Really bad shed...

[Nythain]

Due to horrible timing, I apparently didn't catch Plissken going into shed (it was happening right after bringing him home apparently, I assumed his prolonged hiding was just part of the settling in phase, so I didn't disturb or handle him and catch him blue or faded). Since he's emerged a day after feeding (I wouldn't have even fed him if I had anticipated an immediate shed, but the lump is still there after a day and a half luckily), I've noticed a lot of flaky skin still on him. Like, a LOT! I'm planning on giving him another day or two to make sure he's digested enough before disturbing him, then doing the standard soak and play in a wet cloth to hopefully get all of the leftover shed off of him.

I have two major concerns though. First off, will waiting a couple days be ok? And second off, my main concern, if I can't find most of his shed in the viv to check for eye caps, is there another way to make sure they came off clean without rushing him off to a reptile vet?

[Nanci]

I would soak him _after_ he poops- maybe 3-4 days after feeding? No sooner.

You can look for retained eye caps with a sharp macro photograph. It's pretty unlikely he would have them, though. In all the thousands of snake sheds I've seen, I've only had one with a retained spectacle, and he came to me that way. A tail tip, OTOH, is quite common especially with hatchlings.

[Nythain]

Thanks for the quick reply, sage advice, and comforting words! I swear, if I have this much new parent worry with a baby corn snake, I don't know how I'm gonna handle a baby person some day :eek:

[Alicia P]

Oh baby people ♥ I remember the first time I left the hospital with a baby, I couldn't believe I was in charge of something so small and helpless. I read all the books, and my advise, after having left the hospital 3 more times with a new person. Read the books, but listen to your parental instincts. If the baby cries pick it up, feed it when it's hungry, not when the clock says and change it's diaper often. Trust yourself!!

[Nythain]

Yay! He pooped (a lot!) and today was tank cleaning day anyways... so we took him out, put him in his feed bowl with a sopping wet washcloth and a layer of water and wow did it come right off... there was a little trouble with the tail piece but the wet cloth while handling him took that off almost immediately.

Also found what little bit of his shed was in the cage and there were most definitely eye caps so I feel a lot better there. Hopefully now that he's settled in, and we can start regular handling we'll be able to catch him blue from now on and make sure he's got moisture options. Bought a hygrometer today, the room/tank was at 30% which would explain the bad shed.

[Nanci]

Great news! In the future, rather than try to remove the tail tip on a tiny baby, I'll do an additional two soaks, before trying to do more than _barely_ rub it. A tiny tail tip _will_ break right off if you rub too hard.

[Nythain]

Thanks for the heads up. If he has any more incomplete sheds I'll definitely make sure to heed that advice.