Bad shed? No problem.

[mattchibi]

Hey Guys.
So my adult female has had a bad shed 2 weeks ago.
Cage details: Wooden cage with glass front. 2 plastic hides. large water bowl. Newspaper substrate. 65% humidity.

This is the first time it has happened and is very bad! I am stressing.
On her belly there are a few patches (each about 6cm) with stuck shed. I have soaked her numerous times like in this post but it wont seem to come of. Only a few Very very small pieces flake of. The scales seem slightly discoloured where the stuck shed is but seems fine once the bad shed flakes of (in those few spots where it does flake of).

She sits in her water bowl alot of the day so i guess it is bothering her as well.

Is it ok to leave the balance of the stuck shed till her next shed? And should i offer her food as usual? I have not attempted a feed yet since her bad shed.

All assistance is appreciated.

Try soaking for around 60 minutes, and try getting as much off in one sitting. I was soaking my lesser who had a terrible stuck shed, like you described, and it was from neck to tail, and it took me 4 soaks to get it all off. The first two soaks didnt even help because I did it only for 15~ minutes because I was being squeamish and thought she didnt like it, only a few flakes came off. The last two soaks, I did for almost an hour each, in a bath tub with regulated water temps. Sometimes, when its really stuck, it takes 30~ minutes to actually moisten the stuck shed to the point where it is wet and stretchy, and not still clinging tightly to the skin. The damp towel worked at times for me, but I also had to use my hands to manually peel some of the stuck shed because there was so much, and some of it was stuck so tightly to the skin. I had to make sure to be gentle, but also exerting enough force to lightly "roll" the stuck shed off. It took a whole two hours to work all of the shed off and I can tell shes already a lot less grumpy and is more relaxed. Good luck!

[akjadlnfkjfdkladf]

i've seen this before but i havent thanked you yet christie, this is awesome!


how about a part 2 for eyecaps?

[che]

Hi,

Are you using a towel to help remove the shed after the soak?


dr del

Hi there.

Yes have done that.

[Serpentine]

Great post thanks!

[ExotixTowing]

I used a hand towel (twice the size of a face cloth) found my guy would run through it and that in it self helped

Thanks for the info!!

[AAO]

excellent help and photos - thank you!

everyone's talking about getting the humidity right, in general and for a good shed. I have a humidifier spilling into the tank, but dont know how to measure the humidity?

and I think I may have given her a bath before this shed - at what point beforehand should I not bathe her? I dont think I gave her a bath once her underside turned pink, but I'm not sure...

[DanKReptiles]

how long would you suggest doing this to a 2 month old

[khaan]

Great pic tutorial Christine. I like it

[TaylorMade]

AWESOME TECHNIQUE! I just tried it on my albino male & it worked like a charm! KUDOS ON THE HELPFUL & INFORMATIVE STICKY! Thank you! Blessed be!

[PsychD_Student]

I have a cinny who is a biter. The problem is that she has shed stuck on her neck right by the head still after two soaks. Other than having to hold her by the neck right behind the head so she doesn't bite me---and cause her stress, are there any other options? I was thinking of letter her soak again tonight and see if it comes off that way. I really dont want to hold a slippery aggressive snake!