Bad Sheds

[Christen]

I know that all of us at one time or another have dealt with a bad shed and I know that some of you have had really bad sheds. Well the really bad ones are my question. One of my hatchlings that I am keeping this year just had a really bad shed. She is missing scales in a thin line down her back that is about 3 inches long and a few other spots. Now I know that this is going to sound superficial but I am going to ask it anyway. :) When they do that to them selfs are you able to tell that there is a scar there? Just wondering, don't really care but I was not sure if it was like us getting a little cut. If you look closely can you still see where it was? :shrugs:

[durrn]

Wow, I didn't realize a bad shed could cause that kind of damage. What causes that, other than low humidity?

[Christen]

Most of the time it is moisture. I have seen them rub their necks instead of their head so the shed starts at the neck and leaves the head behind. I have seen them go back into there skin so their shed is still on them inside out. Sometimes an injury can cause them to have bad sheds until they have shed out the skin that was injured. Or it can just be as simple as the skin got caught on something in the viv. I think she is going to be my very first one that I have to soak before sheds. This is her 3rd shed and they were all bad just this is the first one that she pulled scales off or any of mine for that matter.

[wretchedprocess]

My little Worm had an epic bad shed where he pulled a couple of scales off his head, failed to get the rest off, and was bleeding and shivering. There's a thread about it somewhere, but I'm on my iPhone, so searching is up to you if you're interested. Anyway, what's ended up happening is just that he went into a faster shed cycle, I have to watch and help him out, and it seems to be healing just fine. He's a snow, and from what I hear when they do scar it tends to be white, but these scales were on the pink part of his head, and you can no longer really tell it happened at this point. We've yet to reach that perfect shed, but he's getting better every time!

I give him a humid hide when he starts a shed cycle, and earlier on I was treating him twice a day (then just daily) with neosporin, the kind without pain medicine. I took him off his aspen and kept him on newsprint until there was nothing for the Aspen to stick to anymore. Beyond that, I just keep a close eye on him, and when he tries to shed and only gets part of it, I get the rest for him. I'm hoping one day he makes it back to normal, healthy shedding, but even if he doesn't, he isn't ripping off scales anymore, so it's all right-- fingers crossed. Bad sheds are a lot less scary than they seem at first, even the REALLY bad ones, once you get a system for handling them. And the lovely people on this site are very helpful too! Nanci was kind of Worm's Guardian Angel when he started having these problems. I hope yours turns out all right too!

[Christen]

I am glad so hear that your little worm is doing well. My snow female got caught on a branch in her tank and did a little damage one. To this day if you look very close you can see where the scales are closer together. It is not like I have never had a bad shed before but this is the first time in 20 years that I have had a snake "wax" the scales right of his back which I guess that by it's self is amazing how many snakes that I have dealt with. I guess that we will see what will happen to my little girl, if her scales stay smaller like her ma ma's.