Wrinkly skin?

[LoNeSt4r]

Hi, I'm new to this forum (and to ball pythons!). I've only had my baby girl for about two weeks now and she's pretty obviously starting to shed. Her eyes went cloudy about 4 or so days ago, and now her skin is really wrinkly. There's a picture below, and i was wondering if this is normal, or if there is something i need to do to adjust the humidity. The hygrometer has been steady since i got her, at about 55%. Help would be greatly appreciated

[Alex.B]

might just be me but she looks really skinny.

[Cendalla]

There is a great thread on shedding that walks you through it step by step in the forum section. I'd put the link here but I'm not sure how.

[Crazy4Herps]

Now that is one crazy stuck shed!

What appears to have happened is, when she released fluid under her top layer of skin (what causes the cloudy eyes), the top layer of skin somehow got stuck to the bottom layer, causing her to be unable to peel it all off. This may be caused by lots of handling while she was in the cloudy phase (or even after her eyes cleared), too-low humidity (55% is much too low for a snake during shed, also what sort of hygrometer are you using?), or a combination of the two.

Don't worry, though, there's an easy fix to stuck sheds. Get a small Rubbermaid tub (be sure it's ventilated!), fill it with lukewarm water (around 85*F), put a wet washcloth inside, and leave her in there for 30 minutes. Do this daily, and she should be able to work off the skin. Also be sure to bump up the humidity in the cage until she gets it all off.

[Cendalla]

Its under General BPs and the sticky titled The Shedding Process. She looks pretty young and a little on the thin side. Is she eating for you yet? You haven't had her for long- has she settled in well for you?

[LoNeSt4r]

She's been a great little girl so far. She's really friendly and is very happy to slither around my hands when i hold her. When i saw her in the cloudy eye phase, i didn't touch her at all until her eyes went back to normal. She has eaten 1 live mouse so far (this past friday), but i think the mouse gave her mites, because a day or two afterwards, i saw them on her. I immediately took her into the vet, where they gave her an imovec (i think it's called) shot, and i cleaned out her cage completely, baking everything, etc. I haven't seen any more on her since. I am not sure if i should feed her while she's trying to shed, or wait. I also went out and bought frozen mice to avoid the mites issue.

[EDIT] Also, i am just using a basic hygrometer that i bought at petsmart. along with 2 thermometers on the ambient and heated sides of the tank, with the hygrometer in the middle.

[RichsBallPythons]

Mites came from where the snake came from, not from the mouse.

The shot wasnt necessary, it only benifited the vets pocket.

Get the snake soaking once a day in warm water to help the shed stay moist and allow for easy removal. Also keep the cage misted till the shed is off.

[LoNeSt4r]

I've been dealing with the place i got her from for years, i know how well they take care of their animals, i would be incredibly surprised if the mites came from the snake. But the only reason i say from the mouse is because i got it from petco, and not a privately owned place. And as far as the shot... it was $16, and it's better safe than sorry as far as i'm concerned. So say i see more mites on her in a few days... what would i do then?

[RichsBallPythons]

Mites are specie specific and wont feed from rodents. Without a food source they die fairly quickly. Which is why the mites came from either where the snake came from or they hitched on your clothes when you were at the pet store.

Order can or Provent a Mite and that will solve your issue.

[Crazy4Herps]

Well, if you got the mouse from PetCo, maybe you carried the mites home from PetCo on your clothes...?

x2 on Provent a Mite. You can buy it from Pro Exotics. It's excellent stuff, works wonders.