Long Lasting Stuck Shed on Head and Neck

[DillonH]

I have had my 3 month old ball python for 8 weeks, and his first shed with me was a very bad one. His enclosure is a 20 gallon glass tank, although I am in the process of switching him to a tub. He is on eco earth with two identical hides with moss inside. His hot side is 88-92 and cool is 72-76. Humidity measurements are unknown. I will have a hygrometer set up when I get his tub. I mist his tank 3 times a day and keep half of the screen top covered with plastic wrap and towels. He arrived very slim when I received him, and he still seems to be quite slim. He became incredibly wrinkled and dehydrated before his shed, and required several soaks to re-hydrate and remove shed. I managed to remove nearly all of his shed except the skin on the under side and top of his head and the end of his tail. He's eaten twice since most of the shed was removed and his head and neck skin has remained the same. I have not soaked him in one week, all of his shed is gone except his head which rarely goes under water. I am unsure of what to do. His tub set up will be ready in 3-5 He eats every 5 days and his circumference has not grown much. He looks much skinnier than other young balls in my opinion. Hopefully my pictures help.
days.


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[C.Marie]

What a cutie pie I take a warm damp wash cloth to his handsome face to help get off that shed, his much too good looking to have a dirty face

[Bogertophis]

If he was my snake, I'd use a container that's big enough for him plus either some well-saturated moss or a small soaked
& lightly wrung-out towel (warm water please) & contain him for a while to maximize humidity...you can keep this container IN his normal enclosure, you
don't want him to get chilled...then check back in about 30 minutes & using a damp cloth, gently dampen & then gently rub off the old shed on the top of
his head. Be sure his tail tip has shed completely too, you don't want the old skin restricting the blood circulation there, it can cause tissue death & loss of
the tail tip if that happens.

I can't tell from your photos if his eye caps are still stuck on too, I hope not (did you check his shed?) The head & chin is a typical place that gets stuck,
& while snakes hate it when we help them "un-dress", that's exactly what I'd do, as I said already, after soaking &/or keeping him in a humidity box for a while first. Be gentle but get it done. When I have a snake in this condition, I carefully try to start at & loosen the very edge of his lower jaw- it peels easier from front to back (just like when they crawl forward). Gentle persistence... and yes, he's pretty, btw!

Sounds like you need to cover more of the screen top also...about 90-95%...to keep humidity in. Misting isn't the best way to do this. You might want to
keep a "humid hide box" (filled with very damp moss) in his cage (on warm side), especially when he's going into a shed cycle, from now on. It should help,
along with better nutrition.

[DillonH]

Thank you guys for the quick responses. I used a humidity box with a lukewarm washcloth for 30 mins and was able to work off the tip of the tail afterwards. I also got all of the neck clean, however his whole head is still totally retained, with the eye caps. I dampened the moss in his hides and covered as much of the screen top as I could. Any additional advice would be appreciated, I will post updates if his condition changes

[Bogertophis]

I'd probably put a damp cloth over top of him for a while longer (in a container). It's not going to get any easier...every time you let it dry out again.
And don't be afraid to spray him with water directly while you work on him....they get rained on in nature, you know.
I don't have long fingernails but I gently use them (after soaking snake) along the edges of the mouth to loosen the old skin. Peel slowly, try
to keep it intact enough so the eye caps come off too, with the upper jaw. You'll have to be persistent.

[Bogertophis]

So, does he hate you yet? Actually I've found snakes seem to understand when we're trying to gently help them...I never get bit when I have to
work on a snake with something like this or giving a med. or tube-feed- even if they try to evade, they're not really that upset, so don't worry.

[Sunnieskys]

Heads are generally easy to peel once soaked enough. I have to do with my snakes at work constantly! Warm towel and water (I have a thermometer in the water) and soak for 20-30 min and the head is stubborn at first but generally peels right off after I get it started.

[Zincubus]

Heads are generally easy to peel once soaked enough. I have to do with my snakes at work constantly! Warm towel and water (I have a thermometer in the water) and soak for 20-30 min and the head is stubborn at first but generally peels right off after I get it started.

As above plus when they come out I have a damp , rough textured towel ready and get them to slither around in the middle of it .... whilst applying very gently pressure to the stubborn shed areas ...

All the loose skin ends up on the towel .... never try using your fingers to pull any bits off ... it hurts when they bite you


The above method works great on retained eye caps and tail tips as well !!


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[bcr229]

Your cool side at 72-76*F is too cool, should be 78-80*F.

Humidity is a measurement of how much moisture is in the air, and air in the low 70's can't hold much compared to air in the 90's. So, unless the cool side of your tank is sopping wet with a ton of condensation on the glass walls of the tank, your high side humidity will be way too low.