Help! Assisting with a shed!

Hey guys

I need help in assisting my Bp to shed. This is his first shed with me and everything seemed normal a day ago or two. He went into the blue-eye phase, then it cleared. The temps and humidity were at the right level. 80-83 cool end, 90-93 warmer end, humidty was 65-80% depending if i had just misted or not.

Then when I took a look at him he still had a lot of retained shed. He got quite a bit of skin off (mainly his belly), but he still had most of it left sticking to him. So I put him in a container and soaked him for 40 minutes or so, then got him out and tried the wash cloth trick. It seemed to work. It got a lot of the shed unstuck but not too much off since it's all still connected. The problem is that the skin on his head hasn't come off and there is no way I can take it off by hand. I then decided to soak him again so I refilled the container with warmer water since the old one had cooled off and tried putting him back in but he became very tipsy, snappy and very quickly got out and almost fell off the table. He would even slither off my hand and if i didn't hold him tightly he would have fallen off. So I put him back in the tank. What else can I do to help him fully shed and specifically get the skin off his head. I can use the wash cloth trick to get the rest off, but I need him to get the head skin off by himself.

Find yourself a pillowcase, get it wet with hot water and then wring it out so that it is just damp. Put your snake inside, tie the top closed and put the snake back in his enclosure.

Leave him this way for at least 30 minutes, and then check to see if he's gotten the shed off. If not, put him back in the pillowcase and leave him for another 30 minutes. Check again and it should be off. The friction of moving around along with the damp of the pillowcase has removed every stuck shed from every ball python I've had to use this trick with.

sounds like the water was too hot! lol. Best thing you can do, get a tupperware bowl, fill it up maybe an inch or two of lukewarm water (not too much that he will float, up half way on his back. and it will feel cool to you), put him in the tupperware, put in washcloth, put whole thing in his tub. Let sit for an hour, pull him out and assist him by letting him slide through the wash cloth. It should slide right off.

Edit: Dont suffocate your snake, make sure the enclosure is large enough for him to move easily, and have a top on too. If it really is a tupperware, they have a little pop top hole for when you reheat food. That should work too.

I just took him back out and put him in a damp pillowcase. Then I put the pillowcase in the warmer end of the tank. I'm not sure if the pillowcase will allow enough air to pass tho. There was a bit of air trapped in it after I tied a knot at the open end and I had to apply pressure to the pillowcase to push the air out, meaning air CAN pass through, I just don't know if that's enough.

I'm sure he will be fine. The best way to test for this is to try and breathe through it yourself after you get it wet. Though the water will block some of the space between the fibers, unless you're using a synthetic pillow case you won't have any trouble.

I pick up cotton ones at the thrift store and also you can get a set at WalMart for around $3. They're perfect since they are thin cotton

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Originally Posted by dalvers63

I'm sure he will be fine. The best way to test for this is to try and breathe through it yourself after you get it wet. Though the water will block some of the space between the fibers, unless you're using a synthetic pillow case you won't have any trouble.

I pick up cotton ones at the thrift store and also you can get a set at WalMart for around $3. They're perfect since they are thin cotton

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Yeah, that's what I did. I couldn't actually breath through it but I could blow out air and intake some air. Should I let him out? Could this be dangerous?

If the snake balls up and doesn't move around at all, should I be playing with him and moving him or would that be stressful? Because I just looked inside and he hasn't done much other than stay in a tight ball.

I'd just give him time. When I put mine back in their tank/tub, I put half the pillow case on one side of the tank and then stretch it to the other so that they can crawl from the hot to the cold side.

When you tied it shut, did you leave him enough room to crawl around? I'll make sure with mine that the pc is flat enough that it touches them. Leave him for an hour, and if he still isnt moving you can take him out and let him crawl around. The dampness from the pillowcase will have loosened the stuck shed and he might just get it off as he's crawling around.

Ya I had the same issue when I tried the pillow case trick... Snake just wanted to chill... When Ive had to do this in the past Ive just brought em in the bathroom... filled up the sink with warm water... not too hot... hold em in ur hand... dunk em n get em wet... and let em slide through your hands with a wash cloth... ud be surprised with thier reaction... at first theyre a pain and try to get away but once they realize whats going down... they seem to cooperate more. Good luck

okay, after another hour of playing with him I managed to get everything but the head skin off. The skin directly on his head is stuck to him, so to be able to get it off I would have to rub it few times and maybe use a damp wash cloth but he wont let me near his head. One thing I can do is grab the loose skin behind his head and peel off the stuck skin. Not sure if that is safe though.

I tried the pillowcase trick but he simply chills wherever he is without moving.

Always check out our stickies..........you can't go wrong! I'm not knocking the pillow case deal, but this method is bullet proof!


http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43403

Ya def dont grab the skin... get some qtips and warm water... 2 person job... if you dont have two people dont try this!!!! One person holds the snake calmly and the other gently rubs the top of the head with the q tip... Obv use you head cause duh her eyes are right there... All you want to do is get it wet... dont try pulling anything off... just get it nice n wet... do this 1nce a day for a couple days and you should be good... nothing serious is going to happen with the stuck shed... whatever you do always be careful with their heads!

If you use the method that Josh mentioned it works very nicely. I let them soak for a little bit then use a wash cloth that I have also soaked in warm water. I wrap the wash cloth around the snake, kinda fold it around him. Then I grip the wash cloth around the snake and allow him to work his way through the wash cloth. This allows the snake to work the shed off with out you pulling it off.

Also while working around the head area I also recommend using the Qtips.

I hope this helps........it has worked very well for me with multiple snakes. Its typically their first shed after I have gotten them and they are usually babies. Good luck!!

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Originally Posted by reediculous

Always check out our stickies..........you can't go wrong! I'm not knocking the pillow case deal, but this method is bullet proof!


http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43403

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Trust me, that sticky was open on my screen as I was soaking him. It worked nicely. I took him out then got most of the skin off. The only thing left is the skin on the head, and I tried soaking again, but he DID NOT want to be in it anymore so he quickly got out.

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

Ya def dont grab the skin... get some qtips and warm water... 2 person job... if you dont have two people dont try this!!!! One person holds the snake calmly and the other gently rubs the top of the head with the q tip... Obv use you head cause duh her eyes are right there... All you want to do is get it wet... dont try pulling anything off... just get it nice n wet... do this 1nce a day for a couple days and you should be good... nothing serious is going to happen with the stuck shed... whatever you do always be careful with their heads!

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He generally snaps his head back towards his body the second I touch it from above or sides (he doesn't mind me touching him from below his head) so would it be okay to actually hold the snake still including the head?

I have gotten the head thing down to a science for my animals. I use their skittish nature. they want to hide their head, so while they are in the crook of my arm, with the body controlled by my chest, i will slowly come over from behind their head with a soaking wet washcloth. Press down onto the top of the head, and firmly swipe back towards the neck. they will jerk and try to hide, but they will eventually have no where to go because if you have control of their body, the head can only go so far. When they hide their head underneath their body, i gently flip them and start there.

For me, they will flip a switch in their head, and will try to get the rest of the shed off with me. I guess it's hard to describe lol.

I only do this because i have not just held their head otherwise.

Ya I dont really mess with their head at all... I want to keep it as stess free as possible and holding her head may do just that... I try to come from behind their head and make it known your there so its not a surprise when you touch their head. This should help keep the jerking reaction down to a minimum... Either way its always gonna happen, you just have to work with what you got and get it as wet as possible. Its much easier if you get someone to hold a snake while you work on the head safely. Just get it as wet as possible and know when to call it quits. A little stuck shed is fine as long as it comes off next shed.

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

Ya I dont really mess with their head at all... I want to keep it as stess free as possible and holding her head may do just that... I try to come from behind their head and make it known your there so its not a surprise when you touch their head. This should help keep the jerking reaction down to a minimum... Either way its always gonna happen, you just have to work with what you got and get it as wet as possible. Its much easier if you get someone to hold a snake while you work on the head safely. Just get it as wet as possible and know when to call it quits. A little stuck shed is fine as long as it comes off next shed.

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Words of wisdom there. Gotta keep it as wet as possible, it works best that way. :gj;

This seems impossible. That piece of skin on his head won't come off! I have him in a damp pillow case and he is pushing through with his head so I made it really tight thinking as he pushes through the skin is bound to come off, but NOPE.

The only thing I can think of that I haven't tried is just grab his head and force him to stay still and use a Qtip to get it off but would this be bad for him?

Can I simply wait until the next shed? Will that retained shed be bad or stressful for him?

I'm also having the same problem with my male, Alister. His last shed he retained a piece on his head/neck, and this shed it seems to have gotten stuck in the same place. I've tried soaking him a couple times and the pillowcase method, but nothing seems to be working. I have a water dish big enough for him to soak in, as well as a humidifier in the room (I live in a dry area where the average is about 30% humidity).

I'm starting to get worried, surely this can't be good for him? The skin looks so uncomfortable! Are there any other tips or tricks that haven't been mentioned here already? :(

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Originally Posted by LittleHil

I'm also having the same problem with my male, Alister. His last shed he retained a piece on his head/neck, and this shed it seems to have gotten stuck in the same place. I've tried soaking him a couple times and the pillowcase method, but nothing seems to be working. I have a water dish big enough for him to soak in, as well as a humidifier in the room (I live in a dry area where the average is about 30% humidity).

I'm starting to get worried, surely this can't be good for him? The skin looks so uncomfortable! Are there any other tips or tricks that haven't been mentioned here already? :(

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Here is what I did, even though the skin hasn't completely come off just yet. I kept putting my bp in the damp pillowcase, then would put that in the tank but wouldn't tie the end. So he had to find his way out of it, had to keep pushing with his head and eventually more than half of it came off. I did this 3 times. So right now, he has 1/4th of it on the left side of his face with the eye cap as well. I'll probably try the pillowcase again tomorrow cause I have to wash it today. YESTERDAY HE POOPED IN IT LOL!