shedding taking forever!

[katalyzt]

Okay so my GTP has been taking so long to shed, and definitely not in just one piece. She started shedding about 10/8/10 and she still doesn't seem to be completely done. I'm thinking it's a bit of a lack of humidity.

I couple days ago I went out and bought a timer thing and have the fogger going on about every five hours for 1 hour. Does that sound about right? Do GTP's usually take this long to shed?

She still moves around and drinks and stuff so she seems healthy. I'm just a bit worried she's not as comfortable as she could be.

[Ch^4]

Originally Posted by katalyzt

Okay so my GTP has been taking so long to shed, and definitely not in just one piece. She started shedding about 10/8/10 and she still doesn't seem to be completely done. I'm thinking it's a bit of a lack of humidity.

I couple days ago I went out and bought a timer thing and have the fogger going on about every five hours for 1 hour. Does that sound about right? Do GTP's usually take this long to shed?

She still moves around and drinks and stuff so she seems healthy. I'm just a bit worried she's not as comfortable as she could be.

The shedding problem certainly sounds like improper humidity. I don't have a GTP, but I'm pretty sure Willow or Lankyrob will post when they see this.

As far as your fogger schedule goes, it really depends on a number of different parameters.

1) Outside ambient humidity
2) Inside ambient humidity
3) Your enclosure's relative humidity
4) Heating source
5) Type of enclosure
6) Ventilation
7) etc., etc.

I have found that the best method for timing fogging systems is through trial and error; try one timing schedule, monitor the relative humidity in the enclosure, adjust as necessary. You should be able to dial it in within a couple of days. Also, find a good book on GTPs and husbandry, as I'm fairly certain that they are quite sensitive to changes in humidity.

Hope that helps!

[Lankyrob]

Humidity does seem to be the issue imo. I spray my gtp manually twice a day, in nature morning and evening are likely to be the higher humiditytimes so i spray then. The cage should pretty much totally dry out between times, they dont want a dsmp cage all the time as this can also cause issues.

[shaunyboy]

never kept gtp's but it sounds like husbandry issues

big rob will correct me if i get the name of the book wrong

the complete chondro by greg maxwell is the bible for gtp's

you need to get your humidity sorted

you dont want things too humid as that can lead to problems as well

what age is your gtp ?

if its older you may be able to soak it etc

its not reccommended that you handle a gtp in its first year

there spines are easily damaged at a young age

i hope you get things sorted as i know how frustrating it can be

my pair of irians i brought in from germany had a really bad shed a week after they arrived


im happy to say the female just shed 100% perfect for me last week

waiting on the male shedding this week

cheers shaun

[Lankyrob]

Shaun is right about the book, is the best one i have found.

[Will0W783]

I also agree with Shaun- The More Complete Chondro is probably the best $50 you can spend if you have a GTP (chondro) or desire to have one. I think your problem is improper ambient humidity. I imagine you are achieving spurts of adequate humidity when you mist, but it drops too quickly in between mists. How old is your GTP- this will have a LOT to do with how sensitive it is to the humidity. Adults can tolerate lapses in humidity much better than babies. GTPs under a year old need almost constant high humidity. In fact, a lot of keepers keep a half inch or so of water on the bottom of the cage for hatchlings up to yearlings.

Since your snake is in the middle of a very bad shed right now, I would go with the damp towel in a tote method. Soak a nice thick towel in hot water and fold it up in the bottom of a plastic tote. Then place the snake in there and put the lid on. You can leave it like that for 40 minutes to an hour. Some people put the snake in a damp pillowcase inside the cage, but I've found the tote works better in most cases- a dark tight spot like a pillowcase encourages the snake to lie still which is counterproductive to its rubbing off stuck shed.
Another thing you probably want to get is a shedding aid. Zoo-Med makes one you spray right on the snake, and depending on how tame your GTP is, you can spray it on and gently massage it in and the stuck skin should come right off.

However, the most important thing is that you correct your husbandry errors, or bad sheds will continue to happen and the animal will be more susceptible to RIs. I recommend getting a good digital thermostat/hygrometer. The stick-on analog humidity gauges suck and are very inaccurate. You really need to get a digital one for an animal as delicate as a GTP. They usually cost between $15-60 depending on how fancy you get with it. Best of luck.

[katalyzt]

Okay thanks for the info guys. I've ordered the book that Shaun suggested so in a couple days I should have a better idea of what I'm doing wrong.

I have a digital thermo that currently reads 82.9 at's about a third down from the top of the tank. I use a heat lamp set on the top and right now she's chillen pretty high up (about where the same level as the thermo). For humidity I've got a stupid analog dial that is reading 20% right now. I have the humidifier on a timer that turns it on for an hour and 10 min every 6 hours and it's currently half way through a 6 hr cycle.

The timer is new within the past couple weeks so I'm still fiddling with it trying to get the right cycle timing. I'm thinking since it's at 20% humidity in the middle of a 6 hour cycle I need to put a small time mid way through for maybe about 15-30 min at the 3 hour mark.

@rob - You say the cage needs to dry out completely between humidifying times. Does this mean humidity should drop to 0 or just that the branches and stuff should be non-damp to the touch?

Her shed seems to be getting better since I got the timer since before I was turning it on manually in the morning before work and then manually a couple times after work. If she isn't completely shed by next thursday I'll do the tote thing and anything else the new book will tell me. Oh and come Tuesday (payday) I'll pick up a digital humidity reader.

Thanks guys for your help and hopefully I'll get this all sorted out pronto so Serenity can be a happy snake

[Lankyrob]

My cage is dry to the touch before re spraying, must say tho that the ambient humidity where i live is around 50% most of the time so the cage humidity would be about the same.