First Shed!!!!

[jarobin]

I'm so excited! Parker is in his first shed since I bought him! I was beginning to wonder when it was going to happen since I bought him over a month ago. Last night I noticed he looked a little dull but I couldn't get a good look at him because he was being very lethargic and staying coiled up inside one of his hides. He was hiding his face too all last night and all day today. So I kept checking on him and sure enough, his eyes are all blue and milky. So, my humidity isn't high enough. I immediately raised it from 51 to 64 by misting, filling his water bowl to a higher level, and by placing towels over the screen (he is in a glass tank). I have had problems in the past with temp maintenance and had bought a 40watt infrared heat lamp that i keep over the water dish/cool side. His temps are good on the warm side, but without the lamp it barely reaches 75 on the cool side. Right now temps are all good (92 on warm 80 on cool, 80 ambient) but i know the lamp will suck out the humidity. Should I turn it off? Any other tips for me to get my humidity up to 70 and maintain it?

[Mohegan]

You shouldn't turn the lamp off if it's stabilizing the temperature. Providing a bigger water dish, or one with more surface area, will raise the humidity. You could also cover part of the tank with something to keep the humidity in (for my monitors that require high humidity, I have Plexiglas).

For my own snakes that are notoriously bad shedders, I will also soak them the day after the milkiness disappears from their eyes. I soak them in luke-warm water for 10-15 minutes.

[ylerT]

I agree with covering part of the tank. My wife's bp is in a glass enclosure and until we covered part of it with aluminum foil, we constantly had humidity problems.

[RetiredJedi]

I use a damp wash cloth on the top of the screen and that gets the humidity right up. I just check it every once in a while for when it dries out and get it wet again. Remember if you use the cloth, just make it damp and not dripping wet.

[jarobin]

awesome thanks! the lamp goes on and off as the uth heater does (it's connected to the same thermostat) but i haven't had any problems. i actually, right after posting this, used the water in my water bottle for misting and sprayed the 2 towels that are covering the screen to make them damp... almost immediately the humidity went up to 67 (within 2 minutes) and has been stable at 70 for the past hour or so. i'm going to spray it again before i go to bed, and then again in the morning, and so on. the water bowl i have is HUGE, in fact i thought it was too big at first. i figure i will just fill it higher than normal during shed. i caught him drinking earlier tonight, first time i've seen him out of his hide since his last feeding.

again thanks for the advice everyone

[Brion99]

thats good to hear. I've had mine for just over a month and still no shed, but he has been lookin a little duller and now just stays in his hide unless I take him out. Hopefully its comin.

[EverEvolvingExotics]

Yes, misting at night and using a wet towel will help raise the humidity for the shedding process. You know you've done it right when it comes off all in one beautiful piece.

[Jeo123]

I've found aluminum foil across the screen works really well for holding in humidity. It's also got the advantage of not being a fire hazard if it winds up slipping and coming in contact with a hot lamp.

Keep in mind, the most important place for the humidity to be high isn't where your thermometer is, it's inside the hide he's staying in. You can't easily measure there, but just make sure to mist around the hide.