seems I'll have to shed him myself again :rolleyes:

I am not sure what to do only one eye shed and not the other. What do you think I should do?

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Originally Posted by cifarellidad

I am not sure what to do only one eye shed and not the other. What do you think I should do?

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In my opinion you should just leave it. The next shed cycle will take it off. If it doesn't , then intervene.

I have some snakes that are lazy shedders from time to time. Its not really a health issue unless you leave the stuck shed on the snake for a long period of time. I soak my snakes who have had bad sheds a day or two after I notice they are having a rough time. I try to give them some time to get as much off as they can before I step in.



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soaking them will wash away the oils they use to shed.

also what do you mean help him shed, do you pull his skin off? you could potentially do some damage that way.

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Originally Posted by Rusky

soaking them will wash away the oils they use to shed.

also what do you mean help him shed, do you pull his skin off? you could potentially do some damage that way.

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If they are having a bad shed, you need to soak them to get the skin off. At that point, the oils they use to shed didn't work.

I think they mean they peel off the stuck shed, which is what I assume everyone does with snakes that have bad sheds. What damage could it do? Aside from the obvious eye caps/possibly pulling off a scale. Which shouldn't happen if you soak them for a good amount of time prior to helping them shed.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

If they are having a bad shed, you need to soak them to get the skin off. At that point, the oils they use to shed didn't work.

I think they mean they peel off the stuck shed, which is what I assume everyone does with snakes that have bad sheds. What damage could it do? Aside from the obvious eye caps/possibly pulling off a scale. Which shouldn't happen if you soak them for a good amount of time prior to helping them shed.

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depending how long you wait to do the soak. i've read about people doing it the same day their snake starts to shed. I agree if it's been a few days and there's still lots of skin left then a soak is fine.

i've read lots of posts about people pulling off shed and taking off good scales with it, so all i'm saying is to be careful.

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Originally Posted by Rusky

depending how long you wait to do the soak. i've read about people doing it the same day their snake starts to shed. I agree if it's been a few days and there's still lots of skin left then a soak is fine.

i've read lots of posts about people pulling off shed and taking off good scales with it, so all i'm saying is to be careful.

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:gj: carefulness is a good thing, lol. I've never pulled any good scales off my snakes when helping them shed. I leave them to soak for a good 30 min to a hour before I start trying to get the skin off. Its hard peeling a squirmy snake that doesn't want you peeling them! lol I try to make it as quick as possible.

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Originally Posted by Rusky

soaking them will wash away the oils they use to shed.

also what do you mean help him shed, do you pull his skin off? you could potentially do some damage that way.

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Oh, don't worry. I won't shed a snake if the skin is not ready. I have some experience with helping my reptiles shed.
I will only pull away skin if it readily comes off. It there is any sign of resistance I don't peel it.

I'm actually going to be adopting a corn snake that is special needs, and will need shed help ;)

How often do they shed

I was going to try the pillow case again today, to get the rest of his neck off, but he seemed to have developed a little sound while breathing sometimes (kind of like a sneeze).
Should I do it anyway, or should I worry?

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Originally Posted by Eariam

I was going to try the pillow case again today, to get the rest of his neck off, but he seemed to have developed a little sound while breathing sometimes (kind of like a sneeze).
Should I do it anyway, or should I worry?

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Sounds like an RI beginning to form. I would slightly raise temps and leave him alone for a bit to avoid stressing him.

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Bad shed can be caused by things like parasites. Something to keep in mind with regards to this snake and the corn you will be adopting.

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Originally Posted by Eariam

I was going to try the pillow case again today, to get the rest of his neck off, but he seemed to have developed a little sound while breathing sometimes (kind of like a sneeze).
Should I do it anyway, or should I worry?

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Most likely loose skin around the nose, happened to be once.

I don't know about an RI... A lot of my snakes will have a slight whistling noise if they have a bad shed. Could be stuck shed in the nostril, or a little bit of water from soaks.

By the way, none of my snakes have RIs

Whistling sound can be stuck shed. A sneezing sound can be RI.

I'm prone to assuming that this snake isn't in perfect health just because of the shed issues. Not too far a stretch to imagine it could have an RI beginning to form.

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Originally Posted by meowmeowkazoo

Whistling sound can be stuck shed. A sneezing sound can be RI.

I'm prone to assuming that this snake isn't in perfect health just because of the shed issues. Not too far a stretch to imagine it could have an RI beginning to form.

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Yes, I was thinking he had a health issue, like a parasite.
I'm still taking him to the vet when I can, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't being paranoid before I gush out money!
Which is why I figured I would post a thread first.
Better safe than sorry though :rolleyes: