2nd bad shed

Lankyrob · 12-04-10, 09:01 AM

My SD retic shed again last night - once again in many pieces although it is 100% off him this time. Can anyone please pick holes in my husbandry so that i can get him to shed properly?

Hot spot 94f
Cold end 78f
Humidity 90%first thing in morning drying out to 60% by following morning when it is remisted back to 90%
He is on Reptibark
3 hides - one hot one cold and one in between - the "cold" one has sphagnum moss in also
He has a climbing branch
Huge dog bowl for water

any suggestions greatfully received.

infernalis · 12-04-10, 11:02 AM

Your description surely includes enough humidity for most any snake to shed cleanly.

presspirate · 12-04-10, 04:35 PM

Sure sounds like it isn't a humidity issue Rob. And if he shed 100% then it can't be all bad. I know that my Nic did not shed for me in 1 piece the first time, but she did get it all off. And the second time she shed in one piece. Same with my coastal. Pieces the first time, with a few stuck bits. Maybe he's still shaking off previous husbandry? I don't know, wish I could be of more help.

Lankyrob · 12-04-10, 05:03 PM

Thanks guys, it is better this time thans last in that it all came off with no assistance but would love a one piece shed rather than a twenty piece shed!

Damion930 · 12-04-10, 09:18 PM

was ther anything left from the previouse shed if so could that effect how a shed comes off

Nafun · 12-05-10, 03:56 AM

The only thing I can think is to add a rock or something that has a sharpish edge. Something that he can rub his nose on to get his shed started. I'm sure there are a dozen places where he can do it already, but it's the only thing I can think of.

Could also be a health problem. When i got my JCP, she immediately shed, and had about 6 inches of retained shed at her tail. I couldn't get it off, and took her to the vet. Turns out she had an infection under one of her scales. Antibiotics cleared it up, but her next shed was bad too because of the previous bad shed. I've had two more snakes that I got while they were in a bad shed, and despite nailing their husbandry, their next shed was also bad. It could be that a really bad shed damages the lower layer of skin, leading to another bad shed.

marvelfreak · 12-05-10, 06:33 AM

When she goes into shed try dropping temp a couple degrees to help keep the humidity from drying out as fast. My Diamond x jungle was shedding in piece when i first got her. So i misted her a couple time daily and dropped the temp a bit. Then two week after she shed again in one perfected shed.

Lankyrob · 12-05-10, 07:25 AM

Thanks for all the suggestions - will give it a try and keep my fingers crossed!

shaunyboy · 12-05-10, 01:21 PM

percy has spoke of 2 water bowls in a tank mate

1 up the hot end or near it to keep a constant humidity level in there

dont know anything about retics mate

but once you suss it out and let us know

then we will all have learned something new rob

its all of our trials and tribulations that aid us to help each other

cheers shaun

percey39 · 12-05-10, 05:30 PM

I would think it would have to be a husbandry issue as these guy's can be very finicky if something is wrong. If you own the complete chondro im sure you have set your tank to the specifications given in that book. As Shaun has said i used 2 water bowls to keep a constant 60-75% humidity range for my scrubs for some time, its very easy to control as you can move you bowls around to get the gradients you want. You could easily get 95% humidity if you wanted using 2 water bowls, but no snake really needs it as said before though the 2 bowls is a good way of accurately keeping good humidity gradients.