Shed retained on extreme tip of tail

CosmicOwl · 09-24-14, 01:02 PM

I posted about this in my other thread, but because it's several pages long, I assume nobody noticed it. A few days ago, I became aware of the fact that my grey rat snake has a bit of shed retained on the tip of his tail. When I say the tip, I mean the last 1/16" or less. I moistened his enclosure a bit and left him alone to see if it would come off by it self. It didn't, so I decided to try removing it manually. I took him out and allowed him to pull his tail through a damp cloth, but to no avail. All it did was stress him out and cause him to musk. That's the first time he's ever done that, so I feel pretty bad.

As far as I can tell, this is the first time he's retained any shed on the tip of his tail(or anywhere. However, it's very small and holding firmly, so I can't seem to remove it. Part of that may be the fact that I'm afraid to injure him, as the area is very small and delicate. I'd like to know if you guys have any suggestions on how to handle this. I don't believe it's reached the point of requiring a vet, as the shed doesn't appear to be causing harm. I would like to take care of it before that point, though.

pdomensis · 09-24-14, 01:45 PM

Check your temps and humidity. If those are where they should be, just ignore the stuck shed and wait it out. Don't bother tryng to remove it. It will come off next time.

shaunyboy · 09-24-14, 04:15 PM

take your finger nail and split the retained shed from head to tail direction,if you don't it can restrict or stop the blood flow to the tail tip,causing it to die and drop off

you won't cause any issues doing it this way...

leaving it on can though mate

when its a little ring of retained shed,it can go quite tough and hard to the touch,so no amount of soaking or rubbing in a damp cloth will cause it to come off...

you need to be firm and accurate with your finger nails

cheers shaun

CosmicOwl · 09-24-14, 05:00 PM

Thanks for the advice; I think I'll take a half measure. Since it's feeding night and I already(earlier) made one attempt at removing the skin today, I think I'll give him a break. In the meantime, I'll him a hide with some moist sphagnum and see if his will loosen it up any more. Then I'll try your method on Friday, Shauny. Does that sound alright?

shaunyboy · 09-24-14, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmicOwl

Thanks for the advice; I think I'll take a half measure. Since it's feeding night and I already(earlier) made one attempt at removing the skin today, I think I'll give him a break. In the meantime, I'll him a hide with some moist sphagnum and see if his will loosen it up any more. Then I'll try your method on Friday, Shauny. Does that sound alright?

if the blood to the tip of the tails been restricted,the tip will be dead by friday...

it will then turn black and fall off mate

leaving a raw stump...

if its kept clean it will have no lasting damage,other than a stumpy tail

my advice would be to burst the shed with your nail from head to tail direction right away...!!

imo,moss or damp clothes will do nothing for a small ring of retained tail tip shed

cheers shaun

P.S. Can you post a picture of the tail tip ?

Mad Max · 09-24-14, 06:51 PM

The same thing happened to my snake the first time he shed. I put him in a pillowcase with his tail sticking out of the end, soaked his tail, and removed the stuck shed with those really skinny tweezers found in Swiss army knives. It worked perfectly... didn't even stress him out and he was a pretty defensive little snake back then. And I agree, you do want to get that off of there ASAP.

CosmicOwl · 09-24-14, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

if the blood to the tip of the tails been restricted,the tip will be dead by friday...

it will then turn black and fall off mate

leaving a raw stump...

if its kept clean it will have no lasting damage,other than a stumpy tail

my advice would be to burst the shed with your nail from head to tail direction right away...!!

imo,moss or damp clothes will do nothing for a small ring of retained tail tip shed

cheers shaun

P.S. Can you post a picture of the tail tip ?

It's not a ring. It just looks like as the skin was pulling off, it broke near the very end of his tail and is still inside out. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a clear picture of the tail, but it doesn't appear to be constricting anything. At least it doesn't match anything that I've seen. Even if I could get a good shot, I don't think it would show up. It was barely noticeable in person.

CosmicOwl · 09-26-14, 07:36 PM

Good news guys, I managed to get the stuck shed off. He was calmer tonight and I was able to grab the the left over piece with tweezers. I checked his tail over and it's looks smooth and otherwise okay. Hopefully it will stay that way.

marvelfreak · 09-27-14, 05:09 AM

Just a little helpful tip mineral oil lightly rub on the stuck shed will soften it up making it easier to remove. What i did was put a little on the tail. Wait then till the next day let her crawl right threw my hands and it came right off.

mrgrimm · 09-28-14, 06:38 AM

Glad the last bit came off finally. I have only been into snakes for about a year and my bp's first couple sheds were horrible. Finally got him to do a one piece shed last time and I was so happy.

In previous times though, I found instead of just a damp rag, that a warm damp large towel (like 105F at first, it cools quickly) worked the best and it didn't stress him out if I just cuddled him up completely in it for a few minutes. Then the shed remnants would just peel off with ease being patient and gentle with slow movements.

CosmicOwl · 10-25-14, 12:28 PM

I thought I would update this since he shed today. I was worried that he might retain some skin on the tip of his tail again(as this seems like it can be a recurring problem) so I made sure to check the shed after he was done. I'm happy to report that today's shed was complete, include the entirety of his long, beautiful tail

**EL Ziggy** · 10-25-14, 04:45 PM

Good news Owl.

CosmicOwl · 10-25-14, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Good news Owl.

Yeah. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any good shots of him. He ate a rat, but was otherwise being pretty shy. I'll try to get some more in a few days, as his coloration is really getting nice. He's not going to be a super light white oak phase, but he's turning a beautiful shade of lavender-silver. I'm still confused about the yellow belly and peach colored eyes... I'll figure that out eventually.