shed stuck in nose?

[floydzoo2009]

Hi all...I am new to not only balls but to this forum so please bare with me.
I bought my ball(16-18") at a local pet store last Sunday. I bought him in shed. The next day(Monday) I noticed small pieces of skin throughout his enclosure. By Wednesday of that week, only his top half was shed, and a small piece on his nose. Someone on another forum suggested that I soak him to remove the shed, which I did. The skin came off in minutes afterward except for the piece on his nose. I have seen him repeatedly rub his nose against the wire screen on his tank. Which I believe he removed most of it. We had him out 2 days ago(Sat. night) and noticed that he would open his mouth and make a "pop" sound. He did this a few times and we put him back in his tank. I'm wanting to know if this could be that he just still has some skin left in his nose or if this could possibly be a respiratory infection. I haven't noticed any discharge or wheezing, but that could crop up later from what I've read. I've had issues with the humidity in his tank b/c of the wire top so I put in a shed box (plastic tub with moist coco bedding). Has anyone dealt with this before? Should I bump up the temp in his cage just to be on the safe side? His current temps are mid 80's hotside w/ basking 90-92. any help is very much appreciated!!

[mattramsfan]

i recently just bought a ball also and like a week after we got him he started to shed... he had some skin stuck in his nose and he made popping noises. he did eventually get it out of his nose and now he is fine. i dont think it is a RI. RI is noticeable. as far as temps go... if his temps are correct on the hot side and cool side then there wouldnt be a reason to make it hotter. i also have a wire top on my cage and i cover half of the lid with plastic wrap and that hold the humidity pretty well.... hope this helps

[Slim]

I have seen him repeatedly rub his nose against the wire screen on his tank.

You need to explain this a little further, or post a picture. Wire screen enclosures are in no way suitable for Ball Pythons. On the other hand, if you are trying to discribe a wire mesh top on a standard glass tank, that's a different story. But if that's the case, I have to ask how an 18 inch BP is able to get up to the mesh and have enough body control left to effectively rub his nose against it?

Sounds like you have some humidity issues, and I have no doubt the pet store you bought this guy from had humidity issues due to his bad shed.

Please explain or post pics of your set up, and we can go from there. The shed issue is actually minor at this point and will easily correct it's self with proper husbandry.

[floydzoo2009]

I'm sorry I didn't clarify...I meant screen top on his tank. I'm not sure how to post pictures on this forum but there is a rock hide in his tank that he climbed on and was able to rub his nose against the screen. He has also been able to get himself in the rim between lid and top of tank(which is locked). Here's his setup in a nutshell:
29gal glass tank w/ screen lid and locks
coco bark as substrate
heat mat
flourescent strip light
spot lamp w/ 75W bulb
2 rock hides (one hot, one cool)
1 lg water dish
1 humid hide located in middle of tank (moist coco bedding)
humidity gage and thermometers w/probes
3 sides of tank covered
I think I've covered it all, if anything else would help let me know!!! thanks for your help!!!!

[Slim]

Wow, that's quite an acrobatic BP you have there. Don't sweat the shed too much. If you need to help him get the rest off, wet a pillow case, and let him crawl around in it for about an hour. Should help him rub off any remaining shed. Works especially well for the nose and head area.

Keep your humidity right in his new enclosure, and you won't have any trouble with his next shed. Sounds like you have a very good set up so far.

[frankykeno]

It'll probably be more stress on the snake (and you) to fuss at a bit of stuck shed on her face. With good husbandry practises and a nice complete shed next time, it will likely come off then. Just keep an eye on that area and of course monitor the snake if the situation changes and you suspect it's more than a simple thing like this.

Here's a helpful link to teach you all about the shed cycle so you can recognize it and react accordingly. Mesh lidded glass tanks are a bit tough to manage when it comes to humidity issues so if you find you are having problems with that, there's a ton of good advice threads on that too.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...=332195#332195

[Alicia Kesler]

I did have a similar issue. My bp got some shed stuck in her left nostril and it came out after her next shed (although she got shed stuck in the other nostril, which I then had to help her take out with tweezers) in my case it wasn't dry like stuck shed is, just pushed in deeper than I would've liked. It came out kinda like a blackhead does, so it was kinda satisfying lol

[Bogertophis]

I did have a similar issue. My bp got some shed stuck in her left nostril and it came out after her next shed (although she got shed stuck in the other nostril, which I then had to help her take out with tweezers) in my case it wasn't dry like stuck shed is, just pushed in deeper than I would've liked. It came out kinda like a blackhead does, so it was kinda satisfying lol

Did you notice, by any chance, that this thread is from 2009?