Help! I cant tell if bp is beginning a shed or suddenly dehydrated.

[EDR]

It looks like its in dire need to shed its skin. Like a couple people are saying raise the humidity and hopefully he'll just shed.

[Zincubus]

I'd be tempted to give it a 20 minute soak in 'snake temp water' as it will instantly help to rehydrate the snake ( if it IS dehydrated) and will aid the shedding process.

Soaking snakes does seem to be more common in the UK than over there in the US though ...


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[zina10]

That to me looks like a "full body" stuck shed.

The petstore said "he just shed", but would not eat..

What probably happened is that the snake went into a shed cycle at the store, where they turn very dull, opaque and "blue eyed". A few days into that, they completely clear up and look normal again. After they clear up and look normal again, they usually shed within a day or two.

I bet he cleared up at the petstore and they figured "he shed". Never bothered to look for the skin or thought someone else cleaned it up.

After that you got him and during all of this the humidity was probably critically low (either at store, during transition or at your home). Hence, the full body shed is still on the snake. Which can make them look AWFUL once it dries to their body.

Now that it is dried to the body, you don't have those oils and lubrication under the shed anymore, which normally help them to get rid of it.

What I would do is to get a small rubbermaid tub, just big enough for the snake. Then make sure you have some air holes in the lid or high up on the tub. Put lukewarm water in (by the time you are done it cools even more, which will make it perfect) and a small hand towel or two. Only make the water about and inch or two high. Make sure there is enough water surrounding that towel, so that the snake can slither around. You want the snake to rub around the wet towel as it moves through the water.. Put the baby in and OBSERVE. After 20 minutes or so that old skin should begin to loosen up. If parts of it come off, leave him in there a bit longer. If you have stubborn areas, you might want to take him out and keep running the wet towel over his body as he slithers around, rubbing lightly. Don't let the water get to cold, but remember...90 degrees feels only lukewarm to us, so NO warmer then that !!!

If nothing loosens up at all, it may not be a full body shed, but I'm pretty sure it is...

Good Luck !

[SWiseman]

Thanks all for your help! Good news is he took a small mouse with no problem and acted full even. I weighed him yesterday and hes already up to 111 grams from the 78 he was. He is shedding in patches so i may still need to help him. I wrapped him in a warm rag and more came off and it made him pee and poop lol.