Stuck shed question

It's all my fault and I take full responsibility for not keeping a close enough eye on humidity. I feel terrible so if you need to yell at me, I understand, but be gentle?

My baby ball python, Tonks, had a terrible shed yesterday (it's her second shed since I got her, the first went fine but I was watching her humidity more closely that time). She got it all off the bulk of her body, but had some left on her head and tail when I went to bed last night. I gave her a short soak and made sure her enclosure is plenty humid today, and she's gotten the shed off her tail and is still working on getting it off her head, but it's mostly just shredding instead of coming off. I'm thinking I may need to help her, if only to make sure she gets her eyecaps off.

I've watched videos and am confident I can do it with my sister's help (she's a vet tech and an experienced reptile keeper), but what we're not sure of is how long to let Tonks try to do it herself before we step in. Should we do it sooner rather than later, or give her a few days before messing with her?

Have you tried letting her roam around in a slightly damp pillowcase? I hear that can work really well for stuck shed. I'm sure others will be around with advice.

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No, but I've heard of that trick and may try it if it comes to that. I don't want to put her in a soak again when the only stuck shed is on her head.

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Originally Posted by OoohShiny

No, but I've heard of that trick and may try it if it comes to that. I don't want to put her in a soak again when the only stuck shed is on her head.

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Be careful when using the pillowcase method, dont like leave her in too long as some pillowcases lose their airflow when damp and some snakes have suffocated when left in too long (although rare abd usually when they are left for far too long like hours or even overnight)
Helping them isn't the worst thing in the world and leaving the shed on for long is much more stressful then helping them out gently.
If you want an in depth guide snake discovery on YT has a great video (just search snake discovery stuck shed on snakes) but the basic jist is a 80-85 degree 20 minute bath that only just submerges them - don't push their head in the water, instead put a lid on so there is very high humidity. Then remove any skin hanging off by gently pulling it off as long as there is no resistance.
With the eyes be more careful and don't prod or peel them directly (use other peeling shed to lift it off if possible if that doesn't work use a soft damp towel and rub gently in one direction repeatably until it comes off) if it doesn't come off easily she may need more soaking time.
Hope this helps, if you are careful she will be perfectly fine.

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Also you can add a humid hide with damp, not wet, not dripping moss and it MUST be clean. Ball pythons usually use these well when they need more humidity but if you notice her using it too often or any early signs of scale rot (this really only happens if it is not clean) take it out and only add it when she is shedding.

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I love Snake Discovery (I'm watching their live feed right now, and I'm getting a hatchling from their false ghost bullsnake clutch in a couple of weeks!) and I've seen that video. They're awesome! That's what I did with Tonks this morning, but she wasn't feeling like letting me mess with her head so I didn't push it. And it did help her finish shedding her tail.

She's got a humidity box and she spent a LOT of time in it the last time she shed, but she's refusing to go in it today. Stubborn snek.

Oh bless Tonks' little heart, she just came out of her hide and she's rubbing her face on her rock again. I feel like the WORST snake owner ever. I knew she was going into shed but it's been a busy week and I just completely flaked on giving her the humidity box or keeping a close eye on her humidity. I'm on a deadline but in a few hours I'll get a wet washcloth and see what I can do to help her out.

This will NEVER EVER happen again. I suck.

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Originally Posted by OoohShiny

Oh bless Tonks' little heart, she just came out of her hide and she's rubbing her face on her rock again. I feel like the WORST snake owner ever. I knew she was going into shed but it's been a busy week and I just completely flaked on giving her the humidity box or keeping a close eye on her humidity. I'm on a deadline but in a few hours I'll get a wet washcloth and see what I can do to help her out.

This will NEVER EVER happen again. I suck.

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Dont be too harah on yourself as long as it doesn't happen again its not really that bad a lot of people who own reptiles will have at least one bad shed, what matters now is fixing it

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Just create a humid environment for her and leave her be in her terrarium.

Sometimes you won't get a perfect shed and that's not the end of the world. Just strive for a better shed next time. Unless absolutely necessary, you don't need to give your BP a bath, they're not dogs. It strips the essential oils that they use to shed and probably stresses them out.

Normally I would leave her (Ana Gwyn has had a little stuck shed on her body before, and I didn't mess with her) but it's Tonks' head, and her eyecaps are really cloudy. I can tell she can't see well because I've been really working on getting her not to be headshy, and sometimes she will literally push her head into my closed fist and go to sleep, but now when I touch her she jerks like I startled her. I hate for her to go another 4-5 weeks without being able to see - the dumb girl eats her mice backwards 3/4 of the time as it is, lol.

Try another bath if you want if you are worried about stressing her out add a small rock or something from her enclosure so she can hold onto it, remove the shed carefully with a towl.
Another option is just waiting for her to shed again to remove them but this may be difficult for her depending on how stuck they are and could just make things worse. (personally I'd help her out)
At the end of the day you're gonna hear so many different opinions especially when it comes to ball pythons as they are so hardy! Do what you feel most comfortable doing as long as it is safe.

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Originally Posted by noodle.obsessed

Try another bath if you want if you are worried about stressing her out add a small rock or something from her enclosure so she can hold onto it, remove the shed carefully with a towl.
Another option is just waiting for her to shed again to remove them but this may be difficult for her depending on how stuck they are and could just make things worse. (personally I'd help her out)
At the end of the day you're gonna hear so many different opinions especially when it comes to ball pythons as they are so hardy! Do what you feel most comfortable doing as long as it is safe.

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I did give her a rock for the first bath, and it was HILARIOUS... when I went back to check on her, she had coiled up on top of it, holding as much of her body out of the water as possible. Maybe a smaller rock next time, lol.

As soon as I'm done with my work in an our or so, I'm going to get a wet towel and see if I can help her. I'm mostly just worried about her eyecaps, and the fact that she's still rubbing a lot so I know it's bothering her.

Don't beat yourself up over it, it happens an it'll come off. If there's a stuck eye cap you can try to wipe it gently with a warm wet paper towel and see if it will come off. If not let it be and try again in a day or two. This has worked for me before.

Sean

Okay I finally got a chance to work on it a little bit, I did the warm wet washcloth thing. I was able to get almost all the stuck shed off except for a little on Tonks' nose, and I was only able to get one eyecap off. The other is still there, but at least now she can see a little bit, and I stopped at that point because I didn't want to stress her out too much. I figure at least now she's mostly okay, and I can maybe try again in a couple days, or let it take care of itself with the next shed. I feel much better, though. And she wasn't happy with me, but much better behaved than I expected considering that she was my scaredy-baby just a few weeks ago. All that work with getting her to let me handle her head really paid off!

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Originally Posted by OoohShiny

Okay I finally got a chance to work on it a little bit, I did the warm wet washcloth thing. I was able to get almost all the stuck shed off except for a little on Tonks' nose, and I was only able to get one eyecap off. The other is still there, but at least now she can see a little bit, and I stopped at that point because I didn't want to stress her out too much. I figure at least now she's mostly okay, and I can maybe try again in a couple days, or let it take care of itself with the next shed. I feel much better, though. And she wasn't happy with me, but much better behaved than I expected considering that she was my scaredy-baby just a few weeks ago. All that work with getting her to let me handle her head really paid off!

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A short soak then wrap up on in a wet /damp towel and everything else will also come off .. just apply very , very gentle pressure to the head region ..


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I did try again this morning, and when I got all the shed softened, I sort of pinched the edge at the back of her head between my fingers to see how loose it was. Tonks jerked her head really hard, but at just the right angle, and everything else came off including the second eyecap. I'd have preferred to be a bit more gentle, but she's the one who pulled! But she's fine now, other than being VERY offended at being manhandled, lol.

Then I check on my bigger girl, Ana Gwyn, and she's got a pink belly, SIGH. So I misted her tub really thoroughly and I'm going to make her another humidity box, she outgrew her old one. No more stuck shed!

Thanks for all the advice!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OoohShiny

I did try again this morning, and when I got all the shed softened, I sort of pinched the edge at the back of her head between my fingers to see how loose it was. Tonks jerked her head really hard, but at just the right angle, and everything else came off including the second eyecap. I'd have preferred to be a bit more gentle, but she's the one who pulled! But she's fine now, other than being VERY offended at being manhandled, lol.

Then I check on my bigger girl, Ana Gwyn, and she's got a pink belly, SIGH. So I misted her tub really thoroughly and I'm going to make her another humidity box, she outgrew her old one. No more stuck shed!

Thanks for all the advice!

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When they’re in shed simply spray the viv a couple of times each day until you actually find the shedded skin ..


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