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First shed in my care, tail issues?

C

corsara

New member
So the moment finally came after 1 1/2 months since we got our first snake---she shed last night :) That's a first for us and we are really excited!

The skin is one long uninterrupted piece. The head is complete with eye caps and everything, but since it's the first time we see something like that, I need to ask about the tail.

From the looks of the skin, there is no tail tip (see picture), however when looking at the snake, her tail tip looks sharp as a needle. How should I understand all of this---did she shed her tail or she didn't?

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I would bet that she has not shed the tip of the tail. Sometimes it is really hard to tell if the skin is there or not. Give her a soak in room temp water for about 15 minutes, then take a wet towel and work on the tail tip. You don't want to leave it on because she could end up losing the tip if it stays.
 
I'd soak her as described in the sticky in the health section, and also search for the tail tip shed in the viv. I often find that part separate from the rest- it's very fragile.
 
Ok, so I just put her in her feeding container on a soaked towel and even some more water on top. Left her like that for about 15 mins or so, then took her and let her lower body and tail slide through the towel (she didn't really like it though!). Visually examining her tail with my inexperienced eyes, it looks perfect to me. It's kinda really pointy all the way to the very tip, but I've also noticed muscle activity in the very tip of it, so it can't be dead skin I guess. The surface looks absolutely perfect with no interruptions. But I think that it all looked like that even before the soaking and the towel.

Out of curiosity (hope I never have to go through this!), what's the worst that can happen if a corn loses her tail? What are the consequences of that other than aesthetics? Does the animal suffer, or it's all the same to them?
 
Can you post a picture of her tail?

More than likely that tiny bit of tail tip shed is somewhere in her viv. If the surface is smooth and you do not see anything flaky or off color, it's probably fine. Nanci is right, that tiny tip piece is delicate and probably broke off the shed. I doubt she has any stuck.
 
The surface does look smooth and uninterrupted, I looked closely at it from a few inches from my eyes. I wish I took pictures, but I don't want to disturb her right now---she seemed like she felt really cold in the water and immediately went into her warm hide to warm up after the swim session. Later today I'll be feeding her and will snap a few photos, which I'll post here in this thread.
 
Ok, tried to do a few photos, please tell me if there's any doubt, although I just fed her and probably really bad idea to torture with soaking for the next couple of days:

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I looked at it on my Mac last night and really magged it up. I can't see anything. BUT- I'd rather see it with the naked eye with reading glasses. I _think_ you'd feel it. If I'm _sure_ there's a tail tip stuck, I soak the snake, and if I don't find the tip on the wach cloth I VERY VERY gently rub the tail- but you have to be so careful because you can break the tip right off. But if there's shed stuck, you'll feel it and be able to roll it, after soaking.
 
Nanci said:
I looked at it on my Mac last night and really magged it up. I can't see anything. BUT- I'd rather see it with the naked eye with reading glasses. I _think_ you'd feel it. If I'm _sure_ there's a tail tip stuck, I soak the snake, and if I don't find the tip on the wach cloth I VERY VERY gently rub the tail- but you have to be so careful because you can break the tip right off. But if there's shed stuck, you'll feel it and be able to roll it, after soaking.
Click to expand...

Thanks Nanci. I'm pretty sure I don't feel anything by touch, also observation from up close. Then again, it's my first snake, so who knows.. Care for a trip up North to Ontario, it's the ski-season? Oh, and you can take a look at my snake's tail too :)))

Thanks for the advice.
 
I had the same thing happen with my first shed, except it was her whole body that needed help! Yes, the tail can be a problem, and they way you handled it was correct. Her tail looks good now, though.
 
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