• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Shedding Question

S

sharks4444

New member
My baby corn started to shed on Sunday. Last night the pieces of shed where still on him, so I helped him get the rest of it off. Is this bad to do? Should I have left him to get it off himself? This was the second time he shed with me and the first time his shed came off in one piece. This time his shed came off in several pieces.
 
Although it is very important to remove a partial/stuck shed, due to the fact it can cause restriction of circulation, I would not suggest removing a stuck shed without making it moist first, so here's a link to a great solution for problem sheds.............

http://cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56170&highlight=bad/incomplete+shed

If this doesn't remove the shed first go, then just repeat the process and then gentley let the snake run through the wet washcloth again until it is all off.

One other point to mention, if you notice a stuck shed just after feeding, then wait for 48 to 72 hours for the corn to digest it's feed first, before attempting to help remove the shed, otherwise you could stress it out and cause a regurge, which is not good.

If you continue to have problems with partial sheds, then you could make a moist/humid hide out of a plastic tupperware/sterilite container. All you do is cut a hole in the side or lid to allow your snake to crawl inside and fill it with moist sphagnum moss. You then place the humid hide into your corns cage when he/she shows signs of going into blue (the pre-shed phase) and he will use it if he/she needs to.

Hope that helps if you have problems in the future :)
 
On Sunday when I saw that he had started to shed I rubbed a shedding aid on him. I checked him on Monday and the same pieces were still on him. I put the shed aid on him again. Last night when I got home from work still the same so I soaked him in warm water(he hates water so I had to watch him and all he did was try to get out of the container I had him in), so I just held him while I dripped water over him. He eventually calmed down. I kept my fingers closer together then ususal and he pushed his way thru them and the shed started to come off. Whenever he started to feel dry I dripped more water over him. I just dont understand how his first shed came off so nice and this one was such a trial for him.
 
Why now? Is it colder now than when he first shed with you? do you now have your heating on? This would cause the ambient humidity to be lower in your house and he may just need a little boost of humidity, ie a humid hide, during the winter to help him shed successfully :)

Also I'd like to point out that "warm" water to you, would feel boiling to your snake, which might explain his aversion to it, next time just use tepid/cool water. Better still, if you have a thermometer with probe then use that to test the temp of the water, it should be around 80*F :)
 
The water I used is the water I put in his water dish that is at room temp so it wasnt from the sink or anything. He just hates it.
 
sharks4444 said:
On Sunday when I saw that he had started to shed I rubbed a shedding aid on him. I checked him on Monday and the same pieces were still on him. I put the shed aid on him again. Last night when I got home from work still the same so I soaked him in warm water(he hates water so I had to watch him and all he did was try to get out of the container I had him in), so I just held him while I dripped water over him. He eventually calmed down. I kept my fingers closer together then ususal and he pushed his way thru them and the shed started to come off. Whenever he started to feel dry I dripped more water over him. I just dont understand how his first shed came off so nice and this one was such a trial for him.
Click to expand...

sharks4444 said:
The water I used is the water I put in his water dish that is at room temp so it wasnt from the sink or anything. He just hates it.
Click to expand...


Sorry, because you said in the first post quoted here, that you used warm water to soak him in, I thought you meant warm water. I'm sure you wouldn't put warm water in his drinking bowl ;)

It may be a good idea to try out a humid hide, if the misting doesn't seem to be helping when he's in shed :)
 
Well, he may just have had a funny shed, my tanks sit around the same humidity as yours and I've never had a shed problem, and I don't spray or use humid hides :shrugs:

You could just wait and see what his next shed is like and just be prepared to help him if he needs it. If he has the same problem, then try out the humid hide :)
 
I just wanted to say that your help was great my little one is getting ready to shed for the first time since I got him so I am alittle worried but I liked all your sugestions and I hope he won't have problems since none of mine ever have. corn shed so much better then other snakes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top