Our new baby shed last night but ....

[tonsofpets]

a very small amount did not come off, the rest came off in one piece. I raised the humidity a bit to see if he couldn't get it off.
With our Rosy boas when they dont shed all the way or have a problem we put them in with some warm moist paper towels and it's off in about 5 min (one of them sheds great the other never does *sigh*). Can I do that with the Ball also? As I said it is a very very small amount that is still left on, the rest came off awsome.

Kris

[daniel1983]

yep that will work with ball pythons too. If you have an extra hide or something like that around, put the moist paper towels in the hide and presto....humid hide. I am a big supporter of humid hides. All you have to do is put some damp paper towels in a plastic hide (i use gladware with an access hole cut in it) and set in the enclosure during shed time. Since I have started doing this, I have had all perfect sheds. Hope that answers your question.

....and unless the retained shed is a retained eye cap, I would not really worry about it. That little piece will come off with the next shed.

[Marla]

....and unless the retained shed is a retained eye cap, I would not really worry about it. That little piece will come off with the next shed.

Agreed, unless it completely encircles any part of the body, as it could be constricting (oh the irony ).

[daniel1983]

thanks marla I forgot about encircling the body. I always make sure of this especially around the tip of the tail. You dont want snakes(or any reptile) with a nub of a tail

[Isshinharu]

Agreed, unless it completely encircles any part of the body, as it could be constricting (oh the irony ).

I learn something new everyday. Thanks.

[Isshinharu]

I've heard that you can use mineral oil to soften up/moisterize and retained shed to help it come off. Is this advised? To me, I would think that a humid hide as mentioned above would probably be the best bet, but would mineral oil be a good supplement?

[tonsofpets]

It's just a small amount under his chin and not around his body at all, tail and eyes look good.

Kris

[daniel1983]

mineral oil is a last resort to aid in retained eye caps, but other than that I do not think it is really necessary especially if you have a humid hide or soak or keep a good humidity level.

[Adam_Wysocki]

but would mineral oil be a good supplement?

I've tried it in the past ... never worked for me.

I've never had a piece of stuck shed that a soak for an hour or so a couple of nights in a row wouldn't take off.

Humid hides are a really great solution as well.

-adam