shedding problems aids

[Bluebeard]

K there was some descusion the other night on the forum about using olive oil as a shed aid it turns out it's been used for mites, so just ignor that, but while i was at the pet supply shop tonight i discoverd a prodct by ESU reptile called shed ease for reptiles. the discription given is "rich emollients lubricate old skin and aid shedding" basicly you add a few teaspoons to a bath and you soke your reptile for 20 mins, says its good for " all types of lizards and snakes including Iguanas, geckos, cameleons, water dragons,tegus,monitors, skinks,boas, pythons, corn milk and king snakes"
i think it was $15 can. for a 8 fl oz bottle.
no i am in now way indorsing this product, i've never used it so i have no clue if it works. but has anybody heared of or used this product befor?

[CAV]

basicly you add a few teaspoons to a bath and you soke your reptile for 20 mins

There's that ugly topic again.......*Groan*...... :-puke01:

But seriously folks......
I have heard of it but it is totally unnecessary IMO. If your snake is having shedding problems, it is an indicator that there is a husbandry issue. That product is simply treating a symptom, not curing the illness.

[Spirit]

Gotta say I agree with CAV on this one. I didn't use a lamp until mid december, and its' only a 40 watt to prevent the temps from dropping too low at night. I used just the UTH when it was warmer.

I put in a humid hide, but he won't use it, and he still had a somewhat bad shed, so now I just dampen a portion of the substrate and spread it around the middle of the tank (open area). It just helps to raise the overall humidity. It seems to help, but is it REALLY neccessary? Maybe not, but what could it hurt, you know?

[Bluebeard]

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17225
k i've gone over it befor so if you care to know this thread is the reason i'm asking, I did everyhting in my power to help her last shed, and none of it works so i don't see a husbandry issue, unless she lacks some vitimans or enzimes, which i don't know about?

[CAV]

1. What is the relative humidity outside where you live?

2. What type of heat do you use?

3. What is your warm side surface temp?

4. Did the snake have any old skin left from a previous shed?

5. Is the water bowel large enough for the snake to soak in?

[Bluebeard]

1. humitity is probly close to 0,its really dry here in the winter. in her tank was a diferent story, i did prety much everything i could to raise the humidity in her tank.

2.i have a UTH and a red heat lamp, i live in a really cold basment suit, and the lamp helps brings her out from sitting on the UTH all the time.

3 warm side surface temp is about 82F, ambiant its avg 75F

4. not that i could tell.

5. yes, but she hates being in the water, when i bath her, as soon as she feels the water shes trying to get out.

[CAV]

I have a few suggestions for ya

Have you tried misting the substate then covering the top with a plastic trash bag?? (Without the lamp on of course ;) )

If the heat is at least 75F, your snake will be fine. If you can get a human heating pad, place it behind the tank and again the back wall. On low, the pad should add a few degrees of heat without raising the actual surface temp. Covering the top to prevent evaporation and ditching the lamp will create a sizable increase in humidity.

You can also consider using a sterilite container with a plastic lid until the dry winter months are over. Those tubs will really hold in the moisture and aid during the snake's next shed cycle.

[Shep151]

5. Is the water bowel large enough for the snake to soak in?
Now there's a nasty thought! :toiletgra

[CAV]

Dang! All of Spirit's poop threads are starting to affect me! :crazy02:

[Bluebeard]

ya i tryed that, i had a cup of water on the warm side on the UTH and under the lamp, with plastic wrap over the rest of the screen top misstted the substrate and had a humi hide even a few baths, i'm sure i said all this in the other thread. i read up on shedding problmes i've tried every trick i read on the forum, this is why i'm looking for another solution.

[CAV]

Then I would suggest getting a plastic tub and making it a "home away from home" from the time blue phase starts until the shed is completed.

[Shep151]

I didn't see this mentioned earlier, so I figured I'd toss it in.
Some people use a humid hide box, like a sandwich-sized zip-loc disposable container filled with moist sphagnum moss. May want to give that a try.

[Spirit]

Hahahahahaha

[Bluebeard]

ya i tryed that, i had a cup of water on the warm side on the UTH and under the lamp, with plastic wrap over the rest of the screen top misstted the substrate and had a humi hide even a few baths, i'm sure i said all this in the other thread. i read up on shedding problmes i've tried every trick i read on the forum, this is why i'm looking for another solution.
did i not say i had a humid hide? ya i miss spelled it, but its there,

(taps mic) hello this thing on?
i don't mean to be rude but every time i bring this up i get asked the same questions over and over, and nothing helped. but nobody seames to be comeing up with new ideas so if i have to be the one to think outside the box, and go against the norm becasue thats just what every body does then so be it. but i would apreciate some sort of answers to my questions instead of more questions, from sombody that considers them selves a snake expert? or maybe even someone that may be a vet? i'm not going to try this product unless i come across this same problem that was stated in the other thread i posted earlier. and only as a last resort. so think and say as you will. you wont offend me so don't worry.

[Shep151]

humi hide
Sorry, missed that.
Hope you feel better!

[gatorlink]

I'm a new cornsnake owner so in no way an expert. Isn't it possible rather probable that some snakes will have difficulty in shedding regardless of optimum conditions.

[CAV]

Possible, yes; probable, no. It has been my experience that non-solvable shed problems are rare. Husbandry problems are usually the cause.

[howiet4702]

It's weird....some of my snakes shed fine and others are so-so. What I do now is when they are in the blue phase, I put in a humid hide box. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't. I also mist the tank lightly and mist the snakes as well. It seems to work pretty good but I am far away from being an expert ;)

[Bluebeard]

why couldn't be a deficency? inbreeding casues genetic problems right, couldn't this be a genetic problem?i i'm not saying it is but you can't just close the door on the idea with out any justification. That could posibly explain this problem as well?http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17865

I am only going off of one shed, and she is about to shed again so we will see what happens. with all the inter breeding done with snakes to gte spicific color morph, and with bulk breeders, which i think annabella came form one, i'm sure there are lots of snakes that jsut don't make it into the market due to genetic problems, maybe we should look into this as an issue alittle more. instead of just shruging your shoulders and saying oh hes new he doesn't know how to take care of a snake yet.

[CAV]

maybe we should look into this as an issue alittle more. instead of just shruging your shoulders and saying oh hes new he doesn't know how to take care of a snake yet.

I don't believe that is what is happening Bluebeard. I'm 100% confident that your situation is being caused by environmental impact, specifically the low humidity winter air that you are suffering through in your corner of the globe. I've never insinuated that you don't know how to properly care for your snake. :)

Here is an example of why I believe husbandry conditions are the issue:

I live in an area that has >70% humidity year round. I've had a corn snake that had bad sheds. I try misting, monitored the humidity, you name it, I tried it. He lived in a display viv with a screen top and a lamp, not for heat, but for viewing. Once I started experimenting and changing the set-up, the snake never experienced another bad shed.

Identifying the cause and effect of problems is how you learn in this hobby. It isn't in any way indicative of ignorance. Instead, I believe it just means that you haven't yet found what works best for the condition that exist at your location. :)

[gatorlink]

It doesnt have to be due to inbreeding, although inbreeding could definetly exacerbate the problem. I also agree with cav in that 99.999% of bad sheds will be due to husbandry issues but every now and again i think there will be a snake (not necessarily blubeards snake) that will be due to genetics. In the wild a snake with shedding problems will most definetly die. In captivity we are able to help them thru this stressful period so they are able to mature, mate and pass the bad gene on.

[Bluebeard]

ok i picked up a humidity meter, today, to make sure what it was, i had it up to 40 at one point this after nnon but its back down around 30 right now, i had her in her humid hide this afternnoon, i got back form the bar tonight, drunk as a skunk, and she has started to shed, she was out climbing on her vines, but it looks like she's having the same problem ad last time, due to the fact that i shouldn't be haddleingher, i'm going to see if i can coxes her into her humid hide befor i go to bed, when i get up in the morninging i'm going to check on her if she hasn't shed completly. we may find out if this shed aid works well or not.

[Bluebeard]

k woke up this morning and she had finished shedding, no problems.