• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Bad shed?

S

Shady

New member
Well my baby zelda is having a bad shed. I think.
I noticed her in Blue last Saturday. And a couple days ago her eyes weren't milky anymore.
Then the next day i noticed her "skin" was very loose.
Now she has spots near her head where the shed is peeling.
It looks as if she already shed her head and eyes but the rest just isn't coming off.

Is she just not ready yet?
What can I do to help her

Also shes on 8 days without being fed, how much longer should I wait to feed her?
 
Usually they have a 'clear' phase after blue phase, where they haven't shed yet but they don't look blue anymore.
I'd give her a moist hide and another day or two to see if she can get the rest of her shed off. Sometimes a luke warm bath helps too (no more than about 86 degrees).
 
My Omnom has this problem every time he sheds (has a pretty significant neck kink that I think gives him trouble)...I have to help him every time. I tried a moist hide, he had no interest in it, so what I do is get a damp paper towel and let him cruise through it in my hands and work the shed off that way. This way takes quite a bit of time (I want to say almost an hour??) but I let him do most of the work and when his shed comes off I inspect to make sure the tail tip came off in one piece. I have to re-dampen the paper towel several times also, as it will start to dry out. I did invest in some shed-ease stuff from Petco and let him soak in that first for about 20 mins last time, and that cut the time by about half.
 
Question: My Ki just shed for the third time since I got him. He's an adult, eats well, shiny and gorgeous. The first time he shed the whole skin intact. The next time it was in three or four pieces. This time it took about 45 minutes, and was in many pieces. He seemed to have trouble getting it off - roamed and rubbed all over his space. Is this okay? Anything I should do next time?
 
Try a moist hide.

My other snake, link, went into blue after I posted this thread. I gave him a moist hide. Although I never seen him use it, it bump up the humidity in his viv and he shed almost perfectly.
 
Maybe the key is the humidity! I live in Colorado, where our humidity averages something like 12%. Okay, dumb question: what is a moist hide?
 
It's not a problem.
You might get more replies if you created a new thread but it doesn't bother me none.

A moist hide is where you put a damp cloth in one of there hides. I soaked a rag then completely ringed it out then placed in the hide. Repeated daily.

Yes 12% is low. I think ideal is 40% if I'm not mistaken.
 
That I dont know. I assume you fill your tub enough to where their bodies are submerged but not so much to where tthey cant keep their heads above water. Just let them slither around in there. Just keep a close eye on them while in there
 
lynda said:
Maybe the key is the humidity! I live in Colorado, where our humidity averages something like 12%. Okay, dumb question: what is a moist hide?
Click to expand...
A moist hide is simply a hide that has something damp in it. The easiest way to make one is to cut a hole in the top and side of a container (butter tub, cool whip tub, rubbermaid bowl, etc) and put something in it you can keep damp. Paper towels work, but you should change them daily b/c they can mold. You can also go to Lowes or Home Depot (most pet stores too, but it's more money) and get some Sphagnum moss which works really well, just get a hand full of it wet and squeeze out the extra water and pop it in whatever you are using for the moist hide.
lynda said:
Thanks! I have also been reading about bathing them, or soaking them. How do you do that??
Click to expand...
Also simple, you can use the bath tub, but be warned most snakes will poop when put into water, a small tote works well and is easier to scrub out than the whole bath tub. Put an old hand towel or or a few paper towels in the bottom and then add 1/4 to and 1 inch (depending on the size of your snake, about half way up their body is all that's necessary) of water. The water shouldn't feel warm to you, if it does it is warmer than your hands and that usually means it's warmer than 98 degrees, which is to warm for a corn. If your in doubt use a thermometer to check the temp of the water, 82-86 degrees is good. A 10-20min soak is usually sufficient to help with a stuck shed, but if your snake seems to be enjoying itself, some like the water, a little longer is ok too.
 
My Albion has an aissue with shedding too . I put him in the bath tub and let him swim about and then let him wriggle his way through a towel after does the job .
 
Would it be a good idea to let him soak/swim BEFORE the shed, to get the skin moist enough to come off easily? If so, what is good timing? I would be inclined to do it right after the blue goes away, though with Ki there isn't much time then before he sheds.
 
lynda said:
Would it be a good idea to let him soak/swim BEFORE the shed, to get the skin moist enough to come off easily?
Click to expand...

I've heard that soaking too early in the shed cycle can actually make a shed worse, because the natural lubricant that a snake makes between its new & old skin will be soaked away, so you shouldn't soak until the snake has actually started shedding.

I think a humid hide or other tricks to raise the humidity are fine earlier in the shed cycle, and a good idea if you have any reason to believe your snake might have a bad shed (history with this snake, you know you have low humidity, etc.).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top