Bad Shed?

[infinitewaffle]

So my orange ghost finally had his first shed (since I purchased him/her). The head skin came off, eyes and all, so I can feed him, but every bit of it from the neck down is still there. Is this ok? Should I give it more time? It's only been about a week since his head skin came off.

The humidity ranges from 75-80, and his temps are normal, and evenly distributed (hot, warm, & cool). His temperaments normal and he's eating fine. Aside from the fact the skin is still there everything seems normal.

[albinos_rule]

It has been a week since he shed the skin on his head He should have been completely shed within an hour or so.

[Shamri]

When my snake had a bad shed, I was advised to help him if he was unable to finish by the next morning. From what I've heard, stuck shed should not be left on when it makes a complete band around the snake. It's simply too tight and can cause issues. Here is a link that was recently shared; it is a good tutorial with pictures, and it goes through how to help your snake shed. Hope it helps!

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...hed-No-problem

[KMG]

If that much shed skin is stuck your humidity is not 75-80.

I would not help the snake shed. You can hurt it doing that. What has worked for me in the past is misting the tank heavily and placing a damp towel in the cage for the snake to crawl through to moisten and loosen the stuck skin.

To help your future sheds you can place damp moss in the hides to create more humidity in the area the snake stays most of the time and will therefore benefit the most from it.

[infinitewaffle]

If that much shed skin is stuck your humidity is not 75-80.

I would not help the snake shed. You can hurt it doing that. What has worked for me in the past is misting the tank heavily and placing a damp towel in the cage for the snake to crawl through to moisten and loosen the stuck skin.

To help your future sheds you can place damp moss in the hides to create more humidity in the area the snake stays most of the time and will therefore benefit the most from it.

I think this is the best course of action. I was considering misting, but never considered the towel, good call lol I've been looking for a good place to buy damp moss for a while now. I tried Home Depot and the stuff they had was by the bale or drenched in miracle grow lol
As you said, I've also heard that removing the shed yourself can be harmful, so I'm going to pass on that one, respectfully.

Thank you for your prompt replies!

[albinos_rule]

Since it has been this long you may have to assist.....and yes it can be done if you are careful..I know "blah blah blah" ...and you have to especially pay attention to the tip of the tail. If the shed does not come off the tip it can restrict the blood flow, and the tip of the tail will fall off due to necrosis!!!

[KMG]

Once the dry skin is properly hydrated the snake should not require human intervention. Misting and the towel should do the trick.

As for moss I really like this. http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Frog-M.../dp/B0035Q65TQ

[Saber402]

A good shed should be finished in less than an hour if your humidity is correct. What are you using to measure humidity?

If you have a bad shed place the snake in a tall sterilite container, with a secure lid, and with just enough water to cover the body of the snake for 45 minutes to an hour. Then take a damp hand towel and let him run through it.

It is safe to assist a snake to shed. Just be sure, while letting him slip through the towel that you let him slip the shed off at his pace, and not pull it off, which could pull some scales loose.

I even have an adult normal male that will rub his head in our palm until he has the shed loose from both the top and bottom part of his head, and then completely shed in our hands. He has done this twice. Our guess is he must be that comfortable with us.

[infinitewaffle]

Ok guys, here's what I did...

1. Cleaned his tank out (which is just a plastic bin with holes in the top). Removed the hide, thermometer, hygrometer etc

2. Filled his tank with inch high water, warm, and let him swim around for about 10-15 mins

3. Took a wet wash cloth and let him glide through it

this got 90% of it off, except from the base of the neck and an half inch down. I held him and GENTLY rubbed the cloth on the spot, it came off eventually. Total time spent doing that alone - an hour lol I wanted to be careful.

I tried to avoid removing it myself but in the end it was necessary. My other BP just had a shed about a month ago, and his was smooth sailing. I basically did the exact same thing with this ones setup, so I'm really not sure why his shed was problematic/different. He liked to burrow under his newspaper a lot, so maybe the humidity wasn't getting to him properly? Either way, I ran out of newspaper and used some paper towels for the meantime, adjusted his set up a little, and he's acting normal. He's using his hide, and seems pretty content (before he wouldn't use his hide, just hide in the newspaper).

So all in all I used a combination of everyone's suggestions and it worked out just great!
Thanks everyone for your help! Couldn't have done it without you!