Lube?

[Rorryy]

The setting: 4 snakes in the same room, heating/humidity/hides etc. comparable. 3 snakes thriving 1 failing. I have had her (the one in question) and the ghost since valentines day. The ghost is doing fantastic. My little shoestring lavender is miserable. She has regurged 2x and for the past 6 midnights now I have been running her through a wet wash cloth to help her shed. A lot of progress has been made, only her tail shed is left but she is very weak. She is an 8/30/05 hatchling and is approximately 9". Is there some kind of lubricant I can use in the future if I run into the same problem to help with shedding? I thought I heard something about Vit E but in the search I came up empty. If my baby survives this she will need a new name I hope you great herpers will help me out. By the way she has a moist hide made out of sphagnum and has only frequented it in the last 2-3 days. Any advise is very welcome, novice or other, I thank you in advance.

Angela

 

[diamondlil]

oh all I can offer is to say I'm rooting for you and your baby, Lil was similar, regurging, losing weight and then not shedding properly. We've still got a long way to go, I'm still syringe feeding her but she is a 35 gram porker now.
I wish there was something obvious different or wrong about Lil's husbandry so I could change it and make her a normal snake again.
Luck and support in a virtual way winging to you.............J9

 

[Taceas]

Well I'd say that the bad shedding is most likely due to the nutritional deficiencies and dehydration as well. I've seen it more often than not in my non-feeders. I think I could probably count the bad sheds on one hand for the rest of my general snake population.

I wouldn't use any sort of oil based substance to help with the shed, it'd just collect dirt and debris. Usually soaking overnight in about 1-2cm of water with a waded up paper towel in there and then running them through a moist paper towel is enough to remove any retained shed. There is a product called Shed Ease that's in the reptile section. I've not tried it, but several other people have reported success with it.

If she's as bad off as you make it sound, I would say euthanasia would be a kind end compared to a life like that. I don't promote tube feeding snakes at all. If they don't have the will to live and eat on their own, then I'm not going to will it for them. Animals like that just don't deserve life-long suffering like that, not to mention potentially passing on some sort of broken gene if they somehow make it to breeding size.

I assume you're waiting the obligatory 10 days between regurged feedings? What sort of temps are you keeping her at? And most importantly, have you taken a fecal sample to a vet to have it analyzed?

 

[diamondlil]

If she's as bad off as you make it sound, I would say euthanasia would be a kind end compared to a life like that. I don't promote tube feeding snakes at all. If they don't have the will to live and eat on their own, then I'm not going to will it for them. Animals like that just don't deserve life-long suffering like that, not to mention potentially passing on some sort of broken gene if they somehow make it to breeding size.

Your choice, not mine.
Lil will never be used for breeding, she is growing and shedding at a normal rate. If she wasn't growing, slithering about and acting in every way normal except feeding voluntarily, I'd have her euthanised.