Newb keeper shedding question

[beardless]

Hi guys

My female pastel Lillith had her first shed since I owned her today, and i noticed some smaller pieces of skin about the viv so not one complete shed as i hoped, and the last 3/4 inches of her tail the skin has not come off.

She is on orchid bark and has plenty of rubbing space and a large water bowl, she also had a humid hide with sphagnum, that i can tell she has been in due to a small piece of shed in their.

Is this normal for a first shed in a new habitat?

humidity was 60% at time of shedding, but i have now flicked some water around and moved bowl half onto heat pad to increase this to nearly 70%

My main q's as a new keeper are, how long before if she does not finish should I inter vein?, is this normal for new habitat? I have checked her over and the rest of her body, eyes and vents are clear and she is looking lovely except the tail :-).

Any comments would be thankfully received, I am not worried merely curious about what would happen if?

Thanks in advance

[rickm]

for one, I would recommend some ground coconut bedding under that bedding, or just coconut husk. that bedding by its self probably not be enough to keep the humidity high enough. I like about 70 percent for my ball pythons, and they all shed in one piece, and eat a lot better than a lot of peoples animals that are kept at a lower humidity. also, what is your cage set up...? do you have a screen top on a fish tank? if so, and you use a heat bulb I would get Plexiglas and cut it to cover all but the section right under the light(it should be cut in a weird L shape...). I would also advise on using an under tank type heating element and the smallest possible wattage bulb that will get your ambient air temps at about 82. smaller watt heat bulbs, less top ventilation, better bedding, and belly heat will help you up your humidity and get your sheds on track. any other questions, let us know.

[rickm]

I would also try to lightly peel the skin off of her tail. it should not be hard at all...if it is not easy, get a warm wet towel or rag, and hold the end of her tail in it while you hold her for a few minutes...then try again, it should come off for ya...but you don't want to leave that on there.

[beardless]

for one, I would recommend some ground coconut bedding under that bedding, or just coconut husk. that bedding by its self probably not be enough to keep the humidity high enough. I like about 70 percent for my ball pythons, and they all shed in one piece, and eat a lot better than a lot of peoples animals that are kept at a lower humidity. also, what is your cage set up...? do you have a screen top on a fish tank? if so, and you use a heat bulb I would get Plexiglas and cut it to cover all but the section right under the light(it should be cut in a weird L shape...). I would also advise on using an under tank type heating element and the smallest possible wattage bulb that will get your ambient air temps at about 82. smaller watt heat bulbs, less top ventilation, better bedding, and belly heat will help you up your humidity and get your sheds on track. any other questions, let us know.

Hi thanks for your quick reply.

The orchid bark I use comes wet as..and is used for frogs etc that require very high humidity, I heard orchid bark is one of the best at keeping humidity? I had bake it in the oven to bring the humidity down from 80% (the sides of the viv had condensation) but is now kept around 60/65% on a day to day basis.

I am using an exoterra glass viv with a mesh screen top, should be a pic in my gallery? and is kept at room temp, I have dialed in my under tank heat mat so the warm hide fluctuates between 28/32C just below the surface of the substrate. I do not have a heat bulb/light source

The thing that confuses me is that my niece who got a BP the same time as me has him on aspen, and is not so anal about temps/humidity and yet her's shed in one piece. she also has the same humid hide as me with sphagnum moss

I understand something is not right, but i take pride in (trying) to meet perfect conditions. but this has me left scratching my head a little.

I did however add some artificial plants and bog wood to the viv....must have been at the start of shedding, can this affect it?

Or is it purely like you said, a case of humidity/temp and that other environmental factors don't usually interfere

Thanks again Rick :-)

[beardless]

Am I wrong to fear keeping them at 70% RH on a daily basis?

[Crazymonkee]

70 is good, and the only thing that really effects the shed is humidity

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

[rickm]

you have to realize that, that orchid bark is solid chunks...and not a soil type bedding...so it will not hold humidity as well as a ground coconut husk bedding. if you like the look of it(which is very similar to the ground coconut husk, except it has chunks), then you can always add a couple to a few inches of the coconut husk on the bottom, then add the orchid bark on top of that. the screen top is going to be IMPOSSIBLE to keep humidity in the tank. warm air rises, and with that....all of the moisture in the air. humidity is the moisture content in the air, not just a wet environment. so having a wet substrate is going to do nothing more than cause scale rot. you should cover that whole top with either Plexiglas, glass, plastic, or something that will not absorb moisture(like wood or a towel.) if not, you are going to be constantly fighting a battle you will not win. those are designed with vents in the doors I believe, so any other ventilation is not needed. cover the top and I think you will see a solid shed on the next round...and if you decide to use the ground coconut bedding, that will help even more. it is sold under the name 'bed a beast' and a few others, and comes in bags and bricks. get the bricks, you get way more for your money. the bricks require you to soak them in water, but all you do is squeeze out the excess water and put it in. this is awesome and I think you will be very happy with it. and it is also digestable if accidentally swallowed. good luck and let us know how she does.

[rickm]

and yes, I have had the best luck with 70% all year round. people think that just because a ball python is from Africa, that they need it hot and dry...but they spend almost all of their time deep underground in rodent burrows and termite mounds. and with my experience, balls eat better and seem healthier when kept at about 70%, as apposed to lower humidity levels. I have taken in balls that people could not get to eat and had respiratory issues with...and within a week had them back on track and eating like machines just by bumping up the humidity a little bit. I totally understand why people have problems with balls, when they keep them on aspen bedding and low humidity...some people seem to have no problem with keeping balls and other snakes on aspen....but I have seen my share of snakes have respiratory issues from being kept on aspen, and I believe it is from the very fine dust that aspen bedding has. and any time you get it moist, it molds...so I think it is one of the worst beddings you can use for snakes. but it is cheap and a lot of people use it. to each their own, but I would never put a snake on that crap...just me. I base my opinion soley on my experiences, and some people have 'no problems' keeping their snakes on it.

[beardless]

That's some awesome advice thank you.

The orchid bark I buy is quite soily, and dusty when dry.

I will do the plexiglass tank mod, and try not to bake it so long, the RH now is at 70% i have a digital hygro at the top of the viv free in air.

I will be keeping RH at around 70% and yeah hopfully next shed should be great, I have also treated her to a nice piece of bogwood that is nice rubbing ;-)