Shedding

Just wondering, who helps their ball python out when a not so perfect shed happens? How do you do it? I know with beardies and other lizards you should not even think about touching its shed, but after watching (i think 8balls?) shedding video with the water i was wondering who all has to help out their balls? Thanks

Hi,

I have to help out my male almost every shed. :mad:

Lazy lil beezom usually stops after getting the top of his head off and heads back to sleep.:taz:


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

I have to help out my male almost every shed. :mad:

Lazy lil beezom usually stops after getting the top of his head off and heads back to sleep.:taz:


dr del

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that was my problem with my lesser, he would get his head done but then he would leave his whole body in the old grandpa stage er.... what ever you can it when their body looks old and abused:weirdface after his tub i got everything off exept for his neck, he would not let me near it:colbert:

Hi,

My male almost seems to enjoy getting it removed for him now - mind you I have been doing this every shed for years.:mad:

I think the only part he wriggles for is if he hasn't started it around his mouth and I have to do that initial bit. Luckily I don't have to do that very often.


dr del

My bp is only 3 months old and hes having a pretty crappy shed right now. Hes on medication for a mild case of mouth rot so he has been hiding alot and neglecting his water bowl. Plus keeping the humidity up is a nightmare in my house so Im sure that has something to do with it. I gave him a nice bath yesterday and right after he started to shed but its coming off in pieces:( I also made him a mini-humidified but I can't seal it tight so its not really working. He looks dehydrated so Im gona have to give him another bath today:(

if i have one that is having a bad shed i usually soak them in some water, just deep enough to cover the middle of there bodies, and sit with them for about 30 mins. once i do that i put them back with some thing they can rub against and that usually does the trick. if not soak and repeat. :D

My BP has only shed about half his skin so far and it's been 1 1/2 days, so it looks like a soak is warranted. What should the temperature be of the water, how long, do I dry him thorougly after, etc...I've also ready that they can be put in a container in a bathroom with the hot water running to boost the humidity; which method is best?
Thank you!

I will put mine in a warm damp pillow case and place them back in the warm side of the cage. after an hour I go back and check on them. Sometimes when I take them out the shed is already off and other times I just run my hand down their back the shed comes off very easily.

I had to help out our pastel female during her last shed. We tried the towel and it didn't work so we watched Adam's video about assisting sheds and thought we'd do our own version. We put Jora (the pastel female) in a tub of luke warm water and put the tub into the rack. We waited about 30 min and took her back out and the shed came off no problem. The only part she wouldn't let us get was on the top of her head. Its only a speck so it should come off on her next shed.

I tried the towel last night, but he was only in it for about 10-15 minutes and it didn't help much. I'll try the pillow case tonight, and if it's still bad tomorrow, a soak. Thanks for the info!:salute:

Has anyone's BP ever shed all in one peice? Mine never has, it makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong?

I tried the soaking, he did not like it at all so rather than stress him out, I put him back. The next day I tried the wet towel in the pillowcase. I could see some shed coming off, but he didn't make much of an attempt to get it off. The next day, another wet towel/pillowcase and then I removed most of the shed for him. Again, he didn't like that at all, so I tried another wet towel pillow case last night. He tried for about an hour to get the rest of the shed off, but to no avail. The only thing left is from the tip of his nose to about 1 foot back on his back only including his eye caps. This is so frustrating and I'm concerned he's not going to get it off at all. Is there anything else I can do? Do I need to take him to the vet? He first started shedding last Wednesday, so it's been almost a week.:(

i soak both mine in a warm tub with a lid (with holes obv.) i let them soak for about 20 min when i pick them up i pick them up by the head and let him squeeze his body throu my hand. the shed comes off in one peice in one shot and they both love it. its worked great for me. good luck

Wohooo!:banana: At last! The soak worked! About 30 mins in an enclosed tub and now he's working it off, eyecaps and all! Whew! Thanks for all the info! This site is priceless!:banana:

Very cool! We have all been there:gj:

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Originally Posted by spix14

Has anyone's BP ever shed all in one peice? Mine never has, it makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong?

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The best looking sheds to me are the ones that look like a rolled up sock all in one piece. I know my husbandry is rocking when they look like that.

Here is a pic of a snake that had shed problems and lost a scale
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...eadcloseup.jpg

It has healed almost completely now but several stuck sheds can lead to problems like this

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spix14

Has anyone's BP ever shed all in one peice? Mine never has, it makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong?

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I usually get complete sheds, but from time to time i get sheds that broken up a bit but never stuck sheds. I agree with West Coast though about the sheds looking like rolled up socks.:gj:

So I was just reading up on shedding cause my bp's last shed (first one with me) didn't go too smooth. Found a lot of good advice. I went to clean Mittens tub today and found a perfect shed rolled up like a sock just like it was described. I didn't even realize it was shedding since I fed 3 days ago and was leaving Mittens alone to digest. At least I didn't recognize any signs at feeding time. Man that was so cool to find and know that I'm finally getting a handle on things.

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Originally Posted by spix14

Has anyone's BP ever shed all in one peice? Mine never has, it makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong?

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Ours shed in one piece. Well, except for the tip of her tail. It was awesome. I've never really looked at a shed before and since she is our first snake and first shed I was amazed. The head and body was in one piece! You can even see where the eyes are. She was in her hide when she shed so when she came out, she left the perfect shed behind.

Something tells me that it was just beginners luck that we got a perfect shed.