can anyone help me shed my snake??

i have a solomon tree boa that is shedding. after the milky eyes dissapeared i see that my snake's skin get not clear (that's ok right?). after a few days it shed its skin but only on her head. i tried to take it off but the old skin cannot be taken from her body. it has been more than 5 days and the snake hasnt shed fully yet?
is that normal or no?? i heard that its nicer to bath her in warm water but it realy doesnt like water T.T
sory i'm new and thx 4 any info.

 

Nope thats not normal, your humidity in the tank is too low. get a care sheet/book on proper care of your boa. humidity should be in the 50-70% ALL THE TIME

next T.S. if it does not like water, stuff it in a tupperware and let it soak for a good half hour to hour with a rock in the tub, the skin should loosen and shed off.

 

xcuse me how can i got that humidity al the time??
and i dont really gety 50% - 70%
how much??
thxx

 

Well you can either rearange the water bowl over the UTH so it evaporates faster. Or you can rig up a misting system that spritzes the tank down a time or so a day. covering part of the lid (if screening) with plastic will help keep water in but watch your temps. or make a humiditty box, a tupperware with a hole cut in the side = snake access, and sphangium moss in side than spray down the moss ever other day and keep it damp.

 

My Ball Python's most recent shed was awful... peeling in little bits everywhere, it took a full week of lots of baths (its normal for snakes to despise water, but it helps a bunch) and assist sheds for me to get it all off... poor baby....

Anyways, here are some tricks that helped me:
-Raise humidity!!! (Like other posters said. I also have issues keeping humidity high enough. Try using plexiglass or saran wrap or something over the screen of your cage, put the water bowl under the heat source, frequently mist cage, etc)
-Daily baths. Halfway up the snake's body, warm water, 15min (if your snake gets stressed during baths, start out with 5 min and gradually increase the amount of time in the bath)
-Every night before you go to bed, refill the water bowl with warm water and dip your snake in it. If tree boas are nocturnal like Ball Pythons, your snake will use it that night.
-Provide rough/sharpish sticks or logs with points so your snake can rub off on
-After 15min in the bath, take a damp soft cotton washcloth and hold it around your snake where the shed stopped going. If you don't grip too tightly or too losely, your snake will move through your hands/the washcloth and the skin will come off in your hands. This should only be done with docile snakes.

Hope this helps!

 

Thx jeep, but my snakes last shed was awful, i have to take the skin off,, and then she wont eaten for weeks (btw is that normal?) now shes having another shed..

thx herps, but anytime (i mean it) i take her to a bath she goes mad swimming to look for a dry place! she's kinda small, about 24" long, so i cant (and for the sake of her life wont) bath her with dipping her into the water so i can only put her in the water, then she looked for a dry place, climb and then should i do it again?

and can i ask something, can i touched her for a walk or something at this time?
and when misting, i want to use a spray bottle of window cleaner, but when i cleaned the bottle the smell of the cleaner was still there.. (and in the water)

will it poison her?
i think the water is still clean but for a snake as small like her i think that's not good for her health,,

thx

 

May I ask were you are from? It seems like english is not your first language...is this correct?

on to your questions.
for one, snakes are good swimers. Your snake may not like water but it will not harm or drown you snake soaking it in a tub of luke warm water. If you are un sure about the temperature, make the bath water about 90* F (33* C).

so here is a picture of how I soak my snakes. Just a basic water proof locking tub. I put in just enough water to cover the snake's back. Than let the snake soak for at least half and hour.



after the snake as soaked, if it has not shed its skin I let the snake move through a towl that will help take the excess skin off.


as for the sprtiz bottle, YES clean it out very well with hot water than let the bottle air out for two days. The window cleaner in side will evaporate. But make sure that you can not smell any of the cleaner before spraying you snake's cage.

 

Yes, females fasting this time of year is normal; it is breeding season. Don't worry about; reduce handling (only to check on her; handling can stress her out more. Stopping handling worked for my girl) and continue to offer food every week. No big deal, it's very common. As long as she doesn't start to lose weight, I'm sure she'll be fine.

I know what you mean. My girl hates baths and always climbs up the sides of the tub. It is still a good idea. Make sure it is not too hot. You can also try making it a bit more shallow. Sometimes that makes them feel a bit more comfortable. And instead of 15 minutes, 5 minutes will be better than nothing and not as stressful as 15. When she is over halfway out of the tub, you can gently lift her back in.

It all depends on how much window cleaner is left in the bottle. Just to be safe, I'd get a cheap spray bottle at the dollar store or target.

 

snakes dont wnat to eat when they're shedding right?
btw, i'm worried, my snakes white eyes has dissapeared but she hasn't started to shed yet!
like going back to normal, her belly become clear again, it is a part of shedding or she cancels shedding?
btw can snake cancel shedding?

 

indonesia, yes english is not my first languange, but i study them at school, (my marks are pretty good^^)
after we clean the bottle with hot water, should we take the water or just keep it till it dry off?
and for my snake's cleaner belly and eye, is it canceling its shedding or it's normal?

 

Yes, you are correct, snake will rearly eat while shedding. Just wait untill after the shed and than try feeding.
As for the skin becoming clear again, that is normal. The layer of water and oils has dried up, and with a couple of days the snake will shed. Snakes do not cancle the shedding process. The outer dead layer of skin is comming off, that just the way it is.

after cleaning out the bottle, pour out all the water out of the bottle, and let it dry out completly before spraying you snake down. Make sure that there is NO chemical odar in the bottle.

When the bottle is all clean, use hot water to sptay the snake's cage. Do not directly spray the snake form a close distance (you do not want to burn the snake), keep the spray bottle about 2/3 to 1 meter away. Reason for the use of Hot water is you do not want to chill the snake by using water that is too cold. hot water creats a high humidity as well.

 

jeepnphreak is right. They can't cancel a shed. I was surprised when my girl's eyes went normal during her first shed too. When they are getting ready to shed, their old skin loosens and a layer of gell is released between the old and new skin. This is why you don't want to handle them during this time. When they are ready to shed, they absorb the gell into the old skin, making it soft and easy to get off. If the humidity is too low, the old skin will dry out quickly and won't come off in one big piece.

 

since its eyes back clear, how long interval till the skin peel off?

 

It's different with every snake, just like the overall shed time is different with every snake. My girl usually takes 1-2 weeks to shed (starting when her eyes turn milky), and actually sheds around 3 days after her eyes go normal. She's an adult.

But it depends on age, humidity, and heat. If they are too cold, they will want to stay huddled up under their warm hide and will be less likely to shed. If the humidity is too low, they may try to put off shedding until it "rains".

 

oh,, great! my snake shed this morning, (morning here maybe night in ur country i dunno hhe)
thats great, near perfect, but i take the remaining skin by myself,,
thx herps and jeep!!

i'd post its pic here ^-^

 

I would have to say that on average... my adults pythons will shed in 3 days after the eyes clear up.
keep track of the time that it takes to shed, I have a log/journal of all sheds and feedings that all my snakes have done. I have a nice time line of averages that track what the snakes are doing. So if there are problems out side of the normal it really helps a VET if somthing is wrong with the snake. It helps you to by knowing what patterns the snake has it helps you to judge when and what the snake needs and how long verious activities will take.

You can take the skin off your self, just be very gentle when doing that.
you may want to soak the snake in luke warm water for 10minutes to soften the skin be fore picking the skin off.

You are welcome, glad to help any time. If you have any other questions just ask away.

 

btw, after that i gave it a house gecko for his meal but she didn't eat it, i wonder why,
let me wait for another day, bcoz her last shed she did that also, not eating for more than a week,

 

btw jeep your ball is so cool,
i've never seen that pattern,,
is it a morph?

 

My snakes shed within 2 days of their eyes clearing up, like clockwork. Also, they never eat until they are done shedding (at least until their head is clear) - they are not secure with their eyes covered, as they can't see well.

Good luck with it.

Jeff

 

yea but now she has finished shedding,,
and she didnt eat,,
hhmm