New snake having bad shed!!

[B.P.'s 4me]

My new boy started pre shed behavior last Sunday, about 10 days after he arrived. I increased humidity in his tank to between 59 - 70 %. and provided a water bowl large enough for him to soak in.... but will mention I've never seen him in the water bowl, or even drinking from it. His eyes got cloudy 5 days ago for 3 days, then were clear for the past couple of days. This morning he had a few little pieces of shed skin under his hide but the rest of him was un shed with bits and pieces sticking out and his head hasn't shed at all. I immediately gave him a 20 minute soak in warm water and was able to remove most of the skin at the rear of his body.... it came off in small peices, but he still has his eye caps and hasn't shed the front portion of his body except for in a few random, small (smaller than a postage stamp) spots. Any suggestions? Just as an aside. I took some photos of him a few days after he arrived, and when editing I really enlarged a couple. It looked very much like he had a bit of old skin on one eye but this wasn't noticeable at all viewing him with the naked eye. I'm wondering if perhaps this isn't his first bad shed.

[tttaylorrr]

get a damp towel, place the snake on one side and wrap the other side over him. allow the snake to slither and, using your hands on the towel over him, apply pressure to help the skin come off. if you can't get the rest of it off, wait for the next shed and ensure the snake has the proper humidity he needs to complete the shed.

for the eye caps: you could try using a wet cotton swab to try and work it off. DO NOT USE TAPE, EVER.

i'd be worried about the stuck eye caps before any small spots of stuck shed on the body.

[Mr. Misha]

Next time, don't soak your BP. You're removing essential oils that help your BP shed. Additionally, I WOULDN'T recommend touching his eyes at all. You can possibly do more damage than good.

Boost the humidity in the terrarium and let him do his thing. You can also put some damp paper towels or spoghum moss in a tuppaware and let him stay there for a bit (make sure he's supervised).

Here's a great thread on what to do with bad sheds:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=74290

[B.P.'s 4me]

Next time, don't soak your BP. You're removing essential oils that help your BP shed.

Additionally, I wouldn't recommend touching his eyes. You can possibly do more damage than good.

Boost the humidity in the terrarium and let him do his thing. You can also put some damp paper towels or spoghum moss in a tuppaware and let him stay there for a bit.

Here's a great thread on what to do with bad sheds:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=74290

Thank you for the link. Good suggestion re. soaking, never even thought of that...... but, wouldn't the same thing happen when the snake soaked itself, and some soak a lot. Yes, the eye caps worry me as I agree with you that touching them likely isn't a good idea, but I think it's important that the dead skin comes off. I'll try the damp paper towel suggestion. Thank you.

[B.P.'s 4me]

get a damp towel, place the snake on one side and wrap the other side over him. allow the snake to slither and, using your hands on the towel over him, apply pressure to help the skin come off. if you can't get the rest of it off, wait for the next shed and ensure the snake has the proper humidity he needs to complete the shed.

for the eye caps: you could try using a wet cotton swab to try and work it off. DO NOT USE TAPE, EVER.

i'd be worried about the stuck eye caps before any small spots of stuck shed on the body.

I did try the damp towel thing, but the skin isn't loose enough to peel off that way. I am worried about the eye caps but not sure how to get them off without risking eye damage. I'd never heard of the tape idea and agree that it sounds like a very bad plan.

[Mr. Misha]

Thank you for the link. Good suggestion re. soaking, never even thought of that...... but, wouldn't the same thing happen when the snake soaked itself, and some soak a lot. Yes, the eye caps worry me as I agree with you that touching them likely isn't a good idea, but I think it's important that the dead skin comes off. I'll try the damp paper towel suggestion. Thank you.

Yes, technically you're right. However, in my experience, it's rare for a snake to soak before or during a shed. In five years, I've only seen the behaviour a handful of times. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Mine usually take a bath in order to defecate.

You can also throw some damp paper towels in the enclosure. It will provide some humidity as well as something to coarse to rub against (another reason why i like spoghum moss).

[Sunnieskys]

Does the top of his head still have old skin? I had to do this at work with a snake that didn't shed her head at all with eye caps still on. Dip your finger in water and get the top of her head wet then try peeling it up then pull it off. I got the entire head piece off including eye caps. Coolest thing ever lol. I also used a damp towel on top of her head too.

[B.P.'s 4me]

Yes, technically you're right. However, in my experience, it's rare for a snake to soak before or during a shed. In five years, I've only seen the behaviour a handful of times. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Mine usually take a bath in order to defecate.

You can also throw some damp paper towels in the enclosure. It will provide some humidity as well as something to coarse to rub against (another reason why i like spoghum moss).

I'm doing everything I can to increase humidity in the tank. There's a damp terrycloth towel covering the lid and styrafoam on top of that to keep the moisture within the tank, I've also filled a large saucer (about 10 in) with soaked mulch for the inside of the enclosure as well. There's a rough edged rock to scrape agaisnt, although I haven't seen him doing that. One of his hides is actually a brown paper bag which I spritz several times a day. Since I acquired this animal less than 2 wks. before his shed and have been monitoring temps. and humidity levels VERY closely, I'm wondering if there may be factors from his previous husbandry that might be contributing to his shed issues. Are bad sheds strictly a result of humidity or are there other things that I can do to help? He does seem lean to me and fed enthusiastically for me, but the first meal was several days after his arrival, as per instructions, and less than a week after that he was in shed. Yesterday afternoon (before he shed) his eyes had cleared and he was out of his hide and active so I offered him a meal and he immediately took it. IF (and I'm not making any accusations) he had been underfed, would that affect his shed?

[B.P.'s 4me]

Yes, top of head and upper part of neck has old skin on it. Have tried doing as you suggested but a.) he keeps pulling his head away and b.) the skin doesn't seem as loose as I'd expect it to be, it's not coming off easily.

[Mr. Misha]

I'm doing everything I can to increase humidity in the tank. There's a damp terrycloth towel covering the lid and styrafoam on top of that to keep the moisture within the tank, I've also filled a large saucer (about 10 in) with soaked mulch for the inside of the enclosure as well. There's a rough edged rock to scrape agaisnt, although I haven't seen him doing that. One of his hides is actually a brown paper bag which I spritz several times a day. Since I acquired this animal less than 2 wks. before his shed and have been monitoring temps. and humidity levels VERY closely, I'm wondering if there may be factors from his previous husbandry that might be contributing to his shed issues. Are bad sheds strictly a result of humidity or are there other things that I can do to help? He does seem lean to me and fed enthusiastically for me, but the first meal was several days after his arrival, as per instructions, and less than a week after that he was in shed. Yesterday afternoon (before he shed) his eyes had cleared and he was out of his hide and active so I offered him a meal and he immediately took it. IF (and I'm not making any accusations) he had been underfed, would that affect his shed?

The bad shed can DEFINITELY come from previous husbandry mistakes. I honestly wouldn't worry too much. Just provide your BP with the "tools" he can use in order to get the shed off. They usually figure it out. Seems like he's eating for you so that's great! Just be careful with over-wetting everything. You don't want to develop mold.