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Shedding problem (maybe)

V

Vidfreaky

New member
Well, my new snake buddy has started his first shed. The problem is that it is definately NOT coming off all in one piece. It's coming off in bits and pieces like a sunburn would peel off of you over the course of a few days. Now I've red enough to know that this is very likely due to a lack of humidity in my enclosure. What can I do to get the humidity up to help him out? I started misting the tank today (Thursday), but since I just came back from a 5 day business trip yesterday (Wednesday) I'm not entirely sure when he started shedding. I do know that I fed him on Friday evening before I left and he doesn't seem to have regurgitated that, don't know if that tells you anything or not.

I also know that it was incredibly hot in the enclosure when I came home from my trip. nearly 100 degrees on the warm side at 4pm due to an AMAZINLY hot couple of weeks we've been having. Don't know if that could have contributed to it as well or not.
 
You can stick Buddy in a rubbermaid container with wet- but not dripping paper towels. Let Buddy brush himself on them for a couple of hours. The humidity should help and the paper towels will help him remove the rest of the shed. If there is still a little left, let Buddy run through your fingers and gently help the skin slide off. Make sure to check the shed for his eye caps!
 
I've found that when all my snakes were 'new' their first shed came off in pieces. There was nothing wrong with the humidity or temps and their shed have been fine and in one whole piece ever since. I think it could have been due to the stress of changing environments, but thats only a guess! Just make sure that all the old skin comes off and that their are no bits left on (esp at the tip of the tail and on the spectacles that cover the eyes).

HTH :D
 
Exercise caution when misting to raise the humidity in an enclosure. Remember that a little goes a long way! Corns are not Brazilian Rainbow Boas, which requiring >80-85% humidity. Excessive moisture can cause numerous health problem. If you add moisture, invest in some type of device to measure humidity (analog or digital).

I am not a big proponent of the "add more water, solve shed problem" theory of husbandry. Unless you live in an arid environment or use an extremely high wattage bulb for heat, there may be other factors to look at regarding incomplete sheds. Can you give more details on your setup?
 
Shed Ease spray is good, I find, as is putting the water bowl on the warm side (as long as you have good ventilation).
 
Alright, Buddy is still shedding and he doesn't seem to be making too much progress in the last few days.

Someone asked for details on my setup so here they are.

20 Gallon Hagen Glass tank
Reptibark substrate about 1 inch deep.
Repti Therm 8w UTH on the left side of the tank.
Repti-Temp Rheostat, keeps left side about 86-87 degrees
Small water bowl on the warm side of the tank.
Old computer game box on the warm side with a hole about 1" square for a hide
A hollowed out half log hide for the cool side (the kind you see at any pet store)
Regular tank screen on top.

That's about all there is to tell about that.


The snake's demeanor hasn't changed at all since it started shedding and it is still taking food with no problems at all every 4 days. I'm just worried that it has been shedding for nearly 2 weeks now and hasn't made much progress in the last week or so.

Oh, and for those who don't remember any of my other posts, Buddy is a hatchling, about 2.5 months old.
Any ideas?
 
iF IT HAS BEEN TWO WEEKS, YOU NEED TO ASSIST

A few things stand out:

1. Temp is high. Id recommend lowering the temp to ~82 degrees.

2. The open screen top is more than likely the culprit behind the shed problem. Try covering the majority of the top with newspaper or plastic. This will help retain more moisture inside the tank instead of losing it through evaporation.

3. Add new Repti-Bark or add enough to get a depth of ~2". This will help insulate the snake from the UTH heat and will add moisture into the enclosure.

4. If the shed has been "flaking off" slowly over a couple of weeks, you need to help remove the remainder quickly. Wet a paper towel and squeeze out the excess moisture. Lay the towel on your palm and lay the snake on top of the towel. Fold the towel over snake and gently close your hand, allowing the snake to crawl out of the towel. Repeat this as needed to remove the old shed.

Try these techniques in the future. I think you will find that the glass enclosure with an open top is the cause of the shed problems. Good luck.
 
CAV is right.

Although many people like to think glass tanks are the best housing option for reptiles, they are in fact one of the worst.

CONS to glass tanks:

1. Humidity. You simply cannot maintain humidity levels with screen lids in glass tanks. For corns this is not always an issue but keeping higher humidity species in glass tanks is just silly. When you cover your tanks lid, you also cut off almost all ventilation which leads to mold and god knows tons of other issues.

2. Heavy. Glass tanks are heavy. Hard to clean and hard to move. THey never will come as clean as a rubbermaid.

3. Wasted space. Some corns climb sometimes, some all the time, and most hardly ever. Tanks normally have tons of wasted space, which means wasted heating and just plain space taker uppers!

4. Heating. You can use bulbs fairly easy to tanks but these are not the best choice for any snake as they dry out an enclosure within minutes when on. Heating pads used on tanks work but again the glass can get so hot it can burn a snake. You can lower or raise the tank but glass gets hotter far faster than a rubbermaid.

IMHO Tanks are for fish.
bmm
 
one more thing

something that I don't think i saw mentioned.
Get a larger water bowl. You said a small water bowl. You need a water bowl large enough for your snake to get in completely.
 
Ok, I did what CAV suggested re: wet paper towel and I didn't get anywhere. The whole body of the snake is kinda frosted over (it's the old skin trying to shed I know, just trying to describe as best I can) from about an inch below the head. From there to the tip of his nose he's fine, that skin is apparently all gone and his eyes don't look cloudy either. It looks as though the only skin that's shed off was off his head and just below his head, although that isn't possible due to the amount that has already shed off.

Here's what I've done.

I taped some Wal-Mart bags over the screen with duct tape leaving only about 3 inches of the screen open on the cool side.

I reduced the temp on the rheostat, gonna have to wait for it to cool down before I can tell for sure what I lowered it to.

I increased the size of the water dish by about 10x.

I misted the tank just before I put Buddy back in and put the new screen on.

I added the rest of the bag of reptibark to the tank. It's now about 2 inches deep, give or take.




I'm going to leave him in overnight and try again tomorrow after work to help him shed.


Anything else I should be doing?


I may try and give him a hand later tonight as well if it looks like he's making any progress.
 
If it doesnt come off place him in a very small tupperware container with moist paper towels or even better moist wash cloth. Leave him there an hour or two.

bmm
 
I'm actually doing that right now. He's in a container that's about big enough square to fit a sandwich in. It's got wet paper towels in the bottom and the lid's on. I haven't actually put him back in the tank just yet.
 
Well would ya lookit that.

After leaving him in the wet container for about a half hour, his shed came right off, apparently very easily, all in one piece.

Believe it or not, I really did try putting him in with wet paper towel a week ago to no avail.

Worked like a charm tonight, thanks for the help everyone.
 
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