Bad/Incomplete Shed: What To Do

[Nanci]

If your snake sheds, and all you find is a few pieces, check the snake to make sure all the shed has come off. You may find your snake still has pieces of shed clinging to her! Don't worry, but don't leave her like that, either.

[Nanci]

Take a plastic container (I used a feeding container with a secure lid and air holes) and put in a washcloth and fill with room temperature water- just enough to cover most of the snake's body, but not over her head so she has to swim. Put the snake in and set a timer for 20 minutes.

[Nanci]

I checked Lila after ten minutes, and saw that all of her shed appeared to be in the container, rubbed off by her slithering through the wet washcloth. I took her out and ran her through the washcloth several times to be sure. I noted that the shed included a complete tail tip.

[Nanci]

Next, take your beautiful snake out for a photoshoot in her new skin!

Thanks for looking- hopefully this will help someone down the line!

Nanci

[CALIVIK]

Nanci your so wonderful girl! Lila is so happy she has a Momma like you! :)

And thanks for the instructions. I always wondered how to do it.

kisskiss! :p

[Roy Munson]

What a beauty! I've only had a few bad sheds like that, and I did pretty much the same thing. I left them in a container full of damp paper towels for a couple of hours.

[Nanci]

That's only my second bad shed with seven snakes in two years.

Nanci

[Snake Dave]

Excellent advice there Nanci, I'm sure that'll help me in the future. :)

[Vinny/Birmingham/UK]

Wonderful pictures.

[The Knight]

Hey Nanci....thank you so much. Just came across this. I should be getting my first corns in tmrw (Weds), pretty excited about it. A Common and a Miami Phase.
Been doing alot of homework on all aspects, and this idea of yours is terrific. I'll definitely bookmark. Thank you.
Oh.....and Lila is Gorgeous :D

[Sanebedlam]

Thats a gorgeous snake! And a great how to thanks for the advice!

[Kjay]

I wish all good advice came with such nice pictures! That was very helpful. Lila is just lovely. :)

[desertanimal]

Pretty model you got for that how to! It's like one of those anti-ageing cream commercials! :crazy02:

[SquamishSerpents]

wow, i will keep this in mind! lila is a beautiful snake, with an angel face!

[connord94]

Nice Snake

[SNAKEWISPERA]

STICKY THIS
^^^says it all

[Nanci]

I can't tell you how many times I've dug this out this week! At least when I made the thread, I made a title I could remember...

[cornelius_13]

beautiful snake!! thank you. im about to do it right now!! but is it a for sure that it will work?


ill try it out!

[Weebonilass]

Great job, Nanci & Lila. Always helps when you have such a lovely model :)

[cornelius_13]

:dancer:


http://i2.tinypic.com/7xiohft.jpg

i filled up the container a liitle bit with water.. and put that cloth..

does he look good to you?

[connord94]

I'm no expert but maybe a thinner cloth, which is COMPLETELY covered in water.

I'm sure nanci could give you better advice.

Cheers,
Connor

[Michael luke]

hi all, got my first ever snake lastweek. its a baby carolina corn snake. 3months old. it hides under its waterbowl 24/7 just lately!!! and i opend his viv earlia to give him a change of water, and seen his eyes were like a reali milky blue colour, does this mean he is shedding? this was about 6hours ago i noticed this. he is stil under his water bowl. what should i do just leave him? his waterbowl aint really big enough for him to move about under, thanks please write back someone

[Nanci]

If his eyes are blue, he's not ready to shed yet. Just leave him alone. Soon, his eyes will be clear, but you may not be able to find a shed. If so, he will shed in the next 24 hours or so.

[Michael luke]

ok thanks. well il doing another post here tomoro after change his water and let you kno how its going :)

[a_god_s]

I wish all good advice came with such nice pictures! That was very helpful. Lila is just lovely. :)

What a beautiful model to work with!! Love that color!

STICKY THIS
^^^says it all

I Second that!

If you have a large area of unshed skin to contend with this approach seems to be much less stressful than rubbing through a cloth (and much simpler!!) The snake does all the work! :)

This is very helpful advice, Thanks Nanci!!

[Michael luke]

hi all, hmm this morning my corn stil had milky eyes, but now there as gd as black again? :S he is dueto be fed. would it be ok and safe to feed him? i aint sure if he is sheddin or not? :S

[Caryl]

hi all, hmm this morning my corn stil had milky eyes, but now there as gd as black again? :S he is dueto be fed. would it be ok and safe to feed him? i aint sure if he is sheddin or not? :S

Some eat "in blue" and some don't, but it's safest to wait, especially since this one is new to you. You can expect a shed anywhere from 7-10 days after the cloudy eyes, with occasional normal variances.

Just by the way, your posts are more likely to be taken seriously if you drop the "text talk." And welcome to the hobby!

And Nanci - what a beauty your Lila is!

[KDRGM]

Just quick question.???


wot temp should the water be and can i use a fish thermometer ( the glass 1?)?


just wandering because my amel still has skin on tip of tail :D

plz help

thanx

KEV

[measley]

I usually fill it up with room temperature water

[danielle]

What morph is lila I love her. I am guessing lavender something, but she's more than a lavender...any blood in there?

[KDRGM]

thanks Measley, does it matter that i live in the U.K ? i don't think it's as warm here as it it in the U.S.A.?

thanks again

KEV

[measley]

Well, Room temperature in the US is around 70 degrees F so I would assume in Celcius that's about 20 or 23...

[Nanci]

Lila's a lavender, 50% het amel.

[danielle]

Really her saddles look pinkish against her lavender backround she's a gorgeous lavender!!!

[dizeedoo]

Nanci,
This explanation is awesome. You have a real gift.
Your photos are always gorgeous.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[Maloof]

Thanks a lot, this will be very useful to a lot of people. I do have a question though. Would this work effectively on a snake who just has a bit of shed left on the tail? Or would you need a fair section of leftover skin on the snake to get leverage for the shed to come off. Thanks for the instructions!

[Nanci]

It works well for just the tail tip, too.

[KDRGM]

Maloof............. it does work on tip of tail..... i have just done it with my Amel, I put her in feed box with water (70*) left her twenty minutes and voila there it was on the towel ( she also left me something else..........a poop lol)



NANCI.......thank you for such a great post and explanation with pics too , I would have known how to remove it otherwise

thanx again



Kev

[KDRGM]

Nanci............. thank you

[shaberry]

I know this is a bit off topic, but where did you get your lav. Nanci? She's GORGEOUS!

[Nanci]

Lila was bred by Supernova Reptiles, and came to me through Waldo on this site. Thank you!

[TxMomto4]

Next, take your beautiful snake out for a photoshoot in her new skin!

Thanks for looking- hopefully this will help someone down the line!

Nanci

WOW!! Just the advice I needed!! THANKS!!!!!

PS. BEAUTIFUL snake!! LOVE THE COLOR!

[Cornflake514]

I believe it was you that commented on my post about first time feeding and an incomplete shed.
I got my snake about a week ago, and his scales aren't as bad as the ones in the pics, but they are kinda flakey. Thanks for the advice, and your "photo shoot" pics are so cute. :D I'm going to give my little guy some time to digest then give this a try.
Thanks again.

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Maloof............. it does work on tip of tail..... i have just done it with my Amel, I put her in feed box with water (70*) left her twenty minutes and voila there it was on the towel ( she also left me something else..........a poop lol)



NANCI.......thank you for such a great post and explanation with pics too , I would have known how to remove it otherwise

thanx again



Kev

LOL! Nanci forgot to mention the effect warm water has on a snake's bowels...

[Tracee]

Nanci, could you make this thread a sticky with your new found powers? :)
I often go to link to it and can't find it quick enough.

[Nanci]

Hmmm- I'll have to investigate how to do that! When I wrote the thread I tried to make it a title I would remember because I knew I'd be referring people to it a lot!

[salvadorian]

So is there need to worry when a snake is "in blue" for too long? How long are they in blue?

[Nanci]

You can't do anything to speed the shed along, anyway. The whole process can take up to two weeks for a cornsnake, but two weeks is longer than usual. I'd estimate about 7-12 days for the entire process, depending on how good you are at detecting the very first signs.

[salvadorian]

Alright. That puts me a little more at ease. Thank you!

[KDRGM]

Is going to agree with Nanci, mine usualy take 7-12 days like Nanci sed "if you know the signs " :)

Pepper...... I knew the effects, just didnt think ske would poop, she pretty shy snake :):)

i also think this should be "Stickied" :)

[K. Rene]

I agree she is beautiful, what morph is she? Lavender.....? Thanks for the tips.

[luckilylovinlyfe]

I mad a mistake and didn't notice that the very tip of keikos skin didn't come off during her shed....when I noticed it was too late and the very tip of her tail was black I put her in a container wit the washclothe hoping it would do something and it did...the tip fell off..I feel like such a bad person for not noticing that before...but she's fine now so I guess it doesn't bother her...that was about 2 weeks ago

[Prejac]

Silly, but still serious question. When I go to wash the towel and plastic container that were used for this, is there any harm in putting the container in the dish washer with the rest of the dishes (as long as its dishwasher safe itself), and washing the washcloth with my bedding and/or clothes?

[Tawfik47]

It's my first time i see this thread. Thank u very much and really Lila is so happy she has a Momma like you! :D

[Nanci]

I would only worry about spreading reptile germs around if you had an immunocompromised family member. And I'd wash everything in hot water.

[Prejac]

Nope, no one in the household that has any sort of immunodeficiency, that I know of. I just had to ask since I got a weird look when I threw in the washcloth that my little guy slithered around on to help get the last few inches of his tail shed off in the wash with the rest of my clothes, and was given the "not in my dishwasher" with the plastic container. Thanks for the reply.

[concreteambassador]

thank you so much!

[Miqote]

This really helped. Sprinkle gave me my first snake skin yesterday, but she missed under her chin to about 3 inches down her belly. This really did the trick! (Although silly Sprinkle pooped in the water, so I had to change tubs halfway through!! lol) Her face and eyescaps came off fine, and the other 3/4ths of her body came off in 1 big peice including tail tip. I wonder why she had trouble with that small peice.

[Nanci]

I think that sometimes the skin can tear as it comes off and this makes it more difficult for it to come off in one piece, even if conditions are perfect.

Another lesson I've learned since writing this is to check and triple check for retained spectacles (eye caps). It is a TREMENDOUS lot of trouble to deal with a retained spectacle if you don't catch it immediately. If you can't clearly see both spectacles in the shed, make a very careful examination of the snake's eyes.

[enl0001]

What do the eye caps look like? my snake had blue eyes for 2 days, now her eyes are clear but she hasn't shed yet. does this mean she has already shed her eye caps?

[Bartholomew]

What do the eye caps look like? my snake had blue eyes for 2 days, now her eyes are clear but she hasn't shed yet. does this mean she has already shed her eye caps?

Nope. Thats the last part to the shed process. The snake clears up, and so do the eye caps. Nothing comes off sepereatley in the shed (unless the snake had a bad shed...but thats a different topic) When the snake acctually sheds take it out and look at where they snakes eyes are, and you will see the eye caps.

[GothPixel]

Isis just had her first shed, and she's got a patch that didn't come off. I'll try the tub/washcloth/water treatment when I get home. Thanks for the info.

[Tortor]

Being a first time snake owner and experiencing a bad shed 1.5 weeks after we got her this was a wonderful forum to join and awesome advice to receive. I tried what was suggested with the wash cloth and water and it worked perfectly!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you soooooo much!!!

[moukin]

My Aki just shed for the first time for me (her second shed ever I believe). I found both eye caps in the shed but the end looked cut off, like there wasn't a tail tip. I inspected her and there's a little bit of skin on the end of her nose, but none on her tail.

Then I found one more small piece in the tank and it's sort of triangular and the pattern changes down to the point, so I think it might be the tail tip? I don't know what a tail tip looks like when it's shed.

I don't see any pieces of it left on her, except for her nose but maybe the tail tip is hard to find if it is retained.

Please let me know. And thanks so much for all the great posts on this forum. I've learned so much here.

[moukin]

Ah, not sure what the other piece I found was from, but I finally found the length that included her tail tip, it was still in the tank. Tail tip came off fine, and the soak in the container got the rest off her nose. She looks great now!

[amc0405]

Hello Nanci, I have a fairly new snake to me, but is pretty much full grown. I got him at at snake show a couple of months ago. He is a pine snake and rather large. I have had many shead problems with my corns and have used your method, the damp pillow case, and such, and they always work well. Big dog shead fairly well on his own but had some skin bunched up just past his vent hole (can't think of proper term). So we soaked him for about 15 minutes and then got him out and the bunched up skin came right off but not the rest from there all the way to his tail tip. I let that area go through a wet wash cloth about 20 times with nothing. I am wondering if he has had problems and the past owners or the ones who sold him to me never did anything about it and an old skin is stuck to him. what do you recomend I do. Won't it kill or cause the snake to lose that area if it is not removed? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[Nanci]

I'd try soaking him longer, maybe 60 minutes, and then see if you can roll the skin off the tail tip. If not, I'd keep trying, twice a day if you can, with a 60 minute soak. You can also put hand lotion on the tail tip to keep it moist. But you've got to get it off.

[amc0405]

Thanks you, we will do that.

[Teri-Marie]

My corn always has bad sheds what could be causing this?

[Weebonilass]

My corn always has bad sheds what could be causing this?

Not enough humidity. They need some hides with moist moss.

[Teri-Marie]

Even though I live in Washington??

[Weebonilass]

Even though I live in Washington??


If you are getting bad sheds, it means the snakes aren't getting enough moisture.

[Teri-Marie]

I will give it a try thanks soo much

[Teri-Marie]

The water bath was a miracle!! Thank you all!

[moukin]

I haven't been very active around here lately, my apologies.

Aki just shed and it's all in one piece, except it is missing the top of her head and eye caps.

I looked all around the tank for that extra piece and can't seem to find it.

However, I don't see any edges of skin on the top of her head or around her eyes. Her eyes look clear, although there was a tiny dot on one of them...my husband said he thought it was just dust.

I'm going to give her a little soak every day and keep an eye on things for now...anything else I should do if I just can't tell for sure with a visual inpsection?

[toxiclight]

Thanks so much for this thread :) Came looking for some advice, since our Enki just doesn't like to shed cleanly...I know our house gets fairly dry in winter. We've been spraying his viv for added moisture, and he had a moist hide as soon as I noticed him in blue (he refused to go in it)

Going to try him with the container and towels today :) Hoping it will take care of the rest of his shed so I can post fresh pictures of him :D

[desiredbard]

have an incomplete shed as well i think
http://gilrog.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pUNn431f4LYRguo_-6Q_11qppkI8OB0MFv-3p3KogU7O3tGO2iN2KEUksi6KSUGlj0EoTJyYUlBkgkAhJfMAv tZQnlRQO3e_C/shedtail.png?psid=1

Himself loved the bath

all came off ..par this little bulge (I did not take another pic)

[Stormy]

This is some great advice. What do you recommend for a snake with a piece of shed skin on top of the head though? Like right between the eyes. We have a pretty pale snake so me and my not so great eyes missed it.

[Nanci]

I would do the same thing and get his skin loosened up, and then have him crawl through a damp washcloth. Alternately, you could dab the most benign hand lotion you can find on it- like Vaseline Inensive Care or something. After a few times, see if you can rub it off with your finger, gently.

[Bisbal069]

I see you took your snake outside. Is that a safe thing to do? Can the snake pick up mites and possibly parasites?

[AliCat37]

I see you took your snake outside. Is that a safe thing to do? Can the snake pick up mites and possibly parasites?

It is perfectly safe as long as no insecticides were sprayed in the area. Some people will give their snakes a "bath" after going outside, I personally do not and I have not had an issue.

[LadySnake]

Hi Nanci, I haven't been on the site for awhile, but revisited because my 8 year old snake has had two bad sheds in a row. To make it worse, she was wheezing after her bad shed. I was ready to take her to the vet for a respiratory infection. Upon revisiting the forum I noticed others have had that problem. Well today after I tried some of the treatments mentioned here, a big piece of skin sloughed off her snout. Poor gal was breathing into a pocket of old skin. I don't breed her, but she double clutched this year, and I moved, so she has had a busy last couple of months. Thanks to you and this site for all the information. She looks so pretty in her new skin. Now I have to figure out why the bad sheds.

[Nanci]

She probably just needs a little more humidity. You can provide a moist hide for her when she is blue, or, if she is in a glass viv you can put a piece of plastic wrap loosely over the top of the viv, and then mist lightly every couple days while she is in blue. If she is in a rack you can just mist every two or three days. I would also provide a large water bowl to increase humidity.

[LadySnake]

Thanks for your response. I do have a question because she has been in a moist hide. She recently laid her second clutch of eggs. I had a feeling she was, so I put in her lay hide with moss and made sure the moss was moist. After she lay her eggs, I kept the hide in there with the moss to faciliate her shed. Her viv was in a room where there is an open A/C vent (but not drastically cold). I did move her back to a a room where I have the A/C vent closed. Could it have been the ambient temperature of the room? Or could it be an underlying problem? She has never had a bad shed except we recently moved. I didn't have A/C before, now I do. Good for the family, but maybe not her. Otherwise all temps on both sides of Viv have been good.

[Bisbal069]

Thank you for the tip!

[v00kimba00v]

So my hatchling Nixie has been out of blue for 5 days now. No shed, I've scoured the tank pretty completely everyday for the past 3 days. I've also been following Nanci's advice with the tub/washcloth/lukewarm water routine for 30 min a day for the past 3 days. parts of her look flaky like one of Nanci's pictures. The only time she rubs on things is when she's in the tub, in her tank she just stays in her hide all the time. Should I just keep going with this routine? Or is there something else I can do?

[schnebbles]

my last one that shed took 6 days after I noted that he was blue. I guess some take longer than others. i did the soak thing and he shed that same night.

[Holly12]

Oh dear I should have look for this befor asking about my male shedding issues he is okay now but I feel stupid now. :(

[Holly12]

Oh dear I should have look for this befor asking about my male shedding issues he is okay now but I feel stupid now. :(

I will be reading this again if he has another bad shed.

[Forcedexile]

well I wake up this morning to find a shed in his viv! it had eyecaps but no tail :( so I gave him a 20min "bath" like Nanci's first post said to do, ran him through a wet washcloth and no dice. gave him another 10min in the bath and after running through my hands for another 5min the tail managed to start sloughing off. so I believe I got all the old skin. Thanks for this guide Nanci! He looks so brilliant now!

[Holly12]

Ya know with winter being the humidity is so bad no matter what I do to keep the humidity in it never stays. So Forcedexile I did what you when my first cornsnake had his shed back in November and it work really well. He did not like it but at lease the shed came off. :)

[Forcedexile]

yeah he's been trying to find humid places all day too...curling up next the wet towel i have on top of his viv, soaking in his waterbowl. so i put a humid hide in place of the log I had in there. maybe that'll help him get anything i couldn't see with my naked eye. from what i see on the old skin, he got everything off up to his vent before he started having trouble. so i made sure anything past the vent came off when i gave him the bath. he looks fine now but like i said he's seeking out humid areas of the tank too.

I'm just glad I was able to tell when he went blue. 2 days ago I noticed his eyes had a cloudy blueish tint to them and i was about to post something about it on here but then he shed :D

[CornyApollo]

Great instructions! Much simpler than other methods I have seen suggested. :)

[AliCat37]

I just did this today with my ball python... except the jerk just sat in one spot for 20 minutes! So I just rubbed the skin off in the direction it naturally would have, now he's all shiny and clean!

[Holly12]

My corn snake he still has not shed yet and his eyes are back to normal his eyes have been back to normal for 3 days now. I'm wondering when he will shed? this will be his second shed with me.

[AliCat37]

Holly, sometimes mine will sit under their logs for 3-4 days after their eyes clear up, I usually will get them out when they start looking really funny and then put them away again ASAP. I think just getting them moving is motivation haha, I almost always get a shed from them as soon as they are put away.

[Forcedexile]

well I had another incomplete shed only 21 days after his last shed. did another 20 min bath and the remaining skin came off by itself this time instead of me having to try rubbing it off gently. and he pooped right after he got the stuck skin off! lol. i'm a little concerned that I had to handle him today, feeding day, but we'll see if he still takes his pinkie anyway.

on a side note, after this shed I was looking at him and it looks as though he's getting a salmon tint to his entire body. so maybe he's a salmon snow? obviously pics would be needed to show you guys. i'll see if i can get some.

[chris68]

Snows vary the range of possible "tints"; greenish, or pinkish, or yellowish. Go to http://www.jmgreptile.com/cimages/SalmonSnow003.jpg or http://www.cornsnake.net/photo-gallery/category/91-snow-salmon.html These kind of set the standard for what a "salmon snow" should look like.

Not sure what you are keeping your corn snake in (it IS a lot of pages to read ;) ) but if it's in a screened top aquarium style cage you can cover 2/3rds of the top to help hold in humidity, as they let all the humidity escape thru the top. Especially this time of year :)

[Forcedexile]

yeah humidity is good by what the gauge says...it seems to just be the tail that rips off when he sheds.

[Nanci]

I would try putting plastic wrap loosely over the entire screen lid when you notice the snake is blue, and mist once every day or two, lightly.

[Forcedexile]

i'll try that, thanks Nanci.

[dtfleming]

Just had to use this today on my female Motley. Worked well after a 20min bath and she was nice enough to give me a love bite after :p

[HermesMom]

Nanci, having this info on here was a huge help to us... thanks SO much for sharing it. You know what's been going on with Hermes vent, well when he started going into shed the other week it wasn't a good thing for his vent troubles. It scabbed up horribly, his straining to "go" returned, we'd get it softened a little {with the cream} and it'd harden right back up. Per his last vet visit, we had to put him in water so he could poop and not cause further damage from straining, etc. Needless to say, having to do that gave him problems shedding even once he had "gone" and the baths stopped. We let it go a while, then we did this. It really helped him slip right out, right away you could tell how much better he felt.

[icejd7]

Once again, thanks to the great folks here I followed the instructions and within a few minutes, the leftover shed on the tail tip is gone. I placed a towel inside of the feeding bin with water, approx 83deg F. Placed "Diffy" in there and PRESTO !, the leftover shed came right off as she slithered through the towel.

Thanks again for the great info here !!!

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1624&pictureid=12032

[Sonicknuxshad]

That's amazing.... Most of the time on the internet it says not to put them in for over a few minutes(like 3 or 4). I like this much better. My cornsnake Lily has lost the tip of her tail twice because of shedding. I live in Memphis and I know that that is no excuse but there are no reptile vets ANYWHERE. Plus I'm 15. My mom won't take me anywhere saying, 'Oh it will come off on its own, don't worry.'. Yeah right.

[Nanci]

It sounds like you need to take some proactive measures when your snake is blue, such as daily misting and a loose plastic wrap over the top of the viv.

[Sonicknuxshad]

I do daily mistings, and lately I've also been using a cool whip container with a wet paper towel inside of it(on the heated side of the tank). My male snake absolutely loves it and has never had a shedding problem, but the only time Lily ever used it was when she laid false eggs earlier this year. But I've never tried putting plastic wrap over the top with the misting. I can try that.

[Fandango]

I have never had this problem, but thank you. Now I know what to do, much better than some other idea I had read about.

[EmbersMom]

Thanks for this! It helps having things like this at 3am when your snake is giving you a bad shed. But what if he is being a little sh*t and defying gravity and refusing to actually be down in the water/on the towel? Ember has managed to wedge himself around the top of the bin/lid. the only thing actually in the water is the tail tip. UGH! Every once in a while he gets tired of constantly having to flex his muscles and falls down in the water, but then he gets back up in his high position. Brat. He's going to get the pillowcase treatment if he doesn't cooperate so I can get some sleep.

[EmbersMom]

Wow, just being in the humid environment of the water bin for 20 minutes and then crawling through a warm wet hand towel for a few mins, and Ember is all pretty again and smooth as silk! And so bonding to help your scalebaby shed (even if they are being a brat!).

[Nanci]

Glad it worked! You can actually put in just enough water that the top of the washcloth is barely covered. A lot of times, then, the baby will go hide down in it with just the tip of the nose sticking out for air.

[EmbersMom]

Yeah, good idea! He was not impressed with the water. He is not a soaker. I've had him 2+ months and he's never been in his water bowl for a soak. But next blue, we're doing the humid hide and stepping up the misting. :) THANKS!

[yojoe05]

Thanks Nanci, I really like this idea. Also can anybody tell me is it important that I make a shed box or is it one of those cases you make a shed box when your snake has its first bad shed?

[Nanci]

Either. If your snake likes it, it's like a little luxury they can enjoy even if they don't need it. You can dampen the moss while the snake is blue, and then let it dry out in between sheds. My Cali kingsnake has had one for six years- dry! She loves it!!

[Fleminbn]

hi I am new to this forum, I recently purchased a new corn from the pet store (he was kind of a sympathy buy) I noticed that he has appeared to have retained the tip of his tail shed repeatedly and no one before us apparently had noticed/cared. It is restricting and the tip of his tail seems like it may soon fall off b/c it is kinda hard. I am not sure how to know when it is too far gone-is there something I can do to get the shed off at this point? I do not want to hurt him! He is abut 2 1/2 ft long and I have never seen a older corn in a pet store which makes me think his previous owner gave him up.

Do you have any suggestions? I would greatly appreciate it!

[Nanci]

I would soak it and see if you can get any off, and then repeat. The very tip looks black. It will most likely fall off. I'd still try to remove shed and preserve as much as you can.

[jakkipaige]

corn flake is not too impressed by this haha, oh well its for the better good! she wont move in there though....

[jakkipaige]

is it normal for her to make a cough noise when shes in there..... or was that her just not paying attention to water level.

[jakkipaige]

shes been in there for 20 mins and no sign of her shed coming off :(

[bitsy]

It won't happen in that amount of time. The old skin needs to absorb moisture and become pliable again. Could take a few days.

[jakkipaige]

ok cause she was flaking before and she shed her full head and about 2 inches down her neck but its all pieces now and flaky the lower part of her body seems to be shedding slower.

[amysue.hannon]

I'm not sure what to do....I did everything exactly like you said...my snake FREAKED out...she hated every minute of it...when I opened it up after only 15minutes...she was coiled up tightly in a corner and didn't even want to come out! Usually when I take off the lid she climbs right out into my hand and she wouldn't even move! I don't know what to do...it looks like it may have helped with the shed...but will she get better with time because if she doesn't shed that well again I'm not too sure what to do...I don't want to stress her out... :(

[gsdbecca]

Next time she goes blue, put a humid hide in her viv.

[amysue.hannon]

Next time she goes blue, put a humid hide in her viv.
right now she is only a baby still so she is in only a 10g tank so there isn't much room...any suggestions on what I could do for a humid hide that won't take up much room?

[BitterFox]

Hey guys

Recently my boy went through a bad shed. It's pretty normal for him to not completely shed the very tip of his tail, which I usually get off easily with a couple wipes of a damp towl. This time though it's the other way around. He lost a scale on his head and the tip of his face/nose didnt shed. I'm wondering if it's not more than one shed, but I'd like to think I've been more attentive at checking his sheds then that.

His cage is in my room so I have to hear him huff air out his nose every now and then because of the stuck shed. The problem I'm having is that leaving him in a bin/towl doesnt work well since he just keeps his head above water. And when I try to run a wet swab down his head he absolutly hates it, and it ends up not working so well in the end anyway.

Should I just continue the water filled bin treatment and hope after a couple soaks it comes off? Or would it be better to up the moisture in his viv during his next shed and hope that it comes off then? He's been huffing air out his nose more recently just today, though, so I'm not sure that second option will sooth my own worries about it.

[bitsy]

When you put him in the bin to soak, try this:

An hour before putting him in, lay an old towel or two on the bottom of the bin. Pour in enough water to make them sopping wet, but *not* to create a layer of free water sloshing about. Cover all air holes/vents (I use clingfilm for smaller tubs) and put the tub on a heat source like a UTH to warm up. You're basically creating a snakey sauna and really building up the humidity inside that tub. After about an hour, check that the temp is in the mid-80s, pop the snake in and uncover a few of the air holes/vents. Leave the snake in the tub for at least an hour. You should find that the humidity softens the stuck shed, the towels give him something to rub against to try and get it off, and he isn't going to be able to escape the moisture in the atmosphere. If you crumple the towels slightly, he might even try burrowing to get under cover, which would be really helpful in trying to soften/dislodge that stubborn snout shed.

Good luck!

[wildlifephotographer]

Nanci- my new baby tesserra male Maverick- just had a bad shed 3 days ago and I've been trying to rub the old skin off but it's his face area/eyes and back of neck that didn't completely come off instead of the lower end of him. I can't seem to get it off with shed ease and rubbing it with a paper towel or regular hand towel. With such a little baby snake does the method in this post work? If not do you have any suggestions that I could try?

Thanks,
Anjeanette Porter

[Nanci]

I would either do repeated 20 minute soaks, or, did you see the thread about Krinkle that I posted recently? Instead of soaking him with a washcloth, I put him in his feeding bin with very wet sphagnum moss, like you'd use for a lay box. That really got it loosened up. If you don't have any, it's the Orchid Moss that Lowes and Home Depot sell. Then see if you can peel backwards from the neck up??

[wildlifephotographer]

Thanks, I will try the soaks and see if that works.

[wildlifephotographer]

I have him in a small deli cup with thick pieces of paper towel soaked with nice warm water. He's been in there for around 5-7 minutes and trying already to get it off himself by rubbing but he's having a hard time of it from what I can see. Hope he ends up getting it. He's been gaping at the mouth off and on and has a popping sound> I figured it was because of the bad shed with the face/snout area.

[Phil1ooo]

Water is the most important thing for a clean shedding, big enough they can completely submerge for a while. I have had my corn snake now for about 10 months and he sheds at least every 2 months. What I have noticed is he will not eat for a week before a shed and on the day he will sit in his pool for a few hours then he starts to roam his tank and the skin just slides off.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[EmbersMom]

We just have 3 very different corn snakes when it comes to shedding.

Ember, my Keys (AKA Rosy Rat) snake won't use a humid hide, won't soak in water. If I put wet moss or paper towels in his favorite hide (trust me, we've tried!!!) he just sits out in the open and gives me the evil eye. And he won't go into a separate humid hide. We live in NM and its very, very dry here. We don't worry about humidity in our vivs. We just gave up after a few months. It would be a full time job keeping the humidity up. As soon as we mist them, we come back 30 minutes later and it's all evaporated. I just keep a very close eye on him and if he has a bad shed, I immediately get a warm, wet hand towel and help him crawl through it and viola! he's smooth and silky in a few minutes. This last shed a few days ago he got it all off perfectly.

Flame, my younger daughter's Creamsicle, has a humid hide and if we put it under his heat lamp with wet paper towels or wet moss he will use it as soon as we provide it after we notice he's in blue. Then he always has a perfect shed as long as we keep the paper towels (or moss) pretty damp. My daughter's seen him soaking a couple times before a shed.

Trinket, my older daughter's Snow, is really hard to tell when he goes blue. The only clue is if you can not see his pupils clearly. They don't even look "blue" like the other two's eyes. They just get blurry and you can see them clearly. And of course the color is already white so hard to see it go dull or anything. He's just now a year old, but so far he's had perfect sheds all on his own. He's not a soaker or has a humid hide. That might have change as he gets older.

So, I don't think one-size-fits-all advice is going to work for every snake. Some just won't soak even if they are provided with a big enough soaking dish. The first bad shed I had I was freaking out and was running around like a chicken with my head cut off at 3am. I tried to get Ember to soak in a Rubbermaid bin with a wet towel, he wedged himself up on the top near the lid, as far away from the water as possible. That's when I learned the trick of helping him crawl through the wet washcloth or hand towel. His water bowl is big enough for him to soak in, but he doesn't do it.

[Lyreiania]

Hi there. I also have a rosy rat snake; Thor is also a horrid shedder...maybe it is the subspecies? Wet towels wont do for him; he needs to be soaked in a basin of water for about 30 minutes before the shed will come off. He does not soak on his own accord, he has to be placed in a bin. And even then he needs major help in it. He is one of my special needs snakes...he doesnt eat, poo, or shed well on his own. Snakes with shedding issues are such a hassle as its so very bad for them, and it has got to be so uncomfortable for the poor creatures.

[EmbersMom]

Hi, Lyreiania! Nanci has a pair of Rosy Rats, too. I don't know if she's had any problems with them shedding. Maybe she'll chime in here. I am sorry Thor is such a bad shedder. Ember is a pretty good eater, although he seemed to self brumate this winter and hasn't eaten in a few months. This is my first winter with him so I am trying not to freak out. My husband works at a Zoo and the herpetologist is trying to keep me chill about it all. He still looks the same, active when I take him out, tongue flickering, etc. ;) And no poo problems, either. It's so nice to see another Rosy Rat owner. I went round and round for a few days trying to get him identified after I rescued him from Craig's List. They are a special little subspecies, aren't they? Smaller (shorter), that triangle shape, reduced belly pattern, more muscular than other corns we have/I've held. He was on display at the Santa Fe Children's Museum but he was just no good for being on display because he's in his hide 24/7. The only time he was out and about was when they had a docent to get him out for the kids to handle, and that wasn't often. So, they found a corn that liked to hang out in public more. How's you come about Thor?

[Nanci]

My suggestion for a habitual poor shedder is to keep him in a plastic bin in a rack, if he is not. Then, I'd start misting when he goes blue, and maybe provide a humid hide or even a lay box type container.

[Fozzy8810]

Hello! I believe I need major help .

I went away on travel twice within the past couple of months, and each time I went away (it was for about 5 days the first time 1 week the second time) my opal corn shed his skin while I was gone. I got in today and I noticed bits and pieces of his skin around his tank, and now I see brown scales on him as well !!!! Is it too late for him? He's an '08 opal and still eats well.

[Nanci]

Too late for what? If he has stuck pieces of shed, you can still soak him.

[Charlotte]

You're a lifesaver, Nanci. I had no idea Loki had even gone blue so when I walked in today and saw him struggling to shed I was really freaked out. Plopped him in with some water and damp paper towels and I'll go check on him in about 15 minutes.

[Phil1ooo]

Snakes are natural survivors and know what to do when they shed as it's a natural instinct. A snake knows it needs water.

Make sure you provide a large enough water tub when you know it's going to shed, better still always give him a water tub big enough that he can fit his whole length in it at any one time. A snake that can only soak 1/4 or 1/2 it's body length is guaranteed to have shedding problems.

A snake that has skin left on it is a snake that didn't have water or only had a small water tub provided.

Fix that issue and you will have solved any shedding problems in the future.

On the other hand to clean him up you can put him in a bath tub and massage him in the water with your hands, this will remove everything. Luke warm water works best say 5 decrees Celsius above room temperature.

[buckmaster299]

just a thought and this is what i do for my snake when he goes blue and gets ready to shed. Each night before i go to bed i will saturate the ground with my spray bottle. He used to soak in his water dish but he is quickly outgrowing it and i am needing to invest in a bigger one. I get full sheds even though they are broken in half they are full sheds overnight. Just throwing it out there about the saturating the ground. IDK if you can do that with aspen bedding. I use coconut fiber and it works every time...

[Nanci]

If you completely saturate the ground, it can mold. Aspen is very quick to mold (in Florida, at least) under a spilled water bowl, for example.

[MelRoxUrSox]

My little corn just had an aweful shed and I think it was because of something going with his head scales. Before he was even going into shed I noticed that the skin on the top of his head was flakey. But I figured it would be resolved by his next shed. Once he had his incomplete shed, I followed the advice on this thread and put him in a container with water and a washcloth. The tip of the tail came off easily in the water, and the eyes came off with the initial shed.
However, he didnt seem to want to get his head in the water, so the skin on the top of his head and a bit on the top of his neck is still unshed.
Do you guys have any idea how I can get this skin off?
His previous shed was perfect so I am not really sure what happened this time.
Also sorry for an spelling or grammar mistakes, its hard to make sure everything is correct when using my phone.

[Nanci]

You could try putting him in a damp towel/wash cloth and having him squirm through it, so it would have to touch his head. I'd also make him a humid hide with moss and see if he will use it.

[jwag]

You guys probably think I'm crazy with all my questions and I don't even have a snake yet, but...
When you use a humid hide, you put it in the warm side of the viv, right, so that the heat and water would make it nice and humid?

[Alicia P]

Nope I put humid hides in the middle or the cool side. Heat and moisture invite mold to form more quickly.

And questions asked before you get your snake are preferred around here :)

[jwag]

Thanks Alicia! Glad I asked. The mold growth makes sense with warm moisture. I guess I just didn't think it all the way through. Thanks again!

[MelRoxUrSox]

I put the little guy in a damp pillow case and I can see his head rubbing against the material so hopefully that will help. Is it normal for the top of the head to be a tough spot to shed?

[lynda]

My adult corn (fairly new to me) seldom sheds the skin all in one piece. It comes all the way off, but in pieces varying in size. Is this okay?

[Spencer]

I had a bad shed yesterday. 1 big piece, a few small pieces and I don't know which part is the head. His tail is still stuck on too. Maybe from overhandling?

[Phil1ooo]

My snake has shed now about 7 or 8 times since I've had him, he's just on 2 metres long. He does always have a 40lt water pool available to him 24/7. Now I'm no expect on snakes and can only go by what I have read and seen my snake do. But all his sheds have been perfect mostly all coming off in one piece (my kids love to keep those ones) but I have noticed that the broken ones are broken due to him sliding around objects in his tank which I presume the skin gets caught on. But (and I've never taught him this) LOL but I have noticed that he soaks himself for about 10 to 15 minutes by swimming in his pool before shedding and that it's always at night time when it's colder that he sheds.

In my personal opinion the weather (heat) around them may have a part to play in how they shed. think about it for a sec, the skin is not much different to a very extremely thin sheet of (lets say) some sort of film, If you expose a film to heat it gets soft and tacky (which is why it may stay stuck on the snakes body) and hard to work with but if you keep it cold it's stay firm and is easy to handle which would make the snakes skin none tacky allowing the moisture to separate the skin from the body much easier.
This may be a way off description of explaining it but I'm sure you can get the picture.

Try (only a suggestion of cause) when you know your snakes going to shed keeping him in a cold area or for lack of a better way of explaining it, turn off all heat sources in the viv. Only a thought.


You may say I'm talking out of my whatever here, but I'm the type of person to observe, look and remember things like weather, surrounding elements, individual circumstances etc for everything from live animals and pretty much everything and every element of every aspect of everything plays a part in how long it lasts, stays usable, fades etc etc. That's just me I suppose and probably due to my line of work but anyway it's a thought and only a personal observation which may help your cause.

Cheers

[Phil1ooo]

Quick note,, Moisture is also important which we all already are aware of. So having said that providing your snake with something he can completely submerge himself in only makes sense. If your a snake lover and you want your snake to shed properly then providing him with what he actually needs rather than trying to cut corners also only makes perfect sense for both your won peace of mind and your snakes well being. the snake knows what he needs and it's up to you to provide him with exactly that no matter what the small extra expense it takes to make that happen. Remember snakes aren't like dogs, cats etc, they don't have different face expressions when they want or need something.

If you own a dog or a cat do you only give yourself a spray bottle of water to wash them with or do turn on the tap and soak them wet. NO I bet you don't, you don't even think twice about turning on that hose tab to drench them, filling the bath to soak them etc. Again only my personal opinion but I feel that these snakes should have at it's disposal enough water to submerge in at all times as that is what they would have in the wild.
Sorry if that offends some of you as it's wasn't the intention.

[Spencer]

My snake does have enough water. He used it as a hide for the first couple days before I got him a propeR hide. He s in it all the time. Still incomplete she'd. Maybe the branch in his viv is too rough

[marcellajoleen]

I have a question about this. This is an excellent thread. My girl Ophelia is was born in July and her last shed was difficult, so I gave her a soak, worked wonderfully. She's shedding again, and I just bought her this new cork log that she's hiding in and I can see that pieces of her old skin are coming off in it nicely. She refuses to leave the cork log and I can't get her out of it, so I've just been letting her be. She shed the skin from her eyecaps down to what I'd call her neck (I found that in her tank) but she's still working on the rest. Should I just let her be? Isn't it only supposed to take 24 hours or so for them to completely shed? It's been about four days. I'm going out of town for a few days and I won't have anyone to check on her so I'm awfully worried about getting this solved and getting her fed before then. I don't want it to continue to be a problem for her with every shed. I've been misting the walls of her tank and keeping her screen lightly covered with plastic bags to keep the humidity up. Is there anything else I can do or should I let her chill?

[Nanci]

It should take minutes for her to shed. Maybe she will come out of the log if you remove it and place it on the floor, and prod her.

To help in the future, I would either, when she goes blue, cover the screen lid with plastic wrap, loosely, and mist the walls and her plants, daily, or make her a humid hide by putting damp orchid moss in a plastic container and cutting a little door in it, and giving her that when she goes blue.

[marcellajoleen]

Hi Nanci, thanks for the advice! I am going to try to get her out of the log tonight so I can soak her. It was cheap so if I have to maybe I can just crack it open. When I went to work today I lightly covered the screen lid with some damp paper towels to try and help. I have aspen for bedding and I'm considering switching to a better moisture controlling one. Which one would you recommend?

[Nanci]

I pretty much only like aspen. The problem with a substrate that retains moisture is it is then prone to mold. Aspen will only mold if you have a big water bowl spill. It's fairly easy to just get in the routine of putting plastic wrap on- I get the holiday colored wrap and lay a sheet of it on top of the viv, and then just crumple it up and srote it right there until the next shed- and misting lightly.

[Red Delta]

Thanks for the advise. Worked perfectly.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GkBY6UwOlIQ/UzZbF2jhR9I/AAAAAAAAH8U/MeZY8xMeF7g/w751-h563-no/20140329_013240.jpg

[Nanci]

Looks like it got more than the shed loosened up! :-)

[Red Delta]

Looks like it got more than the shed loosened up! :-)

Yes, easy cleanup.

[roti_mentega]

its look bad to me..she shed last 2 weeks, and I noticed that got some incompleted shed on the belly area..then last two days she shed again..still got incomplete shed at same area..

I already soaked with warm water. look like this area very dry. can i put some baby oil or something?

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae118/roti_mentega/DSC_1120_zpsb6d6f8d5.jpg (http://s963.photobucket.com/user/roti_mentega/media/DSC_1120_zpsb6d6f8d5.jpg.html)

[franzzypants]

thanks for the advice! I will do this with Leonard when I get home

[witchxmystic]

I'm so glad I found this! I got my corn snake about a month ago. He's about 2. He's going through a bad shed right now so I tried soaking him, but he flipped out about being placed in the water (it was lukewarm, not too hot, not cold!). He still has a lot of the old skin on. Should I give him a few more days before trying again?

[TimeBomb]

Going to try this for Bandit's next shed. His first shed came off in two pieces. Since I have a more natural tank with LOTS of wood and things to catch the skin on, I didn't think much of it. But this time the shed was littered about the bottom of the enclosure and he seemed to have a much harder time. Even pulled a scale off his side somehow. :(

Great sticky, and thanks for the write-up!

-Travis

[clairemills777]

I have always given mine a "bath." I fill a bowl with luke warm water, and let him soak for a minute or two. I can then usually use my hands to start the shed again, and he's able to wiggle on out of it with no problems.

[Emily78]

Next, take your beautiful snake out for a photoshoot in her new skin!

Thanks for looking- hopefully this will help someone down the line!

Nanci

Wow, your snake's new skin is absolutely stunning! The colors and patterns are so vibrant and unique. Taking her out for a photoshoot was a great idea to showcase her beauty. Your post is not only visually captivating but also informative.

[twcctz500]

If your snake sheds, and all you find is a few pieces, check the snake to make sure all the shed has come off. You may find your snake still has pieces of shed clinging to her! Don't worry, but don't leave her like that, either.hello nice to see you all today

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