New BP owner paranoid with shedding

[Luraelyn]

I bought my first ball python (and first snake I have ever even touched!) on 09/25/19 from Mike Wilbanks, and she had eaten the day prior. She is a Pastel Sugar. I named her Willow and I adore her. She hasn't once hissed or tried to strike at me and seems extremely docile and curious the couple times I have handled her. I have been successfully feeding her two fuzzies at a time on Monday evenings, in fact, she is so aggressive and eager that when she strikes at the mice I jump and have even dropped the tongs before with how much it startles me.

I have two fuzzies left I am planning on feeding her tonight, and have already bought small mice to start her on next week. She was born on 07/10/2019, and as of 10/14/19 weighs 98g. I keep her in a plastic tub with an UTH with a thermostat that I set to 94. The first two weeks of having her I had the humidity at about 50-55%. During week two I left for a few days to visit my dad, and left my bp in my boyfriends care. He gave me daily updates about her humidity and temperature, which was 50% at the time.

When I returned on the 7th, I went to feed her and noticed that she was looking very wrinkly. I assumed that she was getting ready to shed due to there being skin peeled back under her jaw, but went ahead and fed her because she was in her "strike pose". She ate eagerly. The same night I also created a humidity box out of a food container and damp paper towels. I have only seen her go inside it once. A few days passed and I was concerned that she was looking even more wrinkly, and still not yet shedding. I began to do research and found the care sheets provided on this site, and decided to give her a 20 minute soak in shallow warm water to see if it helped, and afterwards ran her through a damp washcloth. A small piece of shed came off of her head, but nothing more seemed to budge. I taped up some holes in her tub and moved the water bowl to the warm side, and successfully bumped the humidity up to 65%. This was around 3 or 4 days ago. She is displaying all of the "shedding" behaviors, by rubbing her head on her water bowl and hides. She appears to have an eye cap off on one side, but the other one is looking dry. To me her skin looks loose and ready to come off.

Should I leave her alone and wait, or give her another soak? I did pick her up today to weigh her and take some photos to upload here, I hope that didn't mess it up even more. I don't want to stress her out, but I'm becoming worried that she has a fully retained shed or is dehydrated. I checked her for mites, and checked and washed her whole enclosure just in case and never found any. Should I wait and see if she sheds, soak her, or do I need to rush her to a veterinarian ASAP? I want to be the best snake mom I can be, and I'm worried I'm not doing a good job.


This was 09/25/19 the day I got her:


This was on 10/09/19 when I started to worry:


These two are as of 10/14/19:

[Godzilla78]

Dehydrated. The ambient humidity should be over 55% at all times.


Kaos Balls

[Luraelyn]

Dehydrated. The ambient humidity should be over 55% at all times.


Kaos Balls

I realized that when I got back from my trip and did more research. What I'm trying to do now is help her however I can, because I'm not sure bumping the humidity up to 65% was enough.

[Bogertophis]

I realized that when I got back from my trip and did more research. What I'm trying to do now is help her however I can, because I'm not sure bumping the humidity up to 65% was enough.

Part of the problem was that you fed her during shed: digestion requires extra hydration from a snake's body, and so does shedding (snakes secrete a bit of moisture
between the old & new skin prior to the old skin sloughing off), so for a snake with inadequate humidity, the meal complicated her shed. Many snakes (especially those
well-hydrated & with proper humidity) can "multi-task" pretty well, but when they don't have optimum humidity, that's where you get in trouble like this, for future ref.

If she was my snake, I'd give her another soak, then some time enclosed with a very damp towel or very damp moss for a while, & thereafter give her a humid
hide that she can access at will. But right now, it's mandatory...you need to help her "undress" 'cause it just doesn't get any easier when it's crinkled like this.

Better to wait for snakes to complete shedding than to feed because they look hungry, because IF they need help, the handling (shedding help) can cause a
regurgitation of their meal...so be especially gentle with any assistance. It just would have been better not to have to worry about a regurge, but it's done now.

[Luraelyn]

Part of the problem was that you fed her during shed: digestion requires extra hydration from a snake's body, and so does shedding (snakes secrete a bit of moisture
between the old & new skin prior to the old skin sloughing off), so for a snake with inadequate humidity, the meal complicated her shed. Many snakes (especially those
well-hydrated & with proper humidity) can "multi-task" pretty well, but when they don't have optimum humidity, that's where you get in trouble like this, for future ref.

If she was my snake, I'd give her another soak, then some time enclosed with a very damp towel or very damp moss for a while, & thereafter give her a humid
hide that she can access at will. But right now, it's mandatory...you need to help her "undress" 'cause it just doesn't get any easier when it's crinkled like this.

My understanding was that the water in the mouse would help re-hydrate the snake, which I found on some threads. I even found a recommendation that feeding bigger prey should help a snake shed, so I assumed it was alright to feed her. I certainly won't do so again. Because she's so small I didn't want to starve her... I guess that was my mistake. I feel terrible that I messed this up.

I did already provide her with a humid hide on 10/09/19, which she used once. I guess I'm going to go soak her now and hope it helps. Thank you for the advice!

[Bogertophis]

My understanding was that the water in the mouse would help re-hydrate the snake, which I found on some threads. I even found a recommendation that feeding bigger prey should help a snake shed, so I assumed it was alright to feed her. I certainly won't do so again. Because she's so small I didn't want to starve her... I guess that was my mistake. I feel terrible that I messed this up.

I did already provide her with a humid hide on 10/09/19, which she used once. I guess I'm going to go soak her now and hope it helps. Thank you for the advice!

No, about the "water in the mouse would help re-hydrate the snake"... it's really better to avoid feeding a snake that's shedding; many snakes instinctively refuse to eat, but even though a young snake is hungry & wants to eat, they do better doing "one thing at a time". It's not the end of the world though & you'll know better next time.

If in doubt (about feeding & the state of their hydration) wait it out... Feeding larger prey would just be THAT much HARDER. You can't believe everything you read online. A poorly hydrated snake that's fed larger prey is even MORE likely to regurgitate it...their body won't be able to handle it.

FYI, anyone taking in a "rescue snake" (in poor under-fed condition): hydration is always the first thing, only after that is addressed comes food. Without hydration, snakes cannot digest properly, & since regurgitation (especially of larger prey) can even KILL a snake, you want to preclude that from happening.

Your heart's in the right place, just need more experience & knowing who & what to believe online. Don't beat yourself up, we've all blown it at times. Myself & others here have been keeping snakes since before there were forums to ask.

[Bogertophis]

Especially when prey is thawed in water, some of us have pointed out that the extra moisture does help with hydration for the snake, but it's never enough to make up for the amount needed to digest; digestion requires extra moisture from the snake's body, & so does shedding. Doing both simultaneously is a bad idea for snakes whose humidity has not been optimal, OR, if their diet hasn't been adequate: for example, a poorly fed snake may need time to replenish their digestive enzymes...to do that requires good quality food & enough of it. (This is why snakes that have been fed pinky rodents when they should have moved up to more appropriately-sized prey may also have trouble shedding...it may not be a lack of hydration but due to a nutritional lack instead.)

[Luraelyn]

Alright, so I soaked her for about 45 minutes and spent a great deal of time working her shed off, and I got it off most of her body. I was unsuccessful with getting it off her head though. What should I do to help with the head?

[Bogertophis]

Personally, I assist (& persist). The head (eyes & chin esp.) are usually the most stuck. Be sure you check the tail tip though...a few sheds left on can cut off the
blood circulation causing tissue death & loss of tip. (it's already the part with the least circulation...like feet in humans) You can give her a break for a while though-
leave her in a container w/ damp towel (at warmish cage temps), mist her head now & then, etc. The longer you leave stuck shed, usually the harder it is to remove. Be very gentle about eye caps...they often come off as snakes slide thru terry towel after soaks/misting.

She's a pretty one, btw...& don't worry, she'll forgive you.

[Cheesenugget]

Alright, so I soaked her for about 45 minutes and spent a great deal of time working her shed off, and I got it off most of her body. I was unsuccessful with getting it off her head though. What should I do to help with the head?

If the shed is not stuck around its neck or by the tail area, relax. I'm assuming this is his first stuck shed? It takes several for it become serious.

This is what worked for me:

For the first 12 hours from the time I notice there is possible stuck shed, I leave it alone. Raise the humidity up to 70%, place something or make sure there is something rough for him to rub against (ie a small brick or blunt rock), move the water bowl half way to the UTH, cover the lid, etc. I let it do its thing. By the time I return, some stuck shed had been removed by the snake. This helps reduces the amount of time and work I need to get the stuck shed off= less stress on the snake.

Most likely after that period is over, you will need to get involved. Get a small tub and fill it with luke warm water. Only add enough water to soak the belly. I know it is very little but when I tried this with my bp when he was a baby, even though the water was very shallow, he stuffed his face underwater. Since then, I just don't trust them. I would gently pour the water to cover its either body from head to the tip of the tail. Close the lid of the tub and supervise for 15 min.

Find a rubber glove, or anything rubbery that you can hold and use. I like using the rubber brush that is sold for removing pet hair on furniture.

Remove snake and place it on a towel, with one hand holding and rubbing the towel against the belly when the snake moves around. With the other hand, use the rubber glove and gently rub the stuck shed area at the direction going from head to tail. Try not to peel it using your finger nails. If done correctly, the shed would come off easily in small pieces. Don't use the rubber item if the snake is dry.

For retained eye caps, I never had this issue so I can't help you with that but I have heard soaking helps as well. I don't like to touch the eyes, and while there are some who said you can use tape to remove them, for its first stuck eye cap, the risk of injury is too high.

Hopefully this helps solve some of your probs.