Corn snake shedding problems

[DANIBEAR36]

Hello,
I'm new to the snake community, but have done a lot of research before purchasing my first corn snake from a reputable reptile store. He was a hatchling when I bought him about a month ago. His first shed with us was unsuccessful, after about a week of trying to remove all of it, we finally got everything off. He's a great eater of pinkies! And is rather active when he is NOT in shed. I live in South Florida so humidity is pretty great here, the gauge varies between 45%- 60%. He is still a hatchling so we have him in a 10 gallon for now (we will upgrade). We have aspen, a tree branch, vines, water dish, and 2 hides (one cold side one of hot). I had high hopes for his second shed which was yesterday. He started shedding and was slithering around his enclosure for about an hour or 2, instead of inching his way out of his shed. Only shed about 1/4 his body before giving up.
I am doing everything right as far as my research goes.
I will take to a vet if need be.
PLEASE HELP.

PS. He is of a morph I have never seen which is why he stood out to me. His patterns are very light and barely noticeable (stipes and triangles toward his tail) His color is PINK but not albino. Store described his to be "pewter"

[Bandit]

Does he have things to rub up against to help remove the shed?

Next time when you see him getting ready to shed, either soak him in lukewarm water or spray him with a mister. No need to stress out about this. As long as he's eating and shedding, he's alright. Just make sure you get off any stuck shed.

[craigafrechette]

Does he have things to rub up against to help remove the shed?

Next time when you see him getting ready to shed, either soak him in lukewarm water or spray him with a mister. No need to stress out about this. As long as he's eating and shedding, he's alright. Just make sure you get off any stuck shed.


This is completely unnecessary. Proper sheds start with proper husbandry. I've been keeping snakes almost 20 years and have never once needed to soak a snake. Especially BEFORE a shed.
There is a place for soaks, but BEFORE a shed is just adding unnecessary stress to the animal.
The only time I ever soak a snake is if they have a little "sausage butt" forming and could use a little help going to the bathroom. Works every time.

Now to help OP....

One thing that stood out to me is when you reference a "gauge" to read your humidity. Unfortunately, those gauges are wildly inaccurate. They can be off up to 15%. And if you're relying on that to read temps your temps are likely off too.

I highly suggest a digital thermometer/hygrometer. May, myself included, use Accurite brand which can be bought at Walmart or Amazon for around $10-12. I have two in each enclosure.
You may want to switch substrates too. Aspen is very dry and dusty (not to mention messy). You may want to try a coco coir substrate.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

[PanUzasny]

You may want to switch substrates too. Aspen is very dry and dusty (not to mention messy). You may want to try a coco coir substrate.


Just want to second the substrate switch. I was using aspen with my kingsnake and ending up soaking him after he was shedding in pieces. I switched to Reptisoil blended with some Reptibark mixed in (I don't remember if I mixed it with coco coir as well...). After the substrate switch he's been able to completely shed without any soak.

[DANIBEAR36]

Thank you all so much! All great advice! I will switch up the substrate, any thought about Eco Earth?

[craigafrechette]

Thank you all so much! All great advice! I will switch up the substrate, any thought about Eco Earth?

I've been using Eco Earth and ReptiBark for years. Love it.

[chairman]

In the 1990s, cornsnake keeping in FL was accomplished by placing snakes in an aquarium with newspaper for substrate, a hide, and a water dish. No heat source was used. When you saw your snake go blue, you placed the snake in a plastic container that was half full of water, put a ventilated lid on the container, and soaked the snake for about 2 hours. The snake would then shed. That's just how it was done. I raised snakes like this for years with no issues.

Snake keeping has changed a lot since then. I now keep my corns in an enclosure with a couple inches of a mixture of coco coir/ecoearth and sphagnum moss, with a large cork flat for a hide, a water dish, and a basking lamp. I keep a portion of the substrate moist, not wet, and let other areas dry out. I also keep isopods in the enclosure to manage waste. The snakes are also doing just fine, but the setup is much more convenient to manage.