First shed- bad shed..soak not helping?

[FearlessLeader]

Hey all, it's Vladimir's mom again. So i ended up handling Vlad regularly 1x a week for less than 10 minutes. He has consistently fed for me, is held in good temps, has 2 hides, when i go in our out of my room (I avoid my room to allow him comfortable transitions/time outside of hide. He enjoys laying on a branch in the night, and I hear him working through the tank

I have fought with the humidity since day one. I've gotten moss for the viv, misted like you wouldn't believe, even got a humidifier for my room!! Then I used tin foil. Then I referenced a post on this site, using layers of foil and duct taping it. There are openings on both sides. Neither are significantly large...the humidity looked great. My snake started getting to look dry...I realised he was about to shed. The levels looked better and his shed was terrible...I came home from work each day to more and more shreds around his viv...I feel like a terrible owner.

So tonight after work I rush around for some supplies and use a soaking technique (also from the site)

85 degree water, a dish towel, half log hide. Vlad couldn't stand the water on it's own. He would post up on the hide. I think he's hungry and was standing up at me swaying back and forth. He's young and is due to eat this weekend so I didn't feel that worried but am still feeling awful. I left the lid on after adding some fresh water and Vlad came out in a mad rush. He's my first snake. He came up my arm and I just stood still. He relaxed and I set him in his freshly cleansed and rearranged viv. He was so stressed I couldn't find it in me to put him in there again.
AND on top of this, I've had him since October 8th and while in the shed bin as I now call it, he had his first BM under my ownership! His underside is still flaking off and his neck region and back of head are super ready to come off. I tried letting him go through a towel in my hands when wet but he was frantic. Couldn't find the heart to take him out of his viv after cleaning the bin out.

I just checked on him (ambient 80 humidity 77)
He is sprawled out and very obviously working that underside skin. I wish I could get photos to work from my phone. Asap I'll post some.

Should I worry? Do I soak him again another day or just maintain higher humidity? I feel horrible all the stress was for nothing he got some off on my shirt and barely any in the bin. He avoided the water and tried to avoid the wet towel basically serving as a floor. When down there he was just rubbing upward looking for a way out.

Thanks in advance

[FearlessLeader]

I would like to mention i know that I saw an eye cap in the shed pieces i sifted through before disposing of the substrate.

Vlad is super radiant and beautiful. When he came out of the bin i was excited for him to really be showing through. His face, most of his back (besides the upper region) are gorgeous and look healthy. Why aren't his belly, tail and neck coming off?

I changed some things around. He is definitely active right now.

[larryd23]

Our BP has shed once since we brought him home and it sounds just like your shed. Lots of little pieces scattered around the terrarium and lots still stuck on the boy. Fortunately, his eye caps did come off on their own. We place a bath towel in a tub, added about 1" of warm water, added the boy, and closed the lid for 20 minutes. Between the water and the humidity in the enclosed tub, about half of his remaining shed rubbed off. When we removed him we were able to gently rub/peel (from head to toe, not the other way) the remaining shed. The soak really loosened it up.

I'm wondering if the hide and leaving the lid off prevented him from getting the full benefit of the soak.

P.S. We regret purchasing our Exo Terra terrarium. While it looks great, managing the humidity is a constant battle. We will be upgrading to Animal Plastics in the near future.

I would add that I am novice when it comes to BP husbandry. I would wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to weigh it before deciding on your next course of action.

[FearlessLeader]

Hey there Larry. Thanks for a prompt and friendly response.

My humidity battle has ended, but I got the numbers regulated just as my snake entered shed.

Lastnight his tank was cleaned and rearranged and added a 2nd water dish. I went inside for bed and saw him slinking all the way across the tank rubbing still. This morning i wake up for work and see some fairly large pieces, and he's fast asleep. My snake behaves normally. I am a novice too, and this is all just worrying me

[Booper]

What percantage humidity did you have during shed? I usually strive for 70% during shed. It could also be your hygrometer is not very good, do you have anything you can cross-reference it with?

[SDA]

How long did you leave your snake in a tub to soak? You don't need anything decor wise and definitely not a wooden log. All you need is a wash cloth or small hand towel. You fill the tub 1/2 or so the height of the snake's body with luke warm water and the cloth then you close the lid on them and let them soak for at least 30 minutes. Never ever leave a snake unsupervised while soaking. You can have air holes in the top of the tub lid or if it is not air tight you do not need to worry about that.

After 30 minutes you check in on the snake and see if the shed has loosened up. It will look gooey for lack of a better word. If they have not removed it on their own you can use the towel to let hte snake crawl through and help remove stuck shed.

I am wondering if you did not let your snake soak enough.

Here is a a general video showing this. Ignore the part about chlorhexidine, that is absolutely not necessary. Also, never leave your snake unattended while soaking. You need to be there watching the entire time, no exceptions.

[FearlessLeader]

Booper, SDA, thanks for your replies.

The humidity in the tank would continually drop from 69ish to 50 or even 45. After modification the humidity has been stable at around 72, as he still has shed.

My hygrometer is from exo terra. I have the probe secured close to the bottom of the enclosure. Any recommendations on a better one?

Going to watch that video. Thanks for clarification on hide and log as well...

[Zincubus]

Interesting ..


You could try getting a soaked through , rough textured towel and simply let the snake slither inside the towel , when it's head pops out cover it up with the towel again . Whilst it's crawling through your hands simply apply very GENTLE pressure on its head region ( you can feel it through the towel ) . Generally any stubborn shed and/or eye caps will come off on the towel ...


The above method works even bettet after a soak but extremely well without soaking the snake .

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[FearlessLeader]

Zinc, awesome. Thanks a lot.

He's worked a lot of it off since. Since I'm feeding him tomorrow I will probably have one more go with him this evening.