The Problem with Bathing?

I've seen quite a few posts here that almost scold people who give their balls a bath right before or while they shed. However, none of the people doing the scolding ever say why you shouldn't soak your snake. Long story short, why are you not supposed to soak the snake?

Does the answer change with special cases? My friend has a rescued ball python who had gotten chewed up from a rat and so has quite a few messed up scales by his tail (and the old wounds reopen when there are things in his cage to rub against.) This is a ball python who almost never sheds on one piece. The one time he did was so surprising for her that she called her sister (who is a vet whom specializes in reptiles) and had an hour long conversation with her about it. She has to soak the snake and then sit with him and help him rub his skin off. Sulu simply won't shed properly without opening his old wounds, unless he's soaked.

It is answered everytime its asked... Its bad because its completly unessecary to start with... You should be providing propper humidity to begin with plus when you give them a bath you are removing the natural oils and enzymes created by the snakes body to help with the shedding process and then theres all the added stress to the little one ... If you have to help them shed use a humid hide and if that dosent work a damp warm rag in a cotton pillow case is another option... But other then being covered in excrement there is no reason to ever bath a snake.. More harm then good

If you have a snake with injuries or scarring that interfere with shedding, the keeper can help by:
- Keeping the snake's humidity higher than the norm all the time, not just during the shed cycle.
- Offer a humid hide when the snake starts the shedding process; in mine the bellies start to go pink before the eyes cloud over.
- After the snake actually pops the shed, use a warm, damp washcloth to gently rub it off of any problem areas.

Also if the scabs/wounds are re-opening during a shed I would treat them with Vetericyn versus Neosporin or Triple, as the latter products use a petroleum-based jelly which can cause scale damage.

I have an older boa that was fed live, usually two small rats, by a prior owner. He would throw both into the enclosure at once, and while she would eventually eat both, rats aren't stupid - the one she didn't take immediately would attack her as soon as she hit the other. She has a lot of scarring on her back and sides. So, she gets rubbed with a warm damp washtowel periodically in areas with stuck shed.

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Originally Posted by Futile

I've seen quite a few posts here that almost scold people who give their balls a bath right before or while they shed. However, none of the people doing the scolding ever say why you shouldn't soak your snake. Long story short, why are you not supposed to soak the snake?

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Easy enough to demonstrate if you have a fresh snake skin. It should feel kind of wet, kind of sticky, kind of slimy. Those are the oils they produce to aid in shedding - bathing simply washes all of that away.

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Originally Posted by Futile

Does the answer change with special cases? My friend has a rescued ball python who had gotten chewed up from a rat and so has quite a few messed up scales by his tail (and the old wounds reopen when there are things in his cage to rub against.) This is a ball python who almost never sheds on one piece. The one time he did was so surprising for her that she called her sister (who is a vet whom specializes in reptiles) and had an hour long conversation with her about it. She has to soak the snake and then sit with him and help him rub his skin off. Sulu simply won't shed properly without opening his old wounds, unless he's soaked.

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Snakes don't need a rough surface to shed. It makes the task a bit easier if they have one but they will find a way out of that old skin regardless. If your friend just provided proper humidity instead of soaking she'd probably get those whole sheds more often.

Yep, its been gone over many time why NOT to bath your snakes.

The only time I did a bath to help with a shed I had let the humidity get down super low (like 20%) so when Mycroft tried to shed he only removed about 20% of the shed by himself.

I went ahead and did a soak to help, but I could tell that it was a stressful experience; it took him a couple weeks before he would even eat again. Had I just moderated the temperatures properly I wouldn't have had the issue in the first place.

Bathing while in shed will deplite the snake form essential oils which make it difficult for it to shed.

Bathing after a bad shed can be done but there are better alternative that are less stressful.

Remember stress plus bad husbandry can lead to severe health issues, stress with those animals should be kept to a minimum.

The only time I ever bath a snake it has happened twice in 10 years and in both case those wee females that were way overdue (50 days POS)

The only time i bathe mine is when i can see some kind of unwanted matter on them...;) i ALWAYS thought soaking while in shed was ok to help the procedure move along BUT realized by myself to just make the enclosure hotter(humidity) wise until mine shed //eg\\ if your using a tub just put the top on until shed process is over...:gj:

Sorry for the late reply, but thanks for all of the answers. It was very helpful to me, and I have a better understanding why I shouldn't soak the snake.

Shakes head at this thread ....... the outrage at the idea of someone daring to put the snake in a tub of water and soak ( which they do themselves if their water bowl is large enough ...)

Yet you're all skipping over the part where the snakes mentioned above were bitten when feeding live rats ..... post number one and three incidentally ...

Just saying .....

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Yet you're all skipping over the part where the snakes mentioned above were bitten when feeding live rats ..... post number one and three incidentally ...

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No one "skipped" over it.
The OP is about bathing so please STOP with your live feeding fishing.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

No one "skipped" over it.
The OP is about bathing so please STOP with your live feeding fishing.

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Not to mention that the snake was fed live BEFORE it was obtained by my friend, and none of our snakes are fed live and never have been. Pre-killed, yes. Live, no. I believe I stated that, but if not, there you go. Point blank ending there. We know not to feed live.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

No one "skipped" over it.
The OP is about bathing so please STOP with your live feeding fishing.

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Lol seriously though. I didn't realize it was time for the monthly "Anti live feeding martyr" to start trolling every possible thread

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Originally Posted by Futile

We know not to feed live.

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:confusd::confusd: Hard to skip over now.
Each person feeds their own way, feed what your animals will eat BUT there is no reason not to feed live.

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Originally Posted by Futile

Not to mention that the snake was fed live BEFORE it was obtained by my friend, and none of our snakes are fed live and never have been. Pre-killed, yes. Live, no. I believe I stated that, but if not, there you go. Point blank ending there. We know not to feed live.

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To be fair , it wasn't directed at you or the other guy - I read your post . I was just highlighting the perils of live feeding in general .

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Originally Posted by SKO

Lol seriously though. I didn't realize it was time for the monthly "Anti live feeding martyr" to start trolling every possible thread

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Wow , exaggerate much these days , bud ??

I simply commented on two very recent unread threads , on a subject close to my heart . My comments on LIVE feeding make up about 1% everything else I post .....

Why do guys always equate someone with a different view on things as being "trolls" !?!?


Sounds like a defence mechanism to me ...

When you have to take a thread over to get a point across, that you try to very often on here, when that thread had absolutely nothing to do with the feeding live debate, that's trolling. Carry on though, I'm just here for the show, let us know how many people you convert.

Well I just simply pose the questions these days , I don't touch on all the dangers of live feeding or even the good points about feeding d/f frozen ...

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Well I just simply pose the questions these days , I don't touch on all the dangers of live feeding or even the good points about feeding d/f frozen ...

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There's dangers with feeding f/t as well, if you don't know what you are doing. However, if feeding is done properly the risk of either method is minimal. Everyone should make the best choices for THEIR animal and themselves.

Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk

BACK on the bathing topic and this is not a suggestion, any further drama/off topic discussion will be deleted without warning and this thread will be locked.

I'm happy to have come accross this post! I never read anywhere that it was bad to bathe a snake during shed (never had a problem so never looked it up) so its good to see that it should be done. Though the reason why is never really explained so its good to have it written somewhere.

As others have posted, bathing during sheds is a bad idea. I did it once and it actually messed up my BPs shed and she had problems getting it off in one piece which then did require a bath to help her get it all off. As for when not in shed, I actually do give all 3 of my snakes soaks in luke warm water in their totes and they actually seem to like it. They will dunk themselves and sit underwater for about a minute then surface and relax their head on their body and lounge around. they actually don't even try to get out lol. But all of my snakes get LOTS of out of cage time so they are all very comfortable sitting on the couch, bed, me or just about anywhere in the house. I would imagine if your snake didn't get much outdoor time and wasn't used to being handled, a soak in a tote could be very stressful.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

As others have posted, bathing during sheds is a bad idea. I did it once and it actually messed up my BPs shed and she had problems getting it off in one piece which then did require a bath to help her get it all off. As for when not in shed, I actually do give all 3 of my snakes soaks in luke warm water in their totes and they actually seem to like it. They will dunk themselves and sit underwater for about a minute then surface and relax their head on their body and lounge around. they actually don't even try to get out lol. But all of my snakes get LOTS of out of cage time so they are all very comfortable sitting on the couch, bed, me or just about anywhere in the house. I would imagine if your snake didn't get much outdoor time and wasn't used to being handled, a soak in a tote could be very stressful.

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What do you mean by tote?

I don't really bathe my snakes and they all have great sheds. Sometimes if they make a huge mess I hold them and run luke-warm water over them to clean them up (and they do seem to enjoy it). They also seem to enjoy going for a swim and I let them do it purely recreationally once in a while (which often ends with a big poop).

As for sheds, just keep their humidity up and they will be fine. I like the suggestion posted elsewhere of putting a wet paper towel folded up in their hide with them to make it more humid. I haven't had to try that, but it seems like it would work.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

As others have posted, bathing during sheds is a bad idea. I did it once and it actually messed up my BPs shed and she had problems getting it off in one piece which then did require a bath to help her get it all off. As for when not in shed, I actually do give all 3 of my snakes soaks in luke warm water in their totes and they actually seem to like it. They will dunk themselves and sit underwater for about a minute then surface and relax their head on their body and lounge around. they actually don't even try to get out lol. But all of my snakes get LOTS of out of cage time so they are all very comfortable sitting on the couch, bed, me or just about anywhere in the house. I would imagine if your snake didn't get much outdoor time and wasn't used to being handled, a soak in a tote could be very stressful.

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Great post .

There is a time for a soak though imho and it's AFTER a poor shed of course .. a short 30 minute soak and then let the snake slide through a damp , textured hand towel will easily remove any excess skin ..

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Originally Posted by treaux

What do you mean by tote?

I don't really bathe my snakes and they all have great sheds. Sometimes if they make a huge mess I hold them and run luke-warm water over them to clean them up (and they do seem to enjoy it). They also seem to enjoy going for a swim and I let them do it purely recreationally once in a while (which often ends with a big poop).

As for sheds, just keep their humidity up and they will be fine. I like the suggestion posted elsewhere of putting a wet paper towel folded up in their hide with them to make it more humid. I haven't had to try that, but it seems like it would work.

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I use Sterilite bins or totes, whatever you want to call them. You can buy them from Home Depot, Walmart, Target. I use the big 66qt one for my large boa and I use 32qt ones for both my yearling boa and my BP. I just fill them high enough to just cover the snakes or a little bit higher. Then I put down a sheet of R-Type foam insulation that I cut to fit on the floor and then put the bin of water on top of it so it holds the heat in the bin. Then I put the snake in and let them lounge around for about 30 mins or so. At first they were scared of it but after a couple times, they are used to it and seem to like it now and like I said, will lounge in there and go under water and "swim" and then just loosely coil up and put there head on their body and relax. The bins are actually for when/if my power goes out in the winter and I'm forced to pack everyone up in bins and transport them into my car and run the heater to keep everyone warm until my power comes back on but they double as great "bath tubs" too.

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Great post .

There is a time for a soak though imho and it's AFTER a poor shed of course .. a short 30 minute soak and then let the snake slide through a damp , textured hand towel will easily remove any excess skin ..

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Thanks and yeah after a poor shed is a must time. I've only had 1 poor shed from all 3 of them ever and it was from the time I soaked my BP when she was in shed and I didn't notice it. Hard to see the signs on a high white pied BP if you aren't looking. I thought she was shedding because she was pink but I didn't really pay attention. Anyways, yeah she had a bad shed then. Was easy to rectify though as she was more than happy to rub her head on my hand and fingers to get the shed off her head and her one stuck eyecap. Didn't even need a towel lol. But I do give all my snakes regular soaks for about 30 mins every month or so since they do seem to like it. Now if they push on the top a lot I just take them out. Its kind of like when I let them lounge on the couch or my bed at night, if they try to dig into the blankets, that's a sign they don't want to be out. When they want to be out, they will usually stretch out on me or half on me with their heads hanging off the edge of the bed looking at the floor like in ambush mode lol.