First shed questions

Hey, Ferris has grown enough that he's in his first shed! I've placed a humidity hide in the middle of his tank and sphagnum moss all around. I also occasionally spray it all down. Yesterday and last night a few pieces have come off here and there and his head is almost cleared off, but his entire body is in blue and not budging. Should I soak him tonight to help rehydrate as he's got the folds down his body? Maybe use a washcloth then to help the skin come off? He's not a huge fan of being handled (no surprise) in his shed so I kind of want to almost avoid the bath. Should I give him another day or two on his own first?

I would give him a few more days to see if it comes off on its own.

Usually 2 to 4 days before the actual shed the colors don't become as opaque as they where before, maybe the linfatic liquid in the middle of the interior dermis and exterior dermis still has to give some time to the enzymes to help the skin get off. give in 2-3 days more, it's still not a major problem you should worry about ;)

Additionally, are the intense wrinkles from the shed or should I try to offer some food tomorrow night? He seemed very disinterested the last time I offered before his shed really started. It shouldn't be dehydration.

It's been 2 full days and he's managed to clear most his head, and spots on his belly.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2FZNLzTusl.jpg

Usually when they are skinny they tend to have a little bit of their skin forming wrinkles

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9vp7zc3k.jpg

Here is a pic of a terrible shed of my python when I first got it, the previous owner didn't take much care of it.
As you can see, just by soaking in warm water for about 45 minutes made possible that part of its stuck shed removed easily

Okay, I'll give him a warm soak today since he's not been getting anywhere with his shed and it's been a good while since he's eaten. I probably missed the signs he was going into shed and didn't have the right humidity when he first started.

It can take a week to 10 days for the shed to occur. You don't need to soak him or do anything. Have his eyes gone blue yet? You'll learn as you go along - we all did


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He's in a soak right now to loosen the skin since the pieces he's leaving are getting smaller. I'm mostly concerned about his growing skinnier, he's getting a little listless and I know he's not this calm with me handling him yet to just sit there when I pop him in water. He actually ate last November 25th. He just got to 130g so he's little still.

He soaked for about 45 minutes and the skin came off easily with a washcloth and my fingers. Hopefully we can resume eating in a couple days. He does have a few scales you can see on the very top of his head, will those come off soon?


https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...jo3ro2_400.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...jo3ro3_540.jpg

Those on the top of his head just look like some dry scales, not retained shed in my opinion. My 7 year old pastel male gets those from time to time. Work on keeping the humidity in a consistently good range 50-60%, higher when in shed, and that should shape things up for future sheds. Nice looking critter with a fresh paint job!


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I think it'll be better with all the moss I've added in, I need to find an accurate hygrometer as I'm going loosely what the dial says since I know they aren't precise at all. Usually that says it's rather high but it sits in the middle above some moss and under a washcloth. I'll definitely keep it up this time around though. Thanks!

Also if you have a screen top on the enclosure you'll want to cover most of that with plexiglass, foil, something. Do you have pictures of the cage?


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Here's the tank as much as the light can get to. On the darker side there's another hide you can't quite see. The humidity hide in the back was removed after the shed was over with. The top has two damp washcloths on the screen, plexiglass covering that, and then a couple towels that drape over the front as well as cover the top for security and insulation.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2FMNFq8c0l.jpg

If the 25th november was the last day he ate don't be too worried, just keep a good track of his weight. Ball pythons can be picky feeders from time to time, I'm glad you got through with the shed, And don't worry about the head scales, rhe important thing is that it doesnt retain any eye caps