Shedding smell?

[engywook]

Hey,

My first shed! Polly (my female adult BP) shed today. I've had her in high humidity for the past week and bathed her in warm water yesterday (once her eyes had cleared). I'm pleased and proud and happy for her.

My only concern is the smell. I picked up a bit of shed skin (while it was still wet) and noticed that it reeks -- it reminds me somewhat of rotting fish. Is this normal or is my concern justified?

Thanks.

[elevatethis]

Did you unroll it completely? Sometimes they leave a prize inside the rolled up piece.

I've noticed that some of them pee a little bit when they shed, that's probably all you are smelling.

[Adam_Wysocki]

Totally normal ... wet shed skin STINKS ... especially when it's be soaking in a humid hide or water bowl overnight ... YUK!

Congrats on your first shed ... you did good!

-adam

[Shelby]

Yep.. stinky stinky! I unroll the ones that don't have surprise presents in them and hang them up to dry. They make nice decorations when they're dry and don't stink anymore.

[frankykeno]

Yep they reek. I'm starting to develop a nose for this I think LOL. I can walk into our new BP room and go..."okay who shed or sh....errr...defecated!"

[lillyorchid]

LOL my guy just shed too today/lastnight. I was too worried about the smell. Glad to know hat it is normal!

[new2BP]

my bp leaves me a surprise everytime he sheds.

[engywook]

No surprise for me, just shed-stink. Thanks for the reassurance, though. A friend of mine seems to remember being taught in a physiology class that snakes excrete uric acid to lubricate their old skin when shedding....that would definitely explain the stench.

She's seems to be a very happy snake -- she's been eating quite well recently (she was a bit thin when I got her) and is less nervous and shy than she used to be. My friend took some pics of her perched on me; I'll put them up as soon as I get a copy. ;-)

Another piece of good news: Monty finally ate! The previous care-taker told me he was on a month-long fast when I got him (which was about 3 weeks ago), so I'm really glad he's content enough to eat!

It's been a good week of herping for me! Now if I could only get my ants to co-operate a bit more...

[Ginevive]

I have noticed this before; especially with my BCI for some odd reason. I always figured that maybe the fluid from in between shed layers, before the shed occurs, was somehow trapped in the skin and bacteria attacked it before I had a chance to remove it. Just like sweat, alot of bodily fluids are odorless until bacteria start growing!