Pulling shed off question

[MyKuLoO]

I recently started doing research on HOTs and as such I've watched a lot of videos on people that keep these. I noticed that when one of their snakes has an incomplete shed the keeper would rub and pull the unshed skin off. It was very aggressive and something that I never thought was acceptable.

I know this doesn't relate directly to jungle carpet pythons but it's the only snake I have right now so I guess for me it applies.

Mine has never had issues with shed so far and I wouldn't even consider doing what i've seen done in those videos.

The keeper was very experienced (35+ years) and obviously he had done it before.

Is this only something done with venomous snakes because the typical "keep in a moist pillowcase" method is not practical for venomous snakes?

[CosmicOwl]

Was it Viperkeeper?

[MyKuLoO]

Was it Viperkeeper?

haha yes it was! haha

[CosmicOwl]

If I had to guess why Al does that, I would say it's because he tends to take a hands on approach to fixing a problem. At the same time, he also doesn't like to mess with his snakes too much. It probably makes sense to him to simply take the shed off in one shot and get the job done, rather than fiddle with the snake on multiple occasions

A lot of hot keepers disagree with Al's methods. I don't keep any venomus animals, so I can speak to the issues of handling and such. However, I will say that I think his husbandry lacks. In his videos, I have seen a lot of stuck sheds(perhaps his fairly large collection skews my perception). I think he has humidity issues, which is compounded by the fact that he doesn't provide water bowls large enough to soak in(if he provides them at all).

[Moreau]

I can't believe he just goes at their eyes with tweezers like that to pull off eye caps! So many reasons to be unimpressed with that video. :(

[MyKuLoO]

If I had to guess why Al does that, I would say it's because he tends to take a hands on approach to fixing a problem. At the same time, he also doesn't like to mess with his snakes too much. It probably makes sense to him to simply take the shed off in one shot and get the job done, rather than fiddle with the snake on multiple occasions

A lot of hot keepers disagree with Al's methods. I don't keep any venomus animals, so I can speak to the issues of handling and such. However, I will say that I think his husbandry lacks. In his videos, I have seen a lot of stuck sheds(perhaps his fairly large collection skews my perception). I think he has humidity issues, which is compounded by the fact that he doesn't provide water bowls large enough to soak in(if he provides them at all).


He says that he feeds rats/mice soaked in water so they get enough water with just that. He does not provide any water bowels. He also lets them drink off the walls or their own scales with misting.

[MyKuLoO]

I can't believe he just goes at their eyes with tweezers like that to pull off eye caps! So many reasons to be unimpressed with that video. :(

Never saw that video before but ya seems too dangerous.

[mrgrimm]

He says that he feeds rats/mice soaked in water so they get enough water with just that. He does not provide any water bowels. He also lets them drink off the walls or their own scales with misting.

I know that there are a handful of wild creatures that can go extended periods of time without water, but if held captive I think access to clean drinking/cleansing/soaking water is a must, and really not all that hard to keep up on.

If it is hot snakes then yeah, a little more difficult to just reach in and change the water bowl but there are gloves out there to wear for that.

[SSSSnakes]

l don't always agree with Al, but he is an advanced professional keeper and not a hobbyist. Being a professional he does things that are way to advanced for most people on this forum. His methods are different from what a hobbyist would do, but the results prove his methods work and are done by many other professionals. When you have been dealing with a multitude of snakes for over 35 years, then you will know what works. Experience talks.

[shaunyboy]

on the rare occasion one of my carpets have had a bad shed (usually down to health issues at the time),i have put them in the bath soaked the snake,and carefully peeled any really stuck shed off...

just like you would peel cellotape (sticky tape) off a present...

sometimes it takes a fair bit of pulling to get it off,as long as you keep an eye on the scales as you do it,then there should be no issues

also if the tip of the tail has retained shed that's so tight it's threatening to restrict blood flow to the tail tip,i split the shed length wise from head to tail with my finger nail,once iv'e split it length wise,i peel it completely off

as long as your careful enough as to not pull scales off,then you can use a fair bit of force doing it

re eye caps
i use a water based lubricant such as KY Jelly or Viscotears eye moistener (for folk who wear contacts or suffer from dry eyes)

cheers shaun

[shaunyboy]

I can't believe he just goes at their eyes with tweezers like that to pull off eye caps! So many reasons to be unimpressed with that video. :(

i agree mate.....

that is oh so wrong to pull or rub at the eye caps

the best most effective way to remove retained eye caps is.....

a water based lubricant such as KY Jelly put on thickly over the eye caps usually re hydrates the caps and they curl up and fall off


cheers shaun

[MyKuLoO]

on the rare occasion one of my carpets have had a bad shed (usually down to health issues at the time),i have put them in the bath soaked the snake,and carefully peeled any really stuck shed off...

just like you would peel cellotape (sticky tape) off a present...

sometimes it takes a fair bit of pulling to get it off,as long as you keep an eye on the scales as you do it,then there should be no issues

also if the tip of the tail has retained shed that's so tight it's threatening to restrict blood flow to the tail tip,i split the shed length wise from head to tail with my finger nail,once iv'e split it length wise,i peel it completely off

as long as your careful enough as to not pull scales off,then you can use a fair bit of force doing it

re eye caps
i use a water based lubricant such as KY Jelly or Viscotears eye moistener (for folk who wear contacts or suffer from dry eyes)

cheers shaun


Maybe because they are venomous he prefers to just tear off the shed at 1 time instead of risking the soak and peel? Just thinking maybe why he does what he does.

[SSSSnakes]

Maybe because they are venomous he prefers to just tear off the shed at 1 time instead of risking the soak and peel? Just thinking maybe why he does what he does.

The fact that the snakes are venomous or not, has nothing to do with it.

Again, he does what he does, because his methods are at an advanced level. I have seen vets use this method to remove eye caps. If done properly this method does not hurt the eye. I would never recommend a hobbyist or amateur to try it.

Many times I have received a snake in for adoption that had a number of eye caps retained, because the owner never bothered to make sure they came off. This can cause damage to a snake's eye. So using a combination of moisture and tweezers to remove the eye caps works perfectly.