Bad shed? No problem.

Thanks tigerlilly,

But no I am sorry I meant a 9 day old BP, she just hatched and when she shed her first shed she retained the skin on her head. I got the skin off via some advice from another post on this forum.

Thanks,

Dell

Help! I gave Mr. Snake extra time with his bad shed (first shed living with us) - about 36 hours or more in total, since he was still making an effort the other night.

Last night, I followed the tutorial (wonderful, thank you!). He hated being in the plastic box, but seemed to appreciate the help with the shed. However, he spent most of the time in the box trying to find a way to get out and his head never soaked. I still couldn't get the skin off his head, nose, and left eye. This is due in part to the difficulty of trying to do it while being gentle and, in part, to his refusal to let me do it.

My question is: should I try again or just leave him alone? Any tips?

I'd go ahead and try one more time. Did the eyecaps get retained? Just use a paper towel/pillowcase/washcloth and gently wipe away the shed.

I'm glad that this thread was able to help you. You can also try adding humid hide to the enlosure as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

I'd go ahead and try one more time. Did the eyecaps get retained? Just use a paper towel/pillowcase/washcloth and gently wipe away the shed.

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The left eye spectacle is still on. The right one he got off himself. It seems he got most of the skin under his chin off. It's his head, nose, left eye that remain.

Do you think I should soak again? Or just apply a warm wet cloth for a few minutes and then try again?

Thanks!!

Soak again, that should loosen up the scales. I'd work until you at least remove that last eyecap.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

Soak again, that should loosen up the scales. I'd work until you at least remove that last eyecap.

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Success! Thank you for the advice. And to the original post tutorial. I managed to get all of the skin off Mr. Snake's head. It turns out that both eyecaps were still on. The hard part for him was probably the heat pits. I got it all, y'all!

Here is a picture showing the eyecaps, heat pits, and a little tag of something that came out between the nostrils. Does anyone know what that is? :confused: It is not hollow like the heat pit circles, but rather "meatier."

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...eyecapstag.JPG

I just want to make sure I didn't hurt him. Also, I am just very curious about this whole thing. How cool to see it up close!

The bad news is that the snake was VERY stressed when I was doing it. I was attempting to be as gentle as possible, but without an extra set of hands, he was doing the equivalent of the crocodile death roll. Poor guy. The result was that he "nipped" me in the process. I truly believe it was instinctual and not aggressive. He did it when I was getting the second eyecap off (not during what must have been the worse part - the removal of the heat pit skin). My membership card in the "club":

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...nip_863722.JPG

The "nip" felt like half between a pinch and a very mild bee sting.

Afterwards, I held him against my chest with one hand while I got his tank organized again and misted it down, during which he was still and completely non-aggressive.

In my book, all's well that ends well. We'll try to feed him tomorrow.

Glad to hear you were able to get all the shed off. :gj: Sorry about the nip though, although you do get that nifty club membership now. ;)

Hats off for grabbing a camera too! :colbert2:

Now about that extra thing.... I think that it's probable that it's just a shed from the heat pit itself. Or maybe a retained one from an old shed, but I can't really tell.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MelissaFlipski

Success! Thank you for the advice. And to the original post tutorial. I managed to get all of the skin off Mr. Snake's head. It turns out that both eyecaps were still on. The hard part for him was probably the heat pits. I got it all, y'all!

Here is a picture showing the eyecaps, heat pits, and a little tag of something that came out between the nostrils. Does anyone know what that is? :confused: It is not hollow like the heat pit circles, but rather "meatier."

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...eyecapstag.JPG

I just want to make sure I didn't hurt him. Also, I am just very curious about this whole thing. How cool to see it up close!

The bad news is that the snake was VERY stressed when I was doing it. I was attempting to be as gentle as possible, but without an extra set of hands, he was doing the equivalent of the crocodile death roll. Poor guy. The result was that he "nipped" me in the process. I truly believe it was instinctual and not aggressive. He did it when I was getting the second eyecap off (not during what must have been the worse part - the removal of the heat pit skin). My membership card in the "club":

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...nip_863722.JPG

The "nip" felt like half between a pinch and a very mild bee sting.

Afterwards, I held him against my chest with one hand while I got his tank organized again and misted it down, during which he was still and completely non-aggressive.

In my book, all's well that ends well. We'll try to feed him tomorrow.

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Great pics I love it. Welcome to the club!!!

Hi,


Glad you got it all sorted.:)

If I had to guess I would say what you have there is a meaty bogie.:P :picknose:

Of course it could just be a bit of unshed skin from the last time.:oops:



dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

If I had to guess I would say what you have there is a meaty bogie.

Of course it could just be a bit of unshed skin from the last time.
dr del

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LOL! I love it. But somehow I don't think he has boogars!

Could be from last shed or could it be from his tongue slot (lingua fossa, is it called?)?

By the way, we tried a F/T adult mouse this morning and he wouldn't eat. We'll try again tonight.