First shed advice

[Emily Hubbard]

My baby ball is going through her first shed with me (and I have had her exactly a week, so I didn't expect it so soon)

I have not made any attempt to help her shed because I have no idea what a "normal" shed is like. But currently, the shed is off her head (and eye caps, thankfully) but is staying on the rest of her body. She has been this way for about 3 days. She has a "humid hide" but I have not seen her go in it. How long should I allow the shed to stay on her before I get concerned? And what can I do to make it better? I hear conflicting reports on the "soaking" method and I certainly am not going to just start peeling her, that sounds awful for the poor thing!

[Skittles1101]

A "normal" shed should come off all in one piece, if she got it off her head and it remains on the rest of the body, it's now considered a stuck shed. I suggest giving her a luke warm soak for about 10-20 minutes, then letting her run through a damp towel in your hands. Some people wet a pillowcase, or put a damp towel in a pillow case then let her wriggle through that to get it off herself, but I haven't done that method yet.

Also, here is a good thread on the shedding process. If you are using a lamp, it's more than likely the reason why she had a bad shed.

[benwallage9]

ya when you first notice her going into shed you should bump up the humidity to at least 60% I'm assuming you have a aquarium that you are keeping her in? so you would have to spray her tank at least twice a day. as for what to do now... i'd do as LGray23 suggested and give her a warm bath use a thermometer and get the water to about 88 to 90 degrees and let her soak just make sure the water isn't to high or she might drown. she should be able to sit with it barely leaving her spine dry if that makes sense.

As for the pillow case thing she suggested i have done it and didn't get great results you can try tho i only left my snake in for about 10 mins so try 20 to 30 if you do it

good luck

[Emily Hubbard]

I just soaked her in a plastic tub of water. I put a wet washcloth in with her and put just about 1/2 of water since she is still little. I left her in for about 30 min and then held the wash cloth in my hand and let her crawl over it. The stuck shed didn't budge. I gave it a little rub, but nothing. I don't want to force it, I figure if it ready to come off, it shouldn't be hard. But I am new at this!

I put her back in her tank to see if she would rub it off herself. She has plenty of places to rub. I do think this is a problem because of humidity. I have her in a professional fiberglass ball python tank, which was given to me as a gift, I never could have afforded it myself. But the problem is, my apartment has no heat (I know, ridiculous) and I live in northern California, so it's pretty darn cold this time of year. So, to get her home warm enough ( it fluctuates between 85 and 90 in the warmest spot) I needed two heat pads, one on the bottom and one on the side, AND an infrared bulb. Of course, bulbs = humidity nightmare. I made her a humid hide with moss, which I have never seen her go in (though that doesn't mean she hasn't). I am actually going to PetCo in a little bit to get a larger, shallow water dish to put under the light and maybe help the humidity. I have misted a few times, but to get it humid enough but it makes it too wet in there for the right humidity. I am using coconut husk substrate. Any other advice?

If this last soak didn't do the trick, how often should I soak her? And how long is "too long" for a stuck shed, this is day 4. When should I get really worried? I was planning on leaving her alone for a few days while I go back home for the holiday, will she be ok with a shed on her?

[ball-pythons]

mine did something similar.. it was off her head, and bottom of her body only stuck on the top.. i had the humidity up, was spraying the side of the tank twice a day and after a week of her not getting it off, lastnight i took a warm wash cloth and gently rubbed it off, no problem at all and it came off rather easy. but i wouldnt "force" it off if that makes sense.. give it some time and up the humidity and see what happens first.

[Emily Hubbard]

Thanks, ball-pythons! I just bought a much bigger water dish and placed it under the lamp, in addition to a humid hide that I made by cutting a hole in a plastic tupperware and filling it with sphagnum moss. I peeked in under one of her hides and see a piece of skin that wasn't there when I left, but I can't tell how much she got off. I will check later, she is all curled up and sleeping and I already woke her up and soaked her today, so I am just going to let her be for a while.