Should I help her shed?

[Lolo76]

As I talked about in another thread, Mona (my adult female) was just moved into a tub... I previously had her in a glass tank, and the humidity/heat was always quite low. The tub so far is a little cold, but maintaining a very high humidity level of 90+. I decided to leave the humidity alone for now, since she has been in shed for over a week... last week she went opaque, and then cleared up a few days ago. I put her in the tub last night, and later noticed a few tiny pieces of skin starting to peel. So, does that mean she's going to have a bad shed? Or should I give it another day to see what happens? I was thinking of helping her out (with a soak), but don't want to do anything unnecessary!

[Kaorte]

I would try the pillowcase treatment.

Stick the snake in a damp pillowcase for 15-20 minutes and then try to roll off the stuck shed with the pillowcase. I don't like soaking, too many horror stories.

[Lolo76]

So is this officially a "stuck shed?" It's only tiny pieces (maybe 3-4) right now, and I wasn't sure that was a problem yet.

[Lolo76]

Never mind... I just checked on her, and she is definitely stuck! I have her in a damp pillowcase now, and will leave her there for about 15 minutes.

[Boanerges]

Hopefully that will help!!! Keep us updated

[Lolo76]

I have to say, this past week has shown me what a sweetheart Mona is! Through the shedding process, moving from a tank to a tub, and even a failed F/T feeding session (didn't realize she was going into shed) - she has remained gentle and calm the whole time. Nice change from Delilah, who bit me the last time I approached her during shed.

[Lolo76]

Just checked on her, and the nose is starting to peel... she was rubbing it around to get the shed started, so I'll let her try alone for a few minutes. Hope this works!

[Lolo76]

Yay for the pillowcase trick!!

She got most of it off herself in a few swoops, and then I rubbed off the rest with the pillowcase... only took a few minutes really, and she looks gorgeous now. She also seems really hungry, which isn't surprising since she hasn't eaten in over 2 weeks. As soon as the skin came off, she started cruising around and tongue-flicking like crazy - so I'm defrosting a rat for her now, which I hope she will take (she's only eaten live). Thanks for the help!

P.S. I got a cool video and pictures of the shed, which I'll post on the photo forum later.

[Lolo76]

Here was the resulting pile o' skin...



And a freshly shed snake!

[Patricia]

I don't like soaking, too many horror stories.

Like what? (I didn't leave Patriot in a box, just held him throughout, wetting and peeling, but it was a bit of a struggle. Will try the wet pillowcase next time.)