The Problem with Bathing?

[John1982]

I've seen quite a few posts here that almost scold people who give their balls a bath right before or while they shed. However, none of the people doing the scolding ever say why you shouldn't soak your snake. Long story short, why are you not supposed to soak the snake?

Easy enough to demonstrate if you have a fresh snake skin. It should feel kind of wet, kind of sticky, kind of slimy. Those are the oils they produce to aid in shedding - bathing simply washes all of that away.

Does the answer change with special cases? My friend has a rescued ball python who had gotten chewed up from a rat and so has quite a few messed up scales by his tail (and the old wounds reopen when there are things in his cage to rub against.) This is a ball python who almost never sheds on one piece. The one time he did was so surprising for her that she called her sister (who is a vet whom specializes in reptiles) and had an hour long conversation with her about it. She has to soak the snake and then sit with him and help him rub his skin off. Sulu simply won't shed properly without opening his old wounds, unless he's soaked.

Snakes don't need a rough surface to shed. It makes the task a bit easier if they have one but they will find a way out of that old skin regardless. If your friend just provided proper humidity instead of soaking she'd probably get those whole sheds more often.