The Problem with Bathing?

[Ufoo9k]

I'm happy to have come accross this post! I never read anywhere that it was bad to bathe a snake during shed (never had a problem so never looked it up) so its good to see that it should be done. Though the reason why is never really explained so its good to have it written somewhere.

[Sauzo]

As others have posted, bathing during sheds is a bad idea. I did it once and it actually messed up my BPs shed and she had problems getting it off in one piece which then did require a bath to help her get it all off. As for when not in shed, I actually do give all 3 of my snakes soaks in luke warm water in their totes and they actually seem to like it. They will dunk themselves and sit underwater for about a minute then surface and relax their head on their body and lounge around. they actually don't even try to get out lol. But all of my snakes get LOTS of out of cage time so they are all very comfortable sitting on the couch, bed, me or just about anywhere in the house. I would imagine if your snake didn't get much outdoor time and wasn't used to being handled, a soak in a tote could be very stressful.

[treaux]

As others have posted, bathing during sheds is a bad idea. I did it once and it actually messed up my BPs shed and she had problems getting it off in one piece which then did require a bath to help her get it all off. As for when not in shed, I actually do give all 3 of my snakes soaks in luke warm water in their totes and they actually seem to like it. They will dunk themselves and sit underwater for about a minute then surface and relax their head on their body and lounge around. they actually don't even try to get out lol. But all of my snakes get LOTS of out of cage time so they are all very comfortable sitting on the couch, bed, me or just about anywhere in the house. I would imagine if your snake didn't get much outdoor time and wasn't used to being handled, a soak in a tote could be very stressful.

What do you mean by tote?

I don't really bathe my snakes and they all have great sheds. Sometimes if they make a huge mess I hold them and run luke-warm water over them to clean them up (and they do seem to enjoy it). They also seem to enjoy going for a swim and I let them do it purely recreationally once in a while (which often ends with a big poop).

As for sheds, just keep their humidity up and they will be fine. I like the suggestion posted elsewhere of putting a wet paper towel folded up in their hide with them to make it more humid. I haven't had to try that, but it seems like it would work.

[Zincubus]

As others have posted, bathing during sheds is a bad idea. I did it once and it actually messed up my BPs shed and she had problems getting it off in one piece which then did require a bath to help her get it all off. As for when not in shed, I actually do give all 3 of my snakes soaks in luke warm water in their totes and they actually seem to like it. They will dunk themselves and sit underwater for about a minute then surface and relax their head on their body and lounge around. they actually don't even try to get out lol. But all of my snakes get LOTS of out of cage time so they are all very comfortable sitting on the couch, bed, me or just about anywhere in the house. I would imagine if your snake didn't get much outdoor time and wasn't used to being handled, a soak in a tote could be very stressful.

Great post .

There is a time for a soak though imho and it's AFTER a poor shed of course .. a short 30 minute soak and then let the snake slide through a damp , textured hand towel will easily remove any excess skin ..

[Sauzo]

What do you mean by tote?

I don't really bathe my snakes and they all have great sheds. Sometimes if they make a huge mess I hold them and run luke-warm water over them to clean them up (and they do seem to enjoy it). They also seem to enjoy going for a swim and I let them do it purely recreationally once in a while (which often ends with a big poop).

As for sheds, just keep their humidity up and they will be fine. I like the suggestion posted elsewhere of putting a wet paper towel folded up in their hide with them to make it more humid. I haven't had to try that, but it seems like it would work.

I use Sterilite bins or totes, whatever you want to call them. You can buy them from Home Depot, Walmart, Target. I use the big 66qt one for my large boa and I use 32qt ones for both my yearling boa and my BP. I just fill them high enough to just cover the snakes or a little bit higher. Then I put down a sheet of R-Type foam insulation that I cut to fit on the floor and then put the bin of water on top of it so it holds the heat in the bin. Then I put the snake in and let them lounge around for about 30 mins or so. At first they were scared of it but after a couple times, they are used to it and seem to like it now and like I said, will lounge in there and go under water and "swim" and then just loosely coil up and put there head on their body and relax. The bins are actually for when/if my power goes out in the winter and I'm forced to pack everyone up in bins and transport them into my car and run the heater to keep everyone warm until my power comes back on but they double as great "bath tubs" too.

[Sauzo]

Great post .

There is a time for a soak though imho and it's AFTER a poor shed of course .. a short 30 minute soak and then let the snake slide through a damp , textured hand towel will easily remove any excess skin ..

Thanks and yeah after a poor shed is a must time. I've only had 1 poor shed from all 3 of them ever and it was from the time I soaked my BP when she was in shed and I didn't notice it. Hard to see the signs on a high white pied BP if you aren't looking. I thought she was shedding because she was pink but I didn't really pay attention. Anyways, yeah she had a bad shed then. Was easy to rectify though as she was more than happy to rub her head on my hand and fingers to get the shed off her head and her one stuck eyecap. Didn't even need a towel lol. But I do give all my snakes regular soaks for about 30 mins every month or so since they do seem to like it. Now if they push on the top a lot I just take them out. Its kind of like when I let them lounge on the couch or my bed at night, if they try to dig into the blankets, that's a sign they don't want to be out. When they want to be out, they will usually stretch out on me or half on me with their heads hanging off the edge of the bed looking at the floor like in ambush mode lol.