Stuck shed and feeding

I just got my first ball python about 3 weeks ago. She just finished her first shed since I got her, and there is some left on the top of her head and around her nostrils. The humidity in the tank was around 50-55%, but I was able to raise it to 70-80% when I realized she was in shed, which was pretty late into the shed cycle. Should I just leave her for awhile longer at this higher humidity and see if it comes off, or should I do something to assist her? Also, is it okay to try to feed her while she has the stuck shed, or do I need to address that first? Thanks.

[IMG]http://i44.tinypic.com/dh65c8.jpg[/IMG]

Just want to follow along. My bp has shed okay but also has some along the top of her head and just along the top of her neck. I've got humidity up to about 80% with misting as well as getting her sprayed down a bit. She is eating and behaving normall but I of course want to do everything I can to help her along with that last bit. I've also soaked following the advice in the shed/soak thead and it worked out great for all involved. However...she doesn't soak with her head under water.

I bought a BP with a whole head stuck shed including eye caps, I have tried to assist but cannot get it off for love nor money so I am leaving him until the next shed. He is offered food every five days as scheduled :)

Damp pillowcase tied around half way down and left in the enclosure over night may help. **EDIT: with the snake inside the pillowcase**

could try a warm bath.

If any of my balls does have a bad shed I soak it a couple of hours then assist them using a wet towel. I wind the towel around the snake and let the snake push through the towel, I do not use it to "rub" off any skin. I let only the snake apply its own body strength. Usually the snake get any stuck shed off in a couple of minutes, including eyecaps.

As for feeding, my pewter male sheds really bad each time for some reason and I have no problem feeding him even with stuck shed. But I do feed frequent, smaller meals.

/Sweballp

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Originally Posted by Spencer88

could try a warm bath.

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I tried the warm bath and letting her slither through a wet cloth. Some of the shed around the neck came off, but there is still some on her head and it appears that the eye caps are still on. It looks like there are cracks in the eyes in a radial pattern. Will the bath soften it up so that she can rub it off, or if it didn't come off in the bath will it require more intervention? Thanks for the help.

You can just peel off the shed on her head. But if there are still eye caps on, don't mess with them. Just let them come off with the next shed.
And it's fine to offer food as normal.

Just a quick update. I tried letting her swim in the bathtub and a little of the shed on her neck came off, but the shed on the top of her head and her eye caps are still on. I tried to pick at the shed around her head but it seemed firmly adhered. Should I just keep the humidity up and wait for the next shed? She ate on Wednesday with no problem.

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Originally Posted by sinclair

Just a quick update. I tried letting her swim in the bathtub and a little of the shed on her neck came off, but the shed on the top of her head and her eye caps are still on. I tried to pick at the shed around her head but it seemed firmly adhered. Should I just keep the humidity up and wait for the next shed? She ate on Wednesday with no problem.

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If her functions are not being inhibited then it is likely ok to wait a bit. You might try some Zilla shed ease, I have had success with it before.

I'm not sure how well this picture shows my boys stuck shed on his head but I know it shows the extent of very stuck eye caps. I have a woman coming over to try to remove the stuck shed as she has a lot of experience. The skin on his head feels solid when I touch it and I cannot loosen any of it on his head without having to peel it off in the direction of his nose rather in the tail direction.

I would advise letting your BP get it off in the next shed as long as it isn't inhibiting their actions such as eating etc. I am simply seeking help as I am very worried about his eyes and the extent of the "grey" covering and I have tried bathing, pillowcase and upping humidity to no joy. This guy is still one of my best eaters, let's me near his head without too much trouble (occasional squirm) and is great to handle still; I'm being overly cautious as he came to me like this from the seller.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...a5b6655655c176

Adding some damp sphagnum moss to their enclosure, or even putting some in their favourite hide is a technique I have used in the past. Some people leave damp moss in the cage at all times to up humidity if they have issues keeping it in normal range. I would usually just add it to the hide when I noticed the first few signs of a shed coming on (pink belly, blue eyes). The moss increases the humidity exactly where the BP is, so if the humidity gets too much for them, they can go to another part of the tank and escape the area of high humidity.

I also agree with all of the other tips in the thread: if the stuck shed isn't hindering your snake's abilities at all, just leave it and make sure humidity is better during the next shed cycle and the snake will do all the hard work for you.

After giving the snake a good soaking, try using a wet pillow case with the snake in it. Let it be for awhile, 4-5 hours. The wet/damp pillow case truck has worked well for many people. Of that doesn't work, I would suggest keeping your humidity up until the next shed, it may come off before then. Also try offering a humid hide as mentioned before.

What I do to help get a good shed is add damp,well wett sphagnum moss. I add moss to the tank and around the hide and in the hide. You know it's a good thing when u lift off your hide to check on your snake and there is condensation on the inside the hide. Be careful about add moss to the tank if you have aspen,the aspen will and can mold. So what I do is I add the moss to a decent size tup o ware and place it on top of the hide under the heat lamp,then what I also did,cause my hide is fairly large,I got a small feeding dish from the pet store it's about 3x3 fill it with wett moss and put it in the hide,I cleared the aspen and placed it on the glass above the UTH to great bottom heat for wett moss.I still mist the tank. When my guy recently shed,I kept humidity up to 70-80-90 and pretty steady as steady as I can.

also something that I personally do. As soon as my guy is out of blue he always sheds at night it seem and the day after he is out of blue..so for the few day when his eyes clear I picked him up one time each night and misted him down,he loved it. I also increased the UTH heat in his hide . Kept the tank hot and humid.l worked for me perfect.