Shed question...

[Dragon]

All my BP's and Carpets shed fine with the exception of the occasional stuck shed on the tip of the tail. I watch for this and take the appropriate action using a Q-tip and either glycerin or mineral oil to soften it up.

But my 2012 Fire female has, well; I'm not sure how to describe it other that the whole freaking shed is still on her. I let it go a day and a half or so before taking the following action...

I soaked her in water just now, a lot softened up and I peeled 60-75% off by hand but she's one of my "meaner" BP's and is REALLY nippy.

I’m concerned about the shed over the eyes, how do I go about lifting those off? Is it a “fairly” easy procedure or is this something that a more experienced herp friend could help with? Or should this be done by a vet?

Why did this happen in the first place? My humidity is lower than I would like, around 50% with a humidifier. I don’t know how to get it higher short of buying a second humidifier.

Did I do the right thing by “assist shedding” for lack of a better term? Should I continue assisting with the rest or???

[satomi325]

You can place her into a damp warm pillow case for an hour. She should move around and the shed should come off. It's much less stressful than a soak.

For the eye caps. Do not touch or mess with them. You can do more harm than good. Snakes have lots eyes from their owners messing with eye caps. Just get your humidity up and it will come off with the next shed.

What is your set up like? What kind of substrate do you use? How large is your water dish? Is your snake in a tank with a heat bulb?

[Rickys_Reptiles]

just leave her alone!!!

Hatchlings learn by experience, do not help her, just keep the humidity up, and it'll all come off next time.

[Dragon]

The pillow case is a great tip!!

Her set up...

10 gallon aquarium, screened top

(2) hides, one hot (warm) and one cold

Water dish - 4-inch Diameter, 2-inches deep

Substrate - Aspen

No heat "bulb" but...

Temps - 87* Using a UTH with a Reptile Basics thermostat

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The pillow case is a great tip!!

Her set up...

10 gallon aquarium, screened top

(2) hides, one hot (warm) and one cold

Water dish - 4-inch Diameter, 2-inches deep

Substrate - Aspen

No heat "bulb" but...

Temps - 87* Using a UTH with a Reptile Basics thermostat

I would like to move her into my 10 tub "rack system" as it has empty tubs but I'm dealing with mites in the rack...happy to report I have that under control but want to treat for mites one more time just as a precaution before introducing anymore snakes.

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What do you all feel is the optimum humidity?

[satomi325]

I keep my humidity at a minimum of 60%.

To help your humidity, you can use a larger water dish. A larger surface area will yield more evaporation. And you can use a different substrate, such as coco husk or cypress mulch. These two substrates hold humidity very well.

And too much air flow in the room may cause the humidity to be too low too.

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[BHReptiles]

I dampen a washcloth with warm water and then place the snake in the washcloth and fold it like a burrito (leaving the ends open). Then I just allow the snake to slither out of the washcloth while applying gentle pressure and it usually gets the skin off just fine. Leave the eye caps alone, if you get your humidity right the next shed, they should come off with the next shed.

[MorphMaster]

Ooh, that seems like the best tip i've heard. I've done the damp pillow case, then reg pillow case with damp wash cloths, and they don't work well at all. I think this will work well for anyone having trouble. When snakes are going in shed i mist 2-3 times daily (newspaper, so doesn't hold moisture like wood), anyways it works great. (The last sentene is aside from your comment snakehobbyist)

[BHReptiles]

Ooh, that seems like the best tip i've heard. I've done the damp pillow case, then reg pillow case with damp wash cloths, and they don't work well at all. I think this will work well for anyone having trouble. When snakes are going in shed i mist 2-3 times daily (newspaper, so doesn't hold moisture like wood), anyways it works great. (The last sentene is aside from your comment snakehobbyist)

I gathered! When I know my snakes are going into shed, I always put a little bit of damp sphagnum moss under the warm hide. I also use newspaper so this keeps the moisture in the hide up despite my humidity being 50-60% in the rest of the tub. I'll usually mist it once in the morning and once at night. Ever since I started doing that, I've never had any issue shedding. I had a rescue who had a complete stuck shed. The washcloth trick was all I needed to help her with that first shed. Since then I've never had an issue with her.