my first post!!! first shed was bad???

[mattramsfan]

hey guys whats up my name is matt. i just got a bp about a month ago. he is awesome. im pretty sure i am doin everything correctly. we have correct temps and a thermostat to make sure it doesnt get to hot in their. he had a few mites when we first got him but i bought some mite off stuff and that took care of the problem. he has never had a problem eating. that really surprised me but i guess he is healthy if he is eating. he just got done shedding but it came off all in pieces... i know now that i have to raise humidity to about 60 -70% the next time he sheds... i guess my question is... is a bad shed bad for him or will he be ok...

[JeffJ]

as long as all the shed and the eye caps came off you're fine.

there are some good stickies about bad sheds in thes subforum as well. dont make it habit of letting your snake have repedative bad sheds its hard on them and if any is left behind they can get irritations, its uncomfortable and if you allow the eyecaps to stay behind it can cause blindness if ignored.

[mattramsfan]

ok. sooo it did take him a week or so to get the eye caps off but he got them off on his own. and he does have a little bit of skin left around his neck. how do i go about getting the rest of that off of him. i have tried putting him in warm water because i read that can help but he just gets all pissy and scurries out of the tub we put him in.... any suggestions???

[JeffJ]

ok. sooo it did take him a week or so to get the eye caps off but he got them off on his own. and he does have a little bit of skin left around his neck. how do i go about getting the rest of that off of him. i have tried putting him in warm water because i read that can help but he just gets all pissy and scurries out of the tub we put him in.... any suggestions???

if he panics the water is to hot, to cold or 2 deep. if the shed is around his whole neck thats a problem as it will become irritated, if its only on his back then your ok. he should get it off with the pillow case trick or building him a humid hide.

[mattramsfan]

we bought him a humid hide and it has moss in it to keep the moisture longer. and yes it is only on his back. the sides of him have completely shed. he only has it on the top. and just a little around his head.... to be clear on the pillow case thing... you put a warm cloth in a pillow case and put him in it.... and thats it..... how to you keep the pillow case warm... can i put it in his hot spot in the cage...

[JeffJ]

we bought him a humid hide and it has moss in it to keep the moisture longer. and yes it is only on his back. the sides of him have completely shed. he only has it on the top. and just a little around his head.... to be clear on the pillow case thing... you put a warm cloth in a pillow case and put him in it.... and thats it..... how to you keep the pillow case warm... can i put it in his hot spot in the cage...

you wet the whole pillow case with body temperature water, it shouldnt feel hot or cold to you. then place him inside, and knot it as close to the top as you can.

you can place it inside your cage over the hot spot but i usualy put it on the floor of a room thats not cold and draft free then i sit with him and monitor him for 30-45 min. i watch tv and he will just crawl around u will see him. he cant see anything so he will feel safe and just move about as usual.

[Douglesser]

He will be fine. They don't always shed in one piece. But it shouldn't happen all the time. Welcome to the forum.

[mattramsfan]

ok sweet. i appreciate all the help. i will do that to him as soon as possible. hopefully this will take care of the little bit of skin that is still left on him.

thanks a bunch. i really appreciate it!!!!!!!!

[llovelace]

As stated b4 so long as the eye caps come off, no worries, I got one that always sheds perfectly and two that do it not so perfectly.
I let mine exercise in the bath tub with a little tepid water for any stuck shed.

[frankykeno]

Welcome to the world of ball python keeping. Here's a few threads to read over that should be of great help to you.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28794

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=74290

It's not that uncommon to see poor sheds in the winter months when fighting the naturally dry air is a problem for most folks that don't have a dedicated snake room. You'll soon figure out though the little tricks to keeping your particular snake enclosure in the right ranges to help your little scaley buddy have nicer sheds. Don't forget to use our search engine as well to look up posts from our membership on the things they've done to help accomplish that.