shedding concerns

[JWFugle]

hey guys i bought a dwarf retic about 6 months ago. and love her very much. she is an awesome eater, great to handle and despite what some say shows affection or atleast preference towards me

i do have 2 issues though :-/
1 she can never shed in once piece. i have read tons of forums and help things and all that and tried it nothing is working. she still sheds in 15 pieces all over.

2 because of the first problem this one has happened. i think she may have got a piece of shin stuck on the tip of her tail (about a 1/4in. from tip) and i think it might have caused some damage. after that point her tail is very dry and hard. im worried she may lose it. i soak her regularly and always checking on it and inspecting it to make sure it dosnt have rot growing on it but im not sure what else i can do.

any advice? im debating taking her to a vet but i dont want a "well just keep an eye on it" and a bill for $300...

help Please

thanks
Josh

[Relentless]

What are her temps and humidity kept at? What kind of enclosure is she in? Has she had this stuck shed on her tail since you got her? How many times has she shed since you've had her? Does soaking help it at all? Have you gotten any skin off? Is she dehydrated at all?

Sorry for the massive question list. I'd like to help. She's a pretty girl.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by Relentless

What are her temps and humidity kept at? What kind of enclosure is she in? Has she had this stuck shed on her tail since you got her? How many times has she shed since you've had her? Does soaking help it at all? Have you gotten any skin off? Is she dehydrated at all?

Sorry for the massive question list. I'd like to help. She's a pretty girl.

Pointless questions.

The tail is dying or already dead. Honestly, you'll need to consult a vet. When this happens it will continue to kill all the healthy tissue around it, up the body. Essentially it's going to eat your snake. It will probably need amputating at this point. Again, consult a vet. I'm talking worse case scenario but BLACK scales are never a good sign.

[Relentless]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Pointless questions.

The tail is dying or already dead. Honestly, you'll need to consult a vet. When this happens it will continue to kill all the healthy tissue around it, up the body. Essentially it's going to eat your snake. It will probably need amputating at this point. Again, consult a vet. I'm talking worse case scenario but BLACK scales are never a good sign.

They don't look black, they look red to me. I don't think they are pointless questions because if this is husbandry related then this will prevent future issues once this particular issue is treated. But thank you for completely dismissing what I asked.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by Relentless

They don't look black, they look red to me. I don't think they are pointless questions because if this is husbandry related then this will prevent future issues once this particular issue is treated. But thank you for completely dismissing what I asked.

You're welcome.

Hopefully the OP sees that I'm trying to save the snake's life currently. I'll fix the humidity issue with him after that. You can fix the humidity of a dead snake all you want, I'd like to save the snake first.

[Relentless]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

You're welcome.

Hopefully the OP sees that I'm trying to save the snake's life currently. I'll fix the humidity issue with him after that. You can fix the humidity of a dead snake all you want, I'd like to save the snake first.

Agreed, but I highly doubt the snake is going to die from this depending on if the OP lets it continue without taking the snake to a vet. I'm not arguing the snake should see a vet. I should have placed that in my post, but the answers to those questions are still a high priority, imo.

EmbraceCalamity: Sorry for stealing the thunder! Haha.

[EmbraceCalamity]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Pointless questions.

The tail is dying or already dead. Honestly, you'll need to consult a vet. When this happens it will continue to kill all the healthy tissue around it, up the body. Essentially it's going to eat your snake. It will probably need amputating at this point. Again, consult a vet. I'm talking worse case scenario but BLACK scales are never a good sign.

Wouldn't they still be worth asking to prevent future poor sheds?

EDIT: Relentless got there first.

~Maggot

[korlar21]

I would call your vet if you don't want a vet bill from the start. I would however take it too the vet. It can harm your snake if it gets bacteria in it. That can be life threatening overtime. I know it stinks but I would suck up the vet bill. Anytime you see spots that haven't shed take a cue-tip wet down and lightly removed the skin. If humidity is an issue in your tank get a fogger!

[JWFugle]

ok first off WOW thanks for all the responses. i was expecting a "eh never seen it before"

soo im gonna try anwsering all the questions and not starting WW3 which i see i may have already done. X_X

@relentless
temps
87-89 hot 70 cool) with hot spot directly under lamp 112(this is a heat lamp, no rock, and its on top of a thick wooden hide, and with a black petco grade themo) i have a heat pad under too.

humidity constant 50-55(i know its low but i have glass tank and i boost it to 70-80 during shed with extra water bowls and lots of spraying)

glass 30gal with cover to keep humidity up

soaking seems to help but only with me physically holding her and letting her crawl through my hands while soaking. never had it stuck anywhere else(i always check eye caps) just that last tip of her tail.

definatly not dehidrated she loves swimming and i see her drink regularly and urinate is normal

>> i have a nice Boaphile cage. but i bought it used so being extra cautious cleaning it and making sure it holds heat and humidity before i put her in it.<<<<<

@Aron easy on the extreme man. im not totally oblivious and it hasnt grown up her tail at all

i first noticed it after her 2-3 shed( in the 6 months ive had her shes shed over 15 times btw her growth rate is INSANE. and shes not fat as you can see.
after i noticed it i kept trying to make sure i checked her extra but i thik the damage was done but it never got worse or better. she has just gotten bigger so easier to see what happened.


so after i type that up i continued to hold her and essentially poke at her trying to loosen up that skin. and after another hour or 2(yea she LOVES SWIMMING) i picked at it and bam that blackened tip popped off like a large scab. she was not thrilled about it but she didnt bite or get agressive just suprised. after giving my self a mini heart attack thinking i just ripped off my snakes tail and she was Now going to die i looked at it and i think that is exactly what happen the tip had died and so it was dying off and a scar numbed tail was growing underneath b/c she didnt bleed at all from it and it looks exactly how your skin looks if u peel off a scab to early. redish pinkish. i let her soak for 30-45min after and then put her back. she seems completely unphased by it.

im sure one of u will think im an idiot for doing it but if thats what it was then im ok with that. ill definitely be keeping careful watch of it and looking for any sign of infection.

[JWFugle]

sorry for the long paper. college gets you in the mindset to just keep writing and writing...........

[Relentless]

Thanks for that there. Just a few suggestions, 112 is way too hot for the hotspot. It should be no higher than 92 really. I keep mine between 91-92 for the hot spot. Probably high 80s ambient air on hot side, but I just go off of hot spot temperature and ambient air temp on the cool side which I keep at 77-78. Some people say as low as 70 is fine but I wouldn't let it get cooler than 74 really. Where does she spend most of her time? 50-55 for humidity actually isn't terrible. People say 60-70. Personally, mine is kept around 65 and bumped to 75 ish to shed. But knowing your snake is having an issue I'd get her in the Boaphile ASAP so you can keep humidity at at least 60%.

Is the end of her tail where the skin came off discolored or look injured/wounded at all? If it looks irritated I would medicate it with something and just keep a careful eye on it next time she sheds. Also, for soaking her, I would get a plastic bin, like one of those under the bed long plastic storage bins with latching tops. Put enough warm water in that for her to soak in but not have to swim and stick it in the empty tub. I did this for mine when she had a bad shed and 60% of her skin was still stuck to her and I did this for 20 minutes and I was able to get ALL of the skin off no problem.

[Lankyrob]

I have a Supper Dwarf retic, i keep the humidity at 70%+ constantly and 80%+ during shed and he sheds all in one piece everytime.

Occassionnally you get two large pieces because of the shed catching and ripping but anymore than a couple of big pieces is a "bad" shed and points to husbandry issues.

Your boaphile should hold humidity MUCH better than a glass tank, get it in there sooner rather than later and hopefully going forward you will have much less issues

[shaunyboy]

you NEED to burst the retained shed length wise,from tail tip to head with your finger nail,or a pair of tweezers,one the old sheds off,this will allow blood to circulate,to the tissue thats still living

any necrotic tissue will scab up,the tip of the tail may even drop off

you just need to keep the raw flesh clean,and dab a dilluted iodine solution on it twice daily,to prevent infection

a trip to the vets will tell you how much damage is done

cheers shaun

[JWFugle]

cant really figure out this whole quoteing thing but anyways

@relentless- the skin looks fine nothing infectious or unusual. looks like some pre-mature skin. like you or i would if we pulled a scab off too early. the hot spot thing i agree is hot but im pretty sure my thermo is exagerating it b/c its black and under direct light. cuz the log is not even close to being hot. more so just warm.

@Lankyrob- yes i know i am anxious to get her in the boaphile. i got a 322D for her with flexwatt under and a radiant heat panel over head with a thermo regulator to monitor it all. just waiting on the heat panel. should be here later today

@shaunyboy- i believe thats what i did and so i will be keeping a close eye to make sure it is growing properly, and will be keeping her extra clean the next few days.

again thanks all for the help/advice
later today i hope to get the boaphile set up and will try getting a pic of her tail now for you.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by JWFugle

cant really figure out this whole quoteing thing but anyways

@relentless- the skin looks fine nothing infectious or unusual. looks like some pre-mature skin. like you or i would if we pulled a scab off too early. the hot spot thing i agree is hot but im pretty sure my thermo is exagerating it b/c its black and under direct light. cuz the log is not even close to being hot. more so just warm.

@Lankyrob- yes i know i am anxious to get her in the boaphile. i got a 322D for her with flexwatt under and a radiant heat panel over head with a thermo regulator to monitor it all. just waiting on the heat panel. should be here later today

@shaunyboy- i believe thats what i did and so i will be keeping a close eye to make sure it is growing properly, and will be keeping her extra clean the next few days.

again thanks all for the help/advice
later today i hope to get the boaphile set up and will try getting a pic of her tail now for you.

So you just figure a vet is worthless at this point? The scales and tissues DIED at the end of your snake's tail. I'd go get that checked out instead of "just keeping an eye on it". Reason being, even though YOU may not see it, doesn't mean there isn't more tissue dead that is attached to your snake. It will continue to move up the snake. That's why if a person needs to be amputated they cut a little higher than the actual infection, so it doesn't continue to travel.