Shed question

My guy is a July baby. Got him on the 27th of Aug. He looked very sharp when i got him so I'm guessing he was pretty recently shed. He hasn't shed for me yet. Humidity is 60-65 on the warm side, 45-50 on the warm. Should I give him more time yet? Or give him a soak. I see very small pieces of shed in his enclosure. Like tall tiny single scale looking pieces

I take it this is your first snake? & that you don't know how to tell when they're "in shed"? One thing that confuses most ppl is that snakes cloud up for a few days to a week, then "go clear" (look normal, as if they've already shed, but they didn't-& you won't find it anywhere) and only THEN they actually shed. Reason: their body secretes moisture between the old & new layers of skin, making the old skin (that's about to come off) translucent so you think it has already come off when it hasn't yet. That moisture helps them shed, & IF they're dehydrated (or just busy digesting a meal) they may be unable to do this effectively.

I'm asking because you don't want to be randomly soaking a snake if you aren't sure he needs help & really is due to shed. If you see small pieces of shed skin in his enclosure, you should also be seeing evidence that some skin is stuck ON him...are you seeing that? Are his eyes cloudy, or were they? Have you LOOKED for the rest of his shed in his home? (sometimes it's rolled into a tight wad & underneath substrate or under cage furnishings- it may not have come off all at once, so LOOK for it)

Soaking a snake is also stressful for most snakes- better to give him a very moist "humid hide" (or a very damp towel) to lay in for a while, to soften up remaining stuck shed, if any.

Also bump up his humidity to 70%- & maybe mist his enclosure- during the time he's in a shed cycle & when he's physically trying to shed.

BTW- avoid feeding a snake that's cloudy or due to shed soon- it often makes it worse- trust me. Both digestion & shedding uses up water from the snake's body- if they aren't very well-hydrated, they may have trouble doing both simultaneously, & may require lots of help if they get stuck in their old shed.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I take it this is your first snake? & that you don't know how to tell when they're "in shed"? One thing that confuses most ppl is that snakes cloud up for a few days to a week, then "go clear" (look normal, as if they've already shed, but they didn't-& you won't find it anywhere) and only THEN they actually shed. Reason: their body secretes moisture between the old & new layers of skin, making the old skin (that's about to come off) translucent so you think it has already come off when it hasn't yet. That moisture helps them shed, & IF they're dehydrated (or just busy digesting a meal) they may be unable to do this effectively.

I'm asking because you don't want to be randomly soaking a snake if you aren't sure he needs help & really is due to shed. If you see small pieces of shed skin in his enclosure, you should also be seeing evidence that some skin is stuck ON him...are you seeing that? Are his eyes cloudy, or were they? Have you LOOKED for the rest of his shed in his home? (sometimes it's rolled into a tight wad & underneath substrate or under cage furnishings- it may not have come off all at once, so LOOK for it)

Soaking a snake is also stressful for most snakes- better to give him a very moist "humid hide" (or a very damp towel) to lay in for a while, to soften up remaining stuck shed, if any.

Also bump up his humidity to 70%- & maybe mist his enclosure- during the time he's in a shed cycle & when he's physically trying to shed.

BTW- avoid feeding a snake that's cloudy or due to shed soon- it often makes it worse- trust me. Both digestion & shedding uses up water from the snake's body- if they aren't very well-hydrated, they may have trouble doing both simultaneously, & may require lots of help if they get stuck in their old shed.

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ok thanks. i'll try the holding his food back for a couple days and keep that humidity up. but i havent seen him curled up lately and his neck has some pretty good wrinkling on it when i finally saw it. i think 2 days more ill give him otherwise hes going to the vet.

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Originally Posted by rzeppy

ok thanks. i'll try the holding his food back for a couple days and keep that humidity up. but i havent seen him curled up lately and his neck has some pretty good wrinkling on it when i finally saw it. i think 2 days more ill give him otherwise hes going to the vet.

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It sounds like you may have missed the shed cycle he was in, & now he's got 'stuck' skin. This requires help from you, not likely a vet's care- it's time-consuming & vets primarily treat illnesses & do needed surgeries. Don't feed him until all the old shed skin is off- otherwise any assistance he needs to "un-dress" may cause him to regurgitate what you feed him.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

It sounds like you may have missed the shed cycle he was in, & now he's got 'stuck' skin. This requires help from you, not likely a vet's care- it's time-consuming & vets primarily treat illnesses & do needed surgeries. Don't feed him until all the old shed skin is off- otherwise any assistance he needs to "un-dress" may cause him to regurgitate what you feed him.

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Ok. i stuffed some damp paper towel in is hides. should i just lay a well wrung out washcloth on the floor of the cage too?

I must have misunderstood when i read that some people still offer food in blue? he hasnt missed a meal since ive had him. wonder if that was the catalyst to this

It depends on how big his home is? If his skin is as "wrinkled" as you said, it suggests he needs more than minor help, more than just raising humidity. Humid hides or a very damp towel will be more effective if you restrain his activity so he's in contact for some time- might take 2+ or more hours to really soften the dried-on "shed" skin. If you just lay the damp washcloth in his cage, he may or may not stay in contact with it. I like to use those plastic "critter cottages" with the snap-on ventilated tops* for this kind of thing, so there's just enough room that the snake stays in contact with damp cloth. Make sense?

Like this: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcos...eeper-aquarium

(they've changed what they call them) (And the ventilated "tubs" that some here use would work too)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

It depends on how big his home is? If his skin is as "wrinkled" as you said, it suggests he needs more than minor help, more than just raising humidity. Humid hides or a very damp towel will be more effective if you restrain his activity so he's in contact for some time- might take 2+ or more hours to really soften the dried-on "shed" skin. If you just lay the damp washcloth in his cage, he may or may not stay in contact with it. I like to use those plastic "critter cottages" with the snap-on ventilated tops* for this kind of thing, so there's just enough room that the snake stays in contact with damp cloth. Make sense?

Like this: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcos...eeper-aquarium

(they've changed what they call them) (And the ventilated "tubs" that some here use would work too)

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makes sense. do you just loosely place it in there so he can crawl under if he wants to?

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Originally Posted by rzeppy

makes sense. do you just loosely place it in there so he can crawl under if he wants to?

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Whatever works. Watch & see what he does- if he doesn't make good use of it, you need to be more involved. You could literally wrap him up in a damp towel & let him rub against it for a while (while you hold the towel with him inside), but he probably won't stay in there if left to his own devices. A humid hide in his cage from now on would probably be a good idea, so he uses it before he gets stuck like this. Once their old skin get stuck on (so it's wrinkling & all) they need more help from you with a damp towel or a soak.

I think you'll find that in the future, it helps to pay attention to when his eyes go cloudy- that's when you want to make sure his cage humidity is about 70% until he sheds, which can be a week or more.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Whatever works. Watch & see what he does- if he doesn't make good use of it, you need to be more involved. You could literally wrap him up in a damp towel & let him rub against it for a while (while you hold the towel with him inside), but he probably won't stay in there if left to his own devices. A humid hide in his cage from now on would probably be a good idea, so he uses it before he gets stuck like this. Once their old skin get stuck on (so it's wrinkling & all) they need more help from you with a damp towel or a soak.

I think you'll find that in the future, it helps to pay attention to when his eyes go cloudy- that's when you want to make sure his cage humidity is about 70% until he sheds, which can be a week or more.

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I'll will try that then. Thank you very much!!

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Bogertrophis has probably covered everything you need to know so I'm just going to tell you what works for me when necessary and so it's a possible option for you.

First off, the signs of shedding. When I see belly pinking and / or clouding of the eyes, I increase the humidity in the enclosure. My main method of doing this is to spray the dried out tree bark I have in each their enclosures. It's great and holding moisture and releasing it slowly to raise the internal humidity in their homes.

I'll also spray them directly with some gentle misting. Maybe once every other day until they shed, or humidity starts looking to much in their enclosure.

Now, I have an adult male who's shed is quite unpredictable. Most times he's a clean, off in one go kind of shed but on other times, his shed breaks up, gets everywhere and often has several bits are loosely stuck to him. When this happens, we have a good relationship where he chills and I pick it off him. Jobs a good one.

But then there's the ones where it sticks and need a bit more help with bit of a soak.

When I do this, I use a clear tub with air holes near the top and a lid. I use warm(ish) water (try to match the temp of the BP), put them in the tub which filled maybe just higher than the thickest part of the snakes body and I'll place the tub in the enclosure (as I have space to do so) and after approximately 20 mins, I remove the lid and allow the snake to leave when they're ready (often, they just chill for a little while longer as if they're enjoying a soak in the bath).

More often than not, as they exit the tub their old skin will stay behind, if not, it will easily fall off with a bit of assistane from me.

As I say, you've already been assisted by someone who's told you everything you need to know really, what I'm offering is some things that helps for me.

Hope this helps.

Good luck

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Originally Posted by rzeppy

...I must have misunderstood when i read that some people still offer food in blue? he hasnt missed a meal since ive had him. wonder if that was the catalyst to this

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No, you didn't misunderstand, & yes, that's very likely what caused this. Some people insist their snakes have no problem with "multi-tasking" because they just haven't seen it yet- some snakes do better than others, & members giving advice here may only have one or a couple of snakes. The more snakes you live with or the more years you have doing so, the better experience you have to share, so like everything else in life, consider the source you listen to. ;) They mean well, & it would appear they prefer to keep to a "feeding schedule" & risk their snake having a terrible shed.

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Originally Posted by Bleh

...When I do this, I use a clear tub with air holes near the top and a lid. I use warm(ish) water (try to match the temp of the BP), put them in the tub which filled maybe just higher than the thickest part of the snakes body and I'll place the tub in the enclosure (as I have space to do so) and after approximately 20 mins, I remove the lid and allow the snake to leave when they're ready (often, they just chill for a little while longer as if they're enjoying a soak in the bath)...

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Bleh gave you good suggestions too, but I just want to clarify one thing about bathing/soaking a snake: use a thermometer to check the temperature of the water before you put the snake in.

Most snakes react poorly to this process, but it's for several reasons, one being the temperature of the water. Our body temperature is 98.6*, so for the water to FEEL warm to us means it will be over 98.6* & therefore, TOO HOT for the snake. You want the water to be in the low to mid-80's, not above that, for the snake's comfort. The water is going to feel cool to you. ;)

The other reason snakes "hate baths" is the loss of traction- it understandably freaks them out to suddenly be placed in water with nothing to grab onto so they try to exit as fast as possible. You can mitigate that by keeping the water shallow (never deeper than their actual "height") so they're always touching bottom & not being forced to swim. You can also put a small towel in the water, which will also provide some friction to help them remove the old skin.

well i tried the shallow tub with a dish towel. 78 degree water when he went in. 45 minutes. gave him a wipe down when he was done. he looks ALOT better now. thank you guys so much!

So it all came off then? :gj:

looked like it!!

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Originally Posted by rzeppy

looked like it!!

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Yesssssss! :dance:

Be sure you check for eye caps or tail tips left behind- very important. Also, many snakes have trouble shedding their chins- & while not serious like the other things I mentioned, it's miserable to remove. ;)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Yesssssss! :dance:

Be sure you check for eye caps or tail tips left behind- very important. Also, many snakes have trouble shedding their chins- & while not serious like the other things I mentioned, it's miserable to remove. ;)

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Will Do!!

Eye caps- best to check the shed skin to make sure they came off as intended. BUT, IF you can't find them, don't assume they're still on (they can be hard to find). Some ppl have actually damaged a snake's eyes trying to remove the "shed eye caps" thinking they hadn't yet come off- so if in doubt- get a vet to help.

Tail tips- if shed is left on the tail tip, it can cause the death of tissue & the LOSS of the snake's tail tip- there is so little blood circulation in their tail, that even one or 2 sheds left on may constrict that tiny blood flow, causing the death of the tissue. If necrotic tissue is not surgically removed it can cause further health complications. Always check tail tips.

Chins- sheds "love" to get stuck there, & as you can probably imagine, snakes really "love it" :rolleyes: when we try to help with its removal. :rofl:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Tail tips- if shed is left on the tail tip, it can cause the death of tissue & the LOSS of the snake's tail tip..... Always check tail tips.

Chins- sheds "love" to get stuck there, & as you can probably imagine, snakes really "love it" :rolleyes: when we try to help with its removal. :rofl:

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What I find helps with the tail tip is to wet your fingers whilst handling and gently apply the moisture to the area of stuck shed, wait a few, do it again. Eventually the skin will become soft enough to sort of 'roll' off.

With the chin, again whilst handling and like with the tail, wet one hand along the thumb and index finger area and whilst handling, gently hold around neck area, they'll naturally try to back out of it and as they do, you can apply just enough pressure so they can still move freely but you can also apply moisture to the stuck shed. As with the tail, after a few goes, the skin rolls off.

I've only had chin skin stick once so there may well be better methods, but this is what's worked for me and mine!

Any stubborn shed or even retained eyecaps can be removed using a wet / very damp , rough textured bath towel .

Get a wet or very damp rough textured towel and gently wrap the snake in the towel .. .then whilst it wriggles continually inside the towel you apply very gentle pressure to the stubborn areas on the snake ... when it’s head pops out simply cover it up with the excess towel and continue,


You may get a little wet yourself but this method ( done properly) rarely fails to be honest:cens0r:.


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Any stubborn shed or even retained eyecaps can be removed using a wet / very damp , rough textured bath towel .

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Will be trying this... :gj:

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Originally Posted by Bleh

Will be trying this... :gj:

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You simply apply very gently pressure to the targeted areas .


It does actually work extremely well
and is guaranteed to work .. after a 25 minute soak in appropriately temperature water but soaking isn’t as commonly used over in the states .


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Perfect this time!! Two eyes and a tail tip!! Thanks again everyone!!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...7803aad9e9.jpg

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