Shedding Advice Needed, Please Provide It!

Hey everyone.

My 6 month old Amel Salazar is having a few problems with shedding. Now he's shed most of his skin, up to the last few inches of his tail. However, it has been in this same spot for about 5 days, and he shed the rest of his skin in the reptile shop that I left him with for the week when I went away.

What can I do to remove this last bit of skin, he ate comfortably three days ago and has pooped since, but he's still fiesty and when I went to clean out his tank today, I picked him up, held him for a little while, and he decided to strike.

Since then I have provided a damp box which he has gone in to (most of his body anyway!) Now he lives in a one piece plastic (I think it's 20 gallon) tank, and paper towel is used as a substrate. The area in which I live has very low humidity, and his water bowl is placed on the cold side of his tank, so is there anything else I can do to help him shed?

When he grows to full size I'm going to give him an awesome viv' with branches and maybe a few plants which should help with the humidity (I'll take the necessary precautions first), along with a 'real' substrate.

So, apart from a damp box, what else can I do to aid him with his shedding?

You can try handling him in a damp hand towel or washcloth and has he moves through it, gently apply a bit of pressure (just the slightest resistance... enough to give that last bit of skin something to snag on) and see if that will help roll it off.

Okay thanks, he's still in his damp box, so when he moves out of it I may give that a try. Would that be a key reason as to why he's so snappy?

A lot of corns get snappy when in shed, so probably. Also, it really is imporant that you get that last bit of shed off as it can cut off circulation and cause the tail tip to decay and sloth off.

Okay thanks, wow, that's got me really worried now. So after he comes out do you recommend that I pick him up with a damp cloth and let him run through it whilst I apply gentle pressure?

Other's here know a LOT more than I, but if he's hiding cuz he's grumpy and he's grumpy cuz of the incomplete shed, you'll probably have to disturb him some to get him out and try the washcloth trick. BEFORE you do that, though, please wait till someone with more experience 'seconds' the motion. Good luck!

The cloth could work, though it might be a bit difficult to get it of the tail tip. What might be easier is bathing him (head above water, of course) to really soften the skin. Then take a rough towel and apply a bit of pressure while letting the snake slide through it. And if it doesn't come out be tomarrow, I would take him out to do this. (I don't have any first-hand experience with this either, so I could use some backing up as well.)

I got that kind of a piece of skin off my snake with a wet cotton pad, the kind they yuse to remove makeup. I'm sure a piece of kitchen roll would do too. Just sort of stroked/rubbed it gently off the tail after it got a little wet.

I just tried to do it with a wet cloth and I don't think anything happened, but he went mad and nearly escaped twice, how can I hold him and get it off if he won't let me?

Just let him do the work for you. Instead of him not letting you grab his tail with the cloth, try letting him go through it like it was a glove on your hand, starting halfway or so down the body and just letting him slide through it.

When this happens with my snakes I put them in a warm bath in a "critter keeper" (one of those little plastic cages for small animals. I leave a washcloth in the bottom and make sure the water isn't too deep... for a small corn less than an inch is fine.

Critter keeper:

wax32 said:

When this happens with my snakes I put them in a warm bath in a "critter keeper" (one of those little plastic cages for small animals. I leave a washcloth in the bottom and make sure the water isn't too deep... for a small corn less than an inch is fine.

Click to expand...

I agree.

A method that was shown to me a long time ago and always seem to work when done with care is using a pencil erasure to rub gently on the stuck shed.

to add to the damp cloth, prior to the handling soak you snake a few minutes in tepid water to first soften the shed. be sure the water only covers the depth of the body and monitor for safety sake. water should barely be warm, remember water on a warm blooded animal feels cooler than on a cold blooded one. as soon as you pull him from the water use the damp cloth trick and all should be well. good luck

Thanks for all your help guys, I'll try that later when I get home.

If you have a damp washcloth in each hand, dampened with slightly warm water, and (agreeing with the reply above here...) rather than grabbing his tail, use the fact that the snake is shooting about to your advantage, just keep him in your hands and keep switching hands everytime he slithers off off one... if you get what I mean lol a bit confusing to explain.

I'd like to add that soaking the snake first for a good 10 minutes will make this far more effective. I've solved this problem many times by soaking and then using a slightly damp paper towel. You then pinch and let him crawl though and the skin will slide right off. You know if the skin is still on because by now it's probably turned a little bit yellow.