Dumeril's question

[Hypancistrus]

I have a Dumeril's boa from '09, a female. She is set up in a naturalistic viv and I have had her since August. She has had three sheds with us and the first wasn't perfect (it was in pieces) but the last two have been a nightmare. She just shed a third time and there's still pieces clinging to her. I soaked her and added a bit of moisture to the substrate of her viv (she has a heatpad and a basking light, which is on only during the day) and that seems to be helping her. I was just watching her slither across the surfaces in the tank and pieces of shed are being left behind as she goes, so I reckon she will be okay. Is there anything I can do to help her shed better in the future?

[Twisted Reptiles]

What is your humidity like in the enclosure? My guess is with the overhead lamp its way too low. Find a way to seal in the humidity and/or provide a humid hide. This can be as simple as a plastic container with a hole cut in it and a nice humidity holding substrate inside it. My Dum is prone to bad sheds if my humidity is even a little bit off, much moreso than most of my other snakes. Your humidity should be 60% at the minimum.

[Twisted Reptiles]

Also what substrate are you using?

[Hypancistrus]

I am using bed-a-beast. Should I keep it moistened? I was afraid of her getting an infection if the bedding was damp. I can certainly add a humid hide. Many of my other snakes have them, but I never saw her use hers when she was in QT, so I left it out of her home viv.

Here is a photo:

[Twisted Reptiles]

Keeping it mildly moist isn't going to hurt, also keep in mind these are burrowing snakes so keep the substrate deep enough for them to burrow. My Dum typically wouldn't use her humid hide, she preferred going under it. Just do what you can to keep some moisture in the enclosure, make sure you block off any large screen sections etc..

Oh, and your picture post.

[Hypancistrus]

Well I soaked her a few times and all the old shed came off. She sure is pretty. I've started moistening half of the viv she is in (it's a 29 gallon) to give her the option of damp side versus dry side. The damp side is the one that is heated, too, to prevent a chill. She has loads of hides available on both sides but seems to prefer to burrow.

[wafisherman]

My adult dum I got had bad sheds from the previous owner. But just by using a few inches of aspen and sometimes cypress, no overhead lights, just a heat pad, and using plastic hides that hold in humidity well, I've never had a bad shed. Same for my 08 male dum I got last year. Be sure to get a digital temp and humidity gauge. And when they start to go into shed, up the humidity to at least 60.

[Hypancistrus]

I've got digital temp monitors on all my vivs (well, except the racks-- only 3 per rack there, top, middle and bottom) but I don't have a humidity gauge. I'll pick one of those up.