Help with some head shed?

[Bogertophis]

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Thanks to all for your helps! I am very curious about the pillow case method... If someone else can be credit that, I think that I'll try it because it seems the easy way! (and for me also the safiest, I really don't know exactly how to hold my BP in this cases, he moves a lot and I have lot of fear in case I squeeze him too much)
I checked the tail and he didn't have any shed!

Mh... Some tips for doing that without any bite? Last time that I try to pick him for maintenance when he was in shed, it didn't work so well :')
By the way, I contacted the vet the time that I wrote that topic which you are talking about because I was very worried about scales, if I remember correctly some of them are visible also in the previous post. I explained her what you guys told me and she used UV for check if the snake have some kind of fungal infection. For her, he didn't have nothing, but if I remember correctly BP didn't have so much shiny scales before the shed... So I really don't know...

I have one snake that really dislikes handling- he's a Korean rat snake, but acts like a "racer"- he's big (6'), strong & will not sit still, plus will randomly nip to remind you that he's not into being held. For the first time ever (he's 14 yrs), he recently had a bad shed* & I tried the "damp pillow case method" for him- it worked like a charm, & the best part was, he didn't "take it personal"-

So yes, I'll vouch for the method, even though I rarely ever use it, because none of my other snakes mind being held (gently restrained for whatever reason). I find that with most snakes, even if they don't "like" what I'm doing, they don't feel threatened enough to bite & they just "put up with me". That goes for help with shedding or medical issues- it's not an issue for me. Snakes know the difference between predators or just "pesky owners", lol. My snakes get handled with gentle persistence- I just do what needs doing. I've never once in decades of keeping many snakes had a snake bite me for helping them shed- honest! It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I usually just soak them first in a ventilated container, then manually assist. They may squirm but they don't bite.

With your BP- I'm not sure I'd soak the whole snake just for a spot on his head- but sometimes a pillow case or towel might help you wrap to restrain a snake too- you sound as if you're just a little afraid of your snake (or at least his bite?). The calmer & more "matter of fact" you are when handling a snake, the better (more relaxed) they usually are. You don't want them to feel as if they're under attack- I find that when I'm focused on fixing their issue, they seem to sense I'm just trying to help, & let me do whatever I need to. (Snakes IN "blue" ARE typically grumpy- but yours has shed now- all but that spot- so it shouldn't be an issue now.)

*The Korean rat snake's bad shed was due to being fed too close to a shed cycle that he hadn't clouded up for as yet, so I didn't know NOT to feed him. FYI- both shedding & digestion requires good hydration, so some snakes have trouble doing both at the same time- usually, they prioritize digestion but then shed in pieces that stick. Remember that normally their body secretes moisture between the old & new skin to facilitate the shedding process- so that's the part that may not happen effectively when they're also busy digesting- & that's why the skin gets stuck. (The other thing that "can" happen but usually doesn't- if their body has already secreted the moisture to shed, but then they're fed but are too dehydrated to digest- they might regurgitate/vomit their food. This is why snakes often instinctively refuse food when in shed- & it's best we take their word for it.)

I don't know that UV works for verifying a fungal infection on a snake's skin- I just know that looks like what a snake of mine (many years ago & diagnosed by my vet at the time) had, & what worked was a topical application of an antifungal liquid (1% miconazole). It does take quite a while to clear up- fungal infections are persistent, so you have to dab it on daily (or B.I.D.) for quite a while- but that worked on my snake. BPs are a little bit prone to this, I think, because skin fungus thrives in warm & humid environments- just as BPs do. Without antifungal treatment, those little spots on my snake never shed away, & finally got worse (started to spread), so treatment was necessary- & happily, effective. The affected scales (seen with magnification) have a rougher texture- so it makes sense to me that's perhaps why the shedding skin got stuck there.