A bad shed need help in progress

Waltorian · 10-18-02, 04:31 PM

Reggy is in the middle of a bad shed, I didnt even see it coming because hes been in his hide a lot latley after puking up those mice a week and a half ago, now hes shedding and not very well at that...I hate being a newbie and asking wacky ??? but when you dont know, you dont know..I need to clean his cage but I dont know if I can pick him up.....I would appreciate some advice..also how long should it take to complete a shed...wa;tor

Syst3m · 10-18-02, 06:30 PM

Sheding should be a pretty quick process, unless it goes bad. You have a few options depending on how bad its going. One is to leave her in a bag (cloth preferably a reptile bag) filled with damp not soaked news paper over night. You could also let her soak for a bit and then hold her in a moist towel and let her try to push her way through your hands in the towel. Just makes sure she gets all of that shed off. Watch the tail and the eye caps mostly to make sure it come clean there.

Waltorian · 10-18-02, 06:41 PM

I did notice his head came off clean. I dont know what I did wrong, I watched for it but did not see the shed stage coming. it will not hurt to pick him up and let him push through my hand.

BoidKeeper · 10-20-02, 06:51 PM

I had two bad sheds this week. What works for me with out fail is a wet towel. I wrape them in a very damp thick bath towel and I leave them in it over night inside their cage. Every morning I find a clean snake and a dirty towel.
Good luck,
Trevor
PS
as far as hurting them goes, as long as the skin has started to come off then its not too bad. I read that the main reason not to handel them when they are in the shedding process is so that none of the skin is removed by accident before it is ready to come off.

Waltorian · 10-20-02, 08:45 PM

very good thank you, I watched him squirm and wiggle but he came very well clean, I checked his eyes and they looked clear..Waldo

Lisa · 10-23-02, 05:41 PM

we like to take a snake bag, wet it, wring it out and put the snake in the bag (make sure you wring the bag out BEFORE you put the snake in it). let the snake sit for 8 hours and that helps the shed big time

one thing with BP's when they shed it always looks like a snake exploded in your tank (bits of skin everywhere).

Waltorian · 10-23-02, 07:18 PM

thanks Lisa, I guess it came out alright for about the last half of him came off pretty good. He looks great now..

jncoclub · 10-24-02, 11:42 AM

Question- should you never help a snake (especially a BP) shed if they never shed cleanly? I tend to have to soak my snake and while she is wet gently pull the skin off, otherwise she is a partly shedded snake for weeks- and she especially has a hard time shedding her eye caps.

Yve · 10-24-02, 02:33 PM

i think its o.k. to help them shed...I had a blood that had a bad shed once and I soaked him in a closed container (with air holes in the lid) for an hour or so and the shed came off very easily after that. I've never had trouble with my ball pythons, I increase humidity to 80% by spilling some water on the substrate when I notice them becoming faded and blue. Another sign is a pink belly.

P.curtus · 10-25-02, 12:12 AM

I've been keeping ball pythons for years, and I always simply misted their cages two or thre times aday once I notice the beginning of the she cycle. This has helped avoid any bad sheds, but whenever I do come across one, a fifteen minute soak in warm water usually does the trick.