Shedding problem..

My guy is shedding for the first time since I got him. The problem is that he never broke anything off his nose or head area and all the skin below it is where the peeling started.

By soaking him I was able to remove everything but his head, head eyes and nose. all of this stuff is 100% intact. After soaking an hour, the skin looks wet but doesnt come off with the gentle touch of a wet cloth. I tried letting him run through it head first, but it's not been enough to take anything off yet. I tried picking at it with my hands but he doesn't like it when I touch his head.

What can I do here to fix this? He's due to eat tomorrow and I want him to feed.

If you soaked him for an hour, then let it roam in cage, it may rub the rest off... Check your humidity in your enclosure bad sheds are usually related to this...

Humidity is spot on. In his tub he gets about 60% average.. I bumped it up to 80% about a week ago by putting moist papertowels in one of his hides.

It might not be ready to come off then... that might be why he hasnt shed it on his own... If your really that worried remember that your bigger than the snake, hold him on the neck right behind the head and he wont be able to stop you from peeling it off... But remember if it seems tough to take off then its not ready to come off..

Ok so I did just that and tried peeling it by force but it was kind of hard to move.. it looks like the area around his head is just not quite ready yet.

Is it a bad idea to feed him this way?

I would wait a couple of days.. It wont hurt the snake to wait.. Just make sure hes got a rough surface to rub against..

Try to to soak him a few times, letting him rub through the cloth then as was said before, give him a rough surface such as bark and let him rub the skin off himself.

(Oh, and if you could show us a picture of his head right now on how the skin is looking, it would help a lot.)

I dont have any bark on hand right now. What's something else I might have around the house? Maybe this is the problem. All he has now to rub against is a heat rock with the cord ripped out. It's not terribly rough but not smooth either. It's very, rock like lol.

I'll see about getting a pic.

It also won't hurt to leave the old skin on and just wait until the next shed.
I wonder if the humidity in your hides is the same as the ambient humidity?? Maybe next time you could make humid hides for your snake by putting moss inside each of the hides. This might be all he needs to help him have a perfect shed :)

Some pics:

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5233/11ny7.jpg

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5646/22if5.jpg

I'm also wondering if anyone knows whether this line on his belly is normal or not. It's hard to see but it's just like a very straight line on his belly. It's like the scales are divided. Maybe he was cut?

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/8373/33xt4.jpg

Hi,

Have a read through our bad shed sticky. I would be tempted to use the damp pillowcase to see if the friction as he moves around loosens his nose.

And that little slit is his belly button. :D


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Some pics:



I'm also wondering if anyone knows whether this line on his belly is normal or not. It's hard to see but it's just like a very straight line on his belly. It's like the scales are divided. Maybe he was cut?

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From looking at the pic of the belly, the slit you are referring to looks like where the umbilical cord was.

Tried another soak today for 30min. Got some off his neck but the head cap remains. I found my ball doesn't mind me touching his head at all and seemed to rub against my hand as if he had the same idea I did. It's just not coming off. the top part of his head. I got some off his chin though. When I pick it with my fingers it takes effort to pull and its against the grain since his nose and head are still not shed.

Do I need actual bark in there? I don't live around many trees I can take it from (and then sterlize) and I don't want to pay $6 for one at a pet store. All he has to rub against is a heat rock (cord removed) and his plastic hides / bowl.

Trying the pillowcase thing tonight. He's tied inside of one with a warm towel placed back into his warm tub.

Pillowcase did not work. I left him overnight tied up with a warm towel in his tub, but all I had this morning was a warm, stinky balled up damp snake with skin all over it head.

I think I caused this by giving him a bath while he was in blue. I won't do that again.

There is NO place you can go to get a branch or small piece of bark at ALL? That seems pretty unlikely unless you're in the city.

But no, you don't have to have actual bark. Anything else rough you find in your house (that's obviously sterile and small enough to fit in there) you can use. Hunt around for a bit if you feel the need to.

Maybe though you should just leave the skin on until his next shed. It won't really do him any harm. =)

If your BP lets you touch his head, that's amazing! Use that to your advantage! My little guy will bite me if I even touch the base of his head because his previous owner used to TAP him on the head all the time. >_> But with your fingers try to work of the skin, starting at the edges of where the other skin stopped peeling!

(Sorry its so unorganized, I typed something then looked up at something else you said and replied to that, etc, etc. xD)

I'll keep digging and see what I can come up with as far as rough stuff. I looked all around my house and couldn't find anything acceptable. I sorta though the rock would be enough but I guess not. I'll keep working his little skin cap with my fingers but I'm afraid to hurt him. When I pull the skin it takes effort and pulls his real skin pretty hard.

Remember that you can also just leave it be and let him shed it off when he next sheds :) This course of action could be less stressful to your snake at this point :gj:

Thats probably what I'll do other than finding him a rough surface. He doesn't seem to mind it too much. Afterall, he ate his first FT mouse the other day, and it was BIG one. He's a 78gram snake and he ate a 20gram FT mouse. It's been 48 hours and his lump is gone so I think he's doing just fine.