I'm worried :S

Ok so Parseltongue shed yesterday...eventually. I fed her today and all was fine until I saw she still had some skin on her tail and it was really tight. But now I have fed her I can't handle her. I tried dropping some water onto her tail while she was in her feeding tank to moisten it but not sure if this will have worked. Also we had a lot of trouble getting her back into her viv after feeding as we have moved her into a larger feeding tank where I can just drop her in the top as she always tries to escape the smaller one. However now I have to take the lid off entirely and drop her back in when she has been fed. She really didn't like this and I'm worried it might have stressed her and she may regurge. As she is my first snake, I don't really know what to expect.
Please help!
Thank youu

Stop messing around with her till 48 hours after she ate. Then look at this thread http://tinyurl.com/29hqmz and follow the instructions. A regurge is more dangerous than a retained tail shed. And why are you "dropping" her at all? You should either feed her in a small enough container that you can just lower that into her viv and let her crawl out, or remove her from the feeding container and set her very gently down in her viv.

You sound worried. You really don’t need to worry at this point. Everything is going to be fine. Take a deep breath, in through the nose out through the mouth.

If you fed her today, Monday, just leave her alone until Wednesday. That will give her time to digest and to calm down. On Wednesday give her a warm bath for half an hour. The water should feel just slightly cool to your hand. Just let her soak. After the bath get a damp towel and let her crawl through the towel and you should be able to easily rub off the skin on her tail.

The only reason we feed in a separate container is be sure that the snake doesn’t accidentally swallow aspen shavings with the mouse. I personally don’t think it is necessary. If you put the mouse on a small paper plate and put it in the cage, the snake can easily pick it up with no worries of getting shavings. I know many people swear by the idea, but I think it just adds stress to the snake at feeding time.

The thing I like about feeding in a separate container is it gives me the opportunity for a regular, scheduled time to remove the water bowl, scrub it, and to go thoroughly through the viv for poo and to check for spilled water. Everyone gets cleaned on at least a weekly basis, that way.

Its not a cardinal sin to feed in the tank. I too feed in seperate containers for the facts that Nanci stated. The paper plate idea works great for my friend that is how he feeds his. I think it is personal preference.

thanks for all your help I'll bath her on Wednesday and hopefully that should help. When I said drop, i don't actually drop her! I tip her out and put her in, drop was just the word i chose. But I think I will just let her crawl out from now on. Thank you. I'm feeling less worried now.

Well it is more complicated but I have figured out how to clean my snakes and change their water without putting them in a separate feeding tub.

Let's see. Open viv, remove snake, feed snake, take out water dish, scrub and refill, pick out poo, check for damp bedding, replace aspen if necessary, put back water bowl, put back snake.

Or. Open viv, take out water bowl, close viv. Open viv, check for poo, remove poo, while trying to keep curious snake in the viv, close viv. Go get more aspen. Open viv, put in new aspen, close viv. Open viv, try to set down water bowl, snake gets in the way, have to set down water bowl somewhere else, move snake, pick up water bowl, snake is back in the way, go ahead and squash snake, close viv.

My goodness Nanci, I’m glad you don’t write my itinerary. I’d never get anything done. Quite simply, I have a 5-gallon bucket with a lid on it. I put the snake in the bucket and clean as needed. I put the snake back. The difference between your method and mine is that I’m not handling mine on feeding day. My snakes eat in the comfort of their own homes where they feel safe and secure.

i feed in the cages also. and for cleaning if its something lil like water i open up the cage. all of my bowls have every animals name written on the bottom. so i grab all the bowls and throw them in a big rubber maid tub with the water still in them. carry the tub upstairs to the sanitary sink. wash them or disinfect in another tub if its that day. and then i dry and stack them take them back down and grab my water pitcher and go up clean it, then fill it. for a full cage cleaning i have a holding tub that i have extra security clamps on it and put snakes in there, and then remove all cage stuff, clean them, put stuff back, and so on.

feeding in cage is much easier on me and the animal. regurges are no fun, and if your careful and keep a close eye on the feeding you have no worry about them eating bedding.

Because of the kinks at the end of my boy's tail he never sheds the last inch or two. As soon as he's shed I dampen a handcloth/towel and apply gentle pressure as he slides through. It may take a couple passes, but I find this works well at removing the retained shed. I agree with Nanci that a regurge is far more dangerous and would suggest while waiting to place a wet box in the viv for the next two days if you haven't already. Even if she doesn't use it - as she's probably enjoying the warmth while digesting - it'll at least add some moisture to the viv.