Advice on shed-stuck-to-tail angry boa?

[jason221]

My boa has been in shed for the past several days and I came home today to find that she had shed in one piece but the entire thing is stuck to the end of her tail. Basically, there is a thin strip of shed skin attached to the end of her tail (the tail part of her shed skin), and that is attached to a big ball of shed skin, which is the rest of the body. Now, I sprayed some water onto it, but I didn't get her out of the tub because she started hissing at me. She didn't get into a defensive pose and start striking, but she was hissing somewhat when I was moving her (with a snake hook).

What should I do? Should I try to get her out anyway and run her tail through a damp wash cloth to try to get the shed off? I hope this aggression isn't going to be a recurring thing with her, because no one likes an angry adult boa (mine is a baby, though). Should I just wait until tomorrow to try to get her out again? She also hissed at me a couple days ago when she was still in shed and I was lifting up her hide to mist her.

I got a red tail boa because I wanted a big, tame snake.

[steveboos]

Hissing isn't a big deal, heck 90% of the time they will hiss but never bite. I just continue to pick them up and do what i was going to do anyway. If they hiss every time you pick them up and you always put them down. They will eventually know, how to get you, to put them down every time.

I would just go in and wipe it off the tail, a baby boa can't hurt you too bad.

[jason221]

Thanks. Yeah, I have only let her go twice after she's hissed at me. The only other time she has hissed at me was the first day I held her, and that was because she got into a weird position on the edge of her tub and got scared when I lifted the lid. That time she struck once, too. That time I actually picked her up immediately with the hook, though. But thanks! I will try to get her out again after I watch the latest episodes of Dexter & Boardwalk Empire.

[jason221]

Alright, good news and troublesome-ish news.

So, I went in after about 2 hours of leaving her alone, and the big piece of shed skin had already separated itself from her tail, leaving just a little bit left on the tip of her tail. Good news is that she didn't even hiss at me this time. I tried to get as much of the stuck shed off of the tip of her tail as I could, but there is just a minuscule amount remaining. Hopefully, it will come off on its own or on her next shed if I do a better job of misting the next time she's in shed.

Now, for the little bit worrying part. She seems to be a little bloated (but not a lot), i.e., she is done digesting so there's no lump in her stomach but a she's a little more round towards her tail as opposed to the almost square-like shape of boas' bodies. I've had her since September 25, 2010, and she has pooped once. That was before I had even fed her yet. Two meals (f/t adult mice from petco) and a shed later, she hasn't pooped since. When should I start to worry? In my experience, snakes usually defecate after they shed but she didn't. Hopefully, she will today. Is there anything I should do or is this normal?

Sorry, nervous my-first-boa questions