Shedding Problem

[mreyor]

I rescued a redtail boa about six months ago. He's about 18 months old and has not stopped shedding since I got him. I monitor how much I feed him, soak him in the bath occationally, oil him down weekly and make sure he has good humidity in his cage. Nothing is helping. Any suggestions?

[rachel132002]

how often is constantly? Daily, weekly, monthly does he have any cuts or burns - they'd cause more frequent sheds.

[mreyor]

Constant. He always has flakes. When we first got him it was small pieces coming off constantly, there was about 3 or 4 sheds layered on the end of his tail. He doesn't have any visible cuts or burns. With time the shedding has started to come in larger pieces, but doesn't actually stop. His eyes seem to shade over every 10-14 days on average. A friend rescued a python with severe stomache burns shortly after we did and her snake is shedding beautifully now. The only thing the snake people around here have suggested (at least at the beginning) is that the people we got him from had him on color printed newspaper over an undertank heater.

[Stormyva]

What is the humidity level in your cage?
What and how often are you feeding the snake?
The oil could be causing more issues than it's helping... the soaking should be enough to help the snake along.

Oh and welcome to RTB!

[rachel132002]

hmm possibilty of temps being too high, causing skin to dry and flake???

[mreyor]

We vary the temperature. We keep it around 75 degrees. There are two heaters under the cage and a lamp above the cage. We mainly us the lamp to boost the temperature after a feeding. The humidity level was kept around 50-60, but with winter setting in it's more around 40 now. I held off on feeding him for a little longer (just over two weeks) and most of his shed has come off. There is a little left on the tail. It seems odd that there is alway a part shedding. He's seems health in all other aspects. Should I take him to a vet?

[Shadrach]

First off I'd up the temps to a constant 85 to 88 degrees. Second I stop the oil which could cause him to dehydrate. Humidity sounds pretty good for off shed cycle but during shed cycles it wouldn't hurt to up it some. Also have you noticed any mites? This can cause a shed cycle to be triggered.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[Schwartz]

I Have An RTB That Did The Same Thing When I Got Her, Keep It Between 85-88, And Make Sure The Water Dish Is Full Enough The Animal Can Soak On Its Own. Also, I Peronally Found It Better To Up Humidty To Around 80 Percent Until You Notice An Increase. Mine Shed About Three Times Completely Before I Didnt Notice Flaking Anymore.

Dane

[Ed_r]

What kind of oil are you using? Never use oil on your snake. i dont even like it for mite treatment. not good.

If the snake is constantly shedding it may have a mite problem. Give the snake a bowl large enough to soak in, and see if it does right away.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[mreyor]

I've tried to up the humidity and heat in the tank. The only way I can get the humidity up is to spray water in the tank with a spray bottle. Increasing the heat baffles me. Like I said, we have two of the heaters that stick to the glass below the tank and run a 100 watt light bulb above the tank. The screen portion of the tank cover that is not needed for the light bulb/ventilation is covered by a piece of wood. With all this the tank never come close to 80 degrees. We have 3 heat/humity monitors in different parts of the tank. I was not concerned about the temperature in the tank because we have all the heaters on one side of the tank and the snake hangs out almost exclusively on the unheated side except after a feeding. I figured if he was cold he would go to the warmer side. Let me know if I'm mistaken. I don't know too much about snake behavior. Also, I live in Alaska and keep my house at 72 degrees. I noticed the temperature readers on the tank stay around that same temperature. How accurate are they?

[mreyor]

Oh ya, I was using snake oil by Nature Zone Benson and Sons. I've stopped using it based on all of the recommedations I've recieved. He really seemed to enjoy it though. Thank you all for your help.

[schmelkdog]

there is no one worse than someone with a new toy, but I finally got a temp gun and I'll tell you some of the temp strips are just off. I had really noticed it when in one tank I had two temp strips and one zoomed dial gauge. they never agreed. got the temp gun and saw they were all off. usually I found out, especially in the hides, it was warmer than the strips said. The temp guns seem to go from 25bucks and up.

[mreyor]

I got my first good shed. The skin is coming off in 4 inch patches now. Looks like it was the oil after all. Thanks you all so much.