Injured BP is ready to shed again! Help!

[RaeDee]

Matilda got a great nasty burn on her underbelly from a mistake involving an unregulated UTH, but the burn has healed so much. Been treating with betadine soaks and sulfa cream and it has helped sooooo much. However now she's in blue and I'm not sure how to help her with this one or how the shed is going to go seeing how the burn still has a way to go before I'd consider it fully healed. She's on a bedding of clean, dry paper towels and I've been using a damp towel over half of her tanks lid to keep the humidity up at 50. So I'm looking for advice on how to get it humid enough in there (without making the paper towel damp) for her to shed somewhat successfully and with the least amount of stress/pain possible. Also, should I continue the betadine soaks, injections of Fortaz and application of silver sulfadiazine while she's in shed? Or should the paper towel be damp? Should I be adding damp sphagnum to her warm hide again? Help please!! Any and all advice is welcome!

[nightrainfalls]

but I would increase humidity in the tank to high sixties or low seventies. You can add more water dishes, put a water dish near the heat source to increase evaporation, mist the sides of the tank, or use a wick to draw water into the cage.

To use a wick, you fold a piece of paper towel over until it is 1 inch wide, then you drape it over a waterproof hide, and put one end in the water dish. Humidity will climb quickly.

Sincerely,

David

[DVirginiana]

Even with upped humidity, if there is scabbing, be ready to jump in and help out as it's entirely possible large pieces will just get stuck. Also expect some blood. I helped supervise a rescue my parents did last year of a wild ratsnake that got caught in netting (looked like about a third of his skin had been pushed down like a sock) and he went through several emergency sheds before he could get through one without help. Always re-opened the wounds and freaked my parents out a little.

As for upping the humidity, I'd stick with methods that involve paper towels and not moss. Wouldn't want any debris to get into wounds that might re-open.

[RaeDee]

The wick sounds like a good idea but I literally just ran out of paper towels when I read that response haha I'll go get more in the morning. For now, I soaked a clean new sponge in steaming hot water and wedged it down in a heavy drinking glass with a bit of hot water in it and stuck it in a corner right next to her warm hide. It's a really heavy glass so she can't knock it over. I doubt she would even try. She's a very cranky noodle right now. She struck at me for the very first time earlier tonight when I did her betadine soak and sulfadene shmear. But like I said, her eyes are totally clouded over so I understand the crankiness. She didn't leave her warm hide during her last shed either.

[RaeDee]

Something else happened because when I went to do Matilda's nightly betadine soak and shmear, the entire paper towel bedding of her tank was soaking wet. Like I could actually wring water out of it. I did exactly as nightrainfalls instructed and draped it over her cool hide which is waterproof, and it helped the humidity but somehow, like I said, the entirety of her paper towels were soaked clean through. Luckily she only sat on the damp for a day since I did the wick last night and her burn actually looks better again today but still. I can't imagine how that happened.