Bad shed - again?

[SoundUnsleep]

Hey all:
I'm about ready to cry my eyes out.

Smiley, my BP, is shedding and I really (REALLY, REALLY!) heeded all the good advice regarding humidity, temperature, etc.

When I first got him he had retained shed just behind his head (an area about 3 inches long) and of course at first I was hoping it would just fall off. It didn't and Smiley and I went to great lengths to get rid of it, when he got really uncomfy (didn't wanna eat, got real cranky and started rolling around in the tank).

Ever since I took him in I made sure to have 80 degree at the low end, 90 at the high (I brought the high end down to 85-86 yesterday) and 70 percent humidity. I got two double dials at different heights of the tank (ETI and Zoo Med) to make certain that I get correct readings. Smiley is an active, healthy, eating BP. Loves to be handled and cudled.

Here's what I'm looking at right now:



The problem does not appear to be anything temperature, or humidity related. He passed blue phase only two days ago! What I did notice is this: The skin he's getting ready to shed is still very glossy in some places on his back and does not appear to have detached from the scales in those areas. Yet, he's flexing muscles around the rock log and wood log and scrapes across his furniture. It almost appears to me like as if he's using them as a sanding block to force the loose parts of the skin to come off (while the healthy looking old skin stays in place). So far he managed to scrape the old skin around his snout away (yes, up to beyond the eye caps that are still in place!), and ripped several sections of loose skin away from his underbelly.

Should I bring up the humidity a few notches (or turn it down?). I feel totally helpless.

I think I'm gonna go now get tissues ... no, not for tears - for the blood after I'm done banging my head in the table a couple of times.

[ChadRamsey]

IMO. give him a good soaking. fill a bin up with luke warm water to about half way up his back. put a heating pad under HALF of the bin. leave him in for an hour. take him out and hold him in a towel. he will try to wiggle out and hopfully lossen up some of the shed. repeat it once a day until its all off. this will also hydrate him which might be some of his problem.

good luck

[VoodooChile]

Up the humidity to about 75-80% for a few days and soak him. I usually put my snakes in a pillowcase, tie the end and fill the tub/sink/container to about 1/2 way up the side of snakes belly with warm/lukewarm water. Leave him in there as long as it takes. Just freshen the water a bit. After about 30mins you can add some mineral oil, olive oil, vegetable oil. He looks dehydrated. Have you had a fecal done to check for internal parasites? Worms?

[SoundUnsleep]

Chad - if I do it that way again (did it the first time!) and start whining in the forums about Smiley turning into a snapper turtle, I'll get slapped on the fingers, cause I'm stressing him out. He really doesn't like the soak-in-plain-sight (I think he's a bit shy about being seen naked?!).
amercnwmn - We had the vet do the worx. Negative, Smiley is a perfectly healthy young snake boy. Hope you don't mind, but I'm going to steal that patent for the homemade towel case from you. Smiley is still small and I don't want to loose him in a pile of pillow case fabric.
Oh, before I forget, that dehydrated look: He was flexing muscles while scrubbing his belly over the concrete log. I wished he would quit that, it looks so painful!

[VoodooChile]

By dehydrated, I meant the way the skin is folding and peeling..What are you feeding and how often? Sometimes they grow so fast, if you miss a growth spurt they wont shed properly..

[SoundUnsleep]

Oh, ... sorry ... didn't understand that. Smiley eats two rat pinkies once a week (he did miss out on his weekly meal Tuesday night). As to his diet I had just changed it the previous week (upped from one pinky), because he grew quite a bit.
I just misted him r-e-a-l-l-y carefully. Warmed up the water before I filled it into the spray bottle. I'm not even sure, if he noticed that he got misted down, because he just slowly curled up after I was done and is now napping.

[Pete J]

im a big fan of the damp hide. for the future. it gives the snake an option to go into a really damp and humid area and then leave when its satisfied. all my snakes have complete sheds everytime with this method.

i would soak now as people have suggested. clear the skin off. good luck.

[SoundUnsleep]

I've spent almost 2 hours on the stepstool without moving (chameleon tactic, you know, ... blending in with your surroundings?!) so Smiley wouldn't feel bothered by my presence. My back is killing me, but it's all worth it.

It's a SMILEY face, - <frenzied cheers>:

Eye caps came off, tongue is flicking double-time and - oooh, we are soo excited.

He's not going about that shedding thing like he should! He ripped the bottom all open and is basically getting out off the shed, like as if it was a coat. It seems to work, though. I keep misting him lightly every 30 minutes.

Something weird that I noticed: That yellow color under his chin is gone (turned sort of cream colored).

[VoodooChile]

are you sure hes not shedding right? sometimes the skin will split..as long as it all comes off, there shouldnt be any problems..
If his humidity is up, you may not need to mist every 30mins..just let him shed, and then wait and see how well he does..
As far as feeding I think you can safely feed him something larger next time..You should be feeding prey the same size as the girth of the widest part of the snake's middle So if hes about a 1" thick, you can probably safely feed an adult mouse

[SoundUnsleep]

Good Morning!

We are done shedding. It took a total of 14 and a-half hours and upon close examination this morning it was a complete shed, YEAH!


Smiley did not shed as I expected, rather, he ripped small chunks off. The entire process left him totally exhausted yesterday evening and I left him to himself until this morning. Now he’s his usual cuddly little self again.