Removing stuck-shed: Methods and the dangers

[wilomn]

I wonder how ball pythons, heck, snakes in general for that matter, manage to soak their entire bodies in water, sometimes with just the tip of their noses exposed, and not drown.

Heh. You'd think any snake in any water for longer than the blink of an eye would die by drowning.....if you took this thread at face value and looked no further.

Once you look past the stories and rumors and expert advice from relatively new keepers, you realize that maybe, just maybe, snakes won't drown in water so shallow if no one is watching them.

How many of you who won't let them soak in a cup unwatched, let them soak for days on end in a water bowl?

[Eventide]

I've done it several different ways.

1. Sealed plastic tub with air holes with damp towel/shirt/paper towels.
2. In bathtub with water (supervised only!!!).
3. Personally helping them work the shed off with a damp towel.

All have worked, though the one that works best and with the least amount of stress to the snake (mine hate water and me picking at their stuck shed) is #1.

My vet says to never use any lotions or oils. I have nothing to back this up other than his word, but he has decades of experience with reptiles and I trust him completely. (Well, in looking up papers on removing stuck sheds, I have yet to come across any that say to use anything other than water.)

[HeartAche]

I use a tall sterilite tub with holes melted into it. I put in as much water as the BPs thickness and then put one of my rag towels in the water. Much of the water is actually soaked up by the towel so theres no risk of drowning although i left my normal girl in the tub with water for awhile and she didnt drown.
I tried manually helping my normal male get his stuck shed off but it was very time consuming, messy and neither one of us seemed to enjoy it very much.
I once read somewhere that mineral oil could be used and I also tried that. It did nothing but make more of his next shed stay on.

[nixer]

i just put the snake in a snake bag and dampen maybe 1/3 of the bag.
also i dont leave it in there overnight.
im sure if you had sateen pillow cases it could be a problem.

[adam_degel]

it happened to me once.. i just filled up the sink with warm water and handled him in it for about 10 - 15min and put him back in his home, the next day it was all off!

[Dalishar]

I use sphagnum moss. I'll dampen it and put it in a tupperware bowl big enough for the snake, then place them in the bowl and the bowl in their tub. It works perfectly for the smaller ones, as there's just enough of a space between the roof and the bowl that there's airflow but the snake can't get out. The big ones haven't had shedding issues yet, so I haven't had a chance to rework that strategy for them.

I leave them in there for about 3-6 hours (I check every ~30 minutes to make sure they're ok / not too stressed out / ready to get out), and by then they've either worked the shed off themselves or slips off with no issue.

I've tried soaking, the pillowcase, soaking + rubbing off with a damp towel, etc, and none have worked as good as the moss for me.

[OhhWatALoser]

I use 2 methods depending on how bad it is.

normally i just throw them in the bath tub, but i fill it up high enough to make them swim around in it, normally sheds stuck on top and i don't see how filling it up half way up their body helps anything. I watch them 100% of the time and you have to, I have some snakes that are just dumb... go under and not come back up. I mean i know they can hold their breath for a while, but why hold their breath when you don't have to? it is also cool to watch some of the snakes that swim around that seem to enjoy it. but most just wanna escape lol.

2nd method i use if its really bad, which i've only had to use on snakes i just resently got, is take a tub with air holes and a wet warm towel and put them in there with it. It steams up and gives them their own steam room. Im usually watching tv or soemthing, so i bring them with me in the container and im not really worried about them suffocating but i check to make sure the towels still warm, i don't want it getting cold on them.

[CoolioTiffany]

Well, what I really do is soak in an open tub for a few minutes (warm water) so the molting skin gets damp and easy to peel off. While the snake is in the water I let the snake run through my hands and I wrap my hands around the snake's body (not squeezing the snake) and let the snake run through my hands to get the skin off. With this method, I haven't had any problems at all.

[CritterVet]

I just mist them heavily and let them rub off the dampened pieces at their leisure. Repeat daily until stuck shed is off.

[alohareptiles]

I've had stuck shed probably 3 times this year...I do the closed tub with air holes method...I leave a damp wash cloth in there and they seem to just swim around and when they go under the cloth I see little pieces fall away...I never leave them unattended...After around 30 minutes or so, I take them out and usually the rest just peels/slides right off...I've never been comfortable with the damp pillowcase method, but that's just my phobic opinion...