Blizzard shedding headache

[Stygian Faerie]

I've a 4 year old Blizzard who is the biggest pain when it comes to shedding. I've had him for a year now and he's never managed to shed fully by himself yet!
He's a very shy snake and when he's ready to shed he just hides so he ends up becoming really dehydrated and "crinkly". I have to bath him every time he goes to shed and I'm wondering if I'll have to do this his entire life. He also goes into blue every 3/4 weeks.
He's currently in a 2ft viv as anything bigger terrified him, I've tried misting, I've tried damp hides, I've put tonnes of plastic plants all over the place to make him feel more secure and I've tried taking some out in case it was too much for him. I've given him different materials to rub against...
What am I doing wrong here? I've been keeping corns for 8 years and I've never had such a problem before :(

[Nanci]

I would try covering the screen lid of the viv with plastic wrap, loosely, and misting daily when he goes blue.

Alternately, you could think about keeping him in a plastic bin in a rack. He might feel more secure, and the loss of humidity is much less in a rack, plus you can further control the loss by making fewer ventilation holes in his bin.

It's interesting that he goes blue once a month. At his age he "should" be shedding about four times a year. How often/what is he eating?

[dave partington]

my 3 yr old blizzard has spent most of her life hiding. She has a flat bottomed 6 qt sterilite feeding bin in her viv. She comes out, feeds, and then sandwiches herself between the bottom of the feeding tub and the bottom of the viv. I guess she feels secure with a lot of her body in contact with other surfaces. She also has a big porcelain glazed casserole dish of water; humidity is plentiful. Never had a shed problem.
I don't think it's you that is doing anything wrong. Have you ever put him in a cotton, low thread count (so he can still have fresh air) , moist pillow case? I use this method for snakes having messy sheds upon occasion.

[SnakeAround]

I have the same problem with a '11 female at the moment. She had been shedding regularly, normally and in one piece, until the latest time. She got way crinkly, her nose was clicking when breathing, she opened her mouth a bit because of the tension. I bathed her and the shed came off quite easily once it got soaked and it came off in about 3 pieces only. I had tawed a fuzzy for her since I had expected her to have shed, so I tried, and she ate. I put her in a separate box on paper towel with a bowl of water, a couple of days later I put her back in her viv (where she lives with some others) because her poop looked normal and she looked just fine. Couple of days later, she was looking a bit 'dry' again around her jaws????? I showed her te drinking bowl, she took a little drink and I let her be for two days. Than she was all crinkly again??? I bathed her again, it was a bit more difficult but the shed came off in a few pieces. I fed her, put her in the separate box again, a few days later she pooped, and now two days later she is just fine. I'm gonna keep her separated until her next shed to see what happens. What seems so weird to me: how come her new skin was already perfectly finished while the 2nd bathing session were done way earlier than a regular shed would take place???? I was anxious for weak scales to appear but they look perfectly fine.

Anyway, I do think something is bothering my (and your) snake in her viv, even though I did not change anything and her house mates are just fine. Did you ever keep yours on paper towel only? I'm gonna try to put her regular bedding in her box after she had a good shed to see if it triggers another crinkly shed. Maybe some snake are or get allergic for certain material?

I have had an adult blue beauty snake shed every 3-4 weeks (right after a feeding) until I gave smaller prey's, it changed to every two months (after every other prey). Not that I had been feeding her too large prey's before. My vert told me she had heard stories about frequent sheddings in blue beauties and more tropical snakes before and she had no explanation.

[Stygian Faerie]

Thank you very much for the replies, everyone.

I can't remember how to quote so please bear with me :o

Nanci - "Alternately, you could think about keeping him in a plastic bin in a rack. He might feel more secure, and the loss of humidity is much less in a rack, plus you can further control the loss by making fewer ventilation holes in his bin"
It's funny you should say that, I put him into a RUB literally 2 minutes after I started this thread. It was originally just going to be for a couple of days as I needed his viv for a leo (I ordered new viv's forgetting that there wouldn't be any deliveries over Easter weekend...). But I think I'll leave him in there for now and see how he gets on, thanks! Also as for his eating, he's a bit of a funny feeder. Will take a single med mouse (about 18g) every 13-15 days. If I offer him more than that he just ignores it (will ignore it sometimes anyway) and he absolutely will not eat while blue. His weight has stayed at roughly 300g the entire time I've had him. He will not take more than one item at a time either which is a bit frustrating and he won't eat anything but mice.


dave partington - I put him in a RUB with an inch or so of warm water and a towel then leave him to soak and 9 times out of 10 he manages to get the entire shed off by himself, the rest of the time I've had to use my nail to loosen the scale at his mouth then let him get on with the rest. He always leaves a nice big poop for me too lol.


SnakeAround - I'm beginning to wonder if my guy has just forgotten how to shed...
Anyway, I had him on Aspen bedding but decided against it after I saw him experiencing the problem with tension from a stuck shed keeping his mouth pulled slightly open, figured that it would be better to put him on kitchen roll or newspaper just in case some aspen got caught in his mouth and hurt him. Like I said earlier, I'm trying him in the RUB. Hopefully the lower "roof" will make him feel better and he'll shed and eat better.

I'll make sure to update you all after his next shed though!

[Stygian Faerie]

Quick update - Already there has been a huge difference in Blaze, this is the first time I've seen him come fully out his hide under his own steam since I got him. I guess he feels much safer with the shallow home :)