shedding question

[Sssss.]

my snake fred still has his first ever skin still on him from when he didnt shed all the way and he is shedding again with his first skin still on him. will it hurt him in any way?

[Tula_Montage]

You should have helped him shed the first skin... by upping the himidity or physically getting it off him.

Yes it could restrict his next shed, and if left unattended could cut of the circulation to the parts of his body where it is left to tighten ie the tail.

[Sssss.]

ok thanks i am already trying to make the huminity go up. i didnt no because this is my first snake.

[Tula_Montage]

Thats what cs.com is for!

[Tracee]

Bathe your snake immediately! Or spray him with water if you have no container you can put him in.. As a guide, the water should be cool to the touch (but not cold). If any of the loose skin will easily peel off after bathing, do so with either your hands or a soft cloth/towel.

How long was his old skin left on before he started trying to shed again?

Was the old skin in pieces all over him or just certain areas? It is VERY important that the skin over his eyes comes off and also, as mentioned, the tail tip.

[Sssss.]

thanks Tracee i tried that and it came right off. he looks a hole lot better.

[Tracee]

That's good to hear :)

Let us know after the new shed is over if it is still incomplete - post a pic if you think it will help.

[Sssss.]

here he is after i helped him take the skin off.....oh and sorry if i didn't see your post earlier. i am at school at 7:30-3:30 or later.

[Jordan G]

Im not much of an expert on this, but if thats his cage with sand bedding you'll want to change that, it can cause them to be impacted. Hopefully someone that knows more will come by and explain for you :P

[MartiniGirl108]

No, and its not good to burrow either which is a snakes instinct. Corns are not snakes that do well on sand, it gets under their scales.

[Tracee]

here he is after i helped him take the skin off.....oh and sorry if i didn't see your post earlier. i am at school at 7:30-3:30 or later.
Hello, don't worry about the delay, most of us are at school or work too :)

Can't see much from the picture but there are no really obvious bits of skin that I can see. Have you got the remains of the last skin? Have the eyes and tail tip come off?

I really think it would benefit you - and more importantly, your snake - if you bought or asked your parents to buy a good book on cornsnakes.

As the last two posters mentioned, sand is not good substrate for a cornsnake, and you may learn lots of other things that could improve your snake's health. You could start by using newspaper for the moment until you find something more suitable.

It is so important you give your pet the best care you possibly can :)

[Sssss.]

thank u for the info about the sand the guy that worked at the pet store that i bought him off of said that sand was best for them . i went with it because he said he had 2 cornsnakes and i didnt know anything about them so i went with him.

[Sssss.]

what should i use for my bedding?

[Jordan G]

what should i use for my bedding?
Aspen shavings work well, almost everyone here will agree with you, and they're cheap too.

[Sssss.]

ok thank u so much. i will pick up some of it when ever my dad or mom takes me to town or somethin.

[Tracee]

ok thank u so much. i will pick up some of it when ever my dad or mom takes me to town or somethin.
In the meantime use newspaper. Remove the sand ASAP.

[Sssss.]

ok thanks i will.

[Sssss.]

i put some newspaper in my snakes gage today



thanks

[cincycat_21]

what you need to do is put him in a tub full of warm water and then put a towel in there to soak up the water but the water will get on him and the humdity will stay up....then after leting him stay in there for about fifteen min. then you can pull him out and take off the other skin....but make sure you check him after he sheds to make sure that all of the old skin is off...another things you might want to do is put some branches form out side and some aspen shavings in his aquarium ( or what ever you have him in) so that it can help him shed.....but when you go to put the tree peices from out side in his cage you might want to put the wood in the oven at 375 degress to get all of the dieseases off of it

[cincycat_21]

my bad i didn't see what Jordan G had posted about the aspen shavings....but yeah they are cheap and they last a while...

[Flagg]

I've found that unfortunately, pet store employees often have the wrong info about corn snakes. It might be the right info for other reptiles, but not cornsnakes.

I ran into a guy at the Ace hardware when I was looking for flexwatt or heat rope. He asked what it was for, I told him for corn snakes. He started acting all the expert because his dad owned a pet store. First off he told me to use sand substrate, then he told me to feed the corn crickets! All of this advice completely out of the blue. When I politely told him that both tips were completely wrong, he got all defensive. "oh corn snakes can be taught to eat crickets."