Shedding Problem? Help!

[BetaConcept]

So about a week ago my snake when into the blue stage, and she still hasn't fully shed her skin. Now I'm seeing scrapes of her skin on her neck area, and I'm not sure if this is a failed shed or something of the sort. Can anyone help, and is it normal? (She hasn't been fed for about two weeks due to going into to shed, and she's already had one successful shed with me)

 

[hypnoctopus]

It looks like she has some stuck shed on her. I would get a wash cloth or hand towel damp with room temperature water and have her slither through it in your hands. You can put gentle pressure on her as she slides through the cloth. Next time you see her go blue, you can try adding a humid hide to her enclosure, which will hopefully help her have a better shed next time.

 

[BetaConcept]

I don't think she's even shed yet though, I don't see any shed in her tank.

 

[hypnoctopus]

Well, you could wait a few days and see if she manages to get it off by herself. It wouldn't hurt to add a humid hide at this point, either.

 

[BetaConcept]

Alright. And also, I should note that when she curves her body her skin seems to fold at the creases, which I'm assuming is because of the old skin. Is that normal? And once again, is the scrapes of skin coming off already normal too?

 

[hypnoctopus]

I wouldn't call it normal, but I don't think it's highly unusual or rare. So far, I've only ever noticed the wrinkly skin on corns that have a stuck shed. Most of the time, corns shed just fine without our help and when they have normal sheds, I have never seen the flaky pieces or the folds at the creases.

 

[BetaConcept]

So what if it is a stuck shed? What should I do? None of it seemed to come off yet.

 

[hypnoctopus]

It's not a big deal if it is a stuck shed. Just follow my earlier advice about the damp towel if she doesn't get it off (or doesn't get all of it off) by herself.

 

[BetaConcept]

Thank you. And for how long should I keep the hide in there, and how often should I remoisturize it?

 

[hypnoctopus]

Just until she sheds. And just remoisten it when it feels dry. Sphagnum moss from Home Depot works really well and holds its moisture pretty well.

 

[smigon]

I soaked my girl for about 20 minutes in a shallow container and noticed the skin starting to shed. I used a washcloth to let her slither through, it took about an hour but she is completely healed!

 

[ballpythoncrazy]

Another good way to help a snake shed is to offer a humidity hide! Just get a Tupperware or any plastic food storage container, cut a hole in it, and add substrates that hold humidity well. My humidity hides have Eco Earth and Moss in them. Make sure the moss/dirt is always damp. Not wet, but damp. I usually mist the inside of my humidity hides every other day with a spray bottle. Then just put the hide on the warm side of the tank to generate humidity. Your snake will go inside on its own when it needs to shed. Your snake will probably go in and shed the rest of its skin off by itself. My corn snakes love them!

 

[nancyg]

i had a baby that had some stuck shed on hhis head, I used paper out of the paper shredder and sprinkled in some water.. he was put in a deli cup with the damp paper, and we left him alone for a couple hours.. When I checked later, he'd gotten the shed off himself....
I think the paper works nicely because it's a little 'stiffer' and has nice loops to wiggle through for dragging shed off. I also offer humid hides with the sphagnum moss (called orchid moss in my hardware store) if I notice a snake going into blue.

 

[BetaConcept]

Well, about an hour of doing what you guys recommended, it worked! She is now free of her old skin and now has a full belly again. Thanks!

 

[hypnoctopus]

Good to hear!

 

[smigon]

Yay! It sucks when something like this happens, you don't know the outcome, but with a little patience almost anything can be resolved.