My BP began shedding well over a week ago, but the process was never completed. He still had half of the old skin on him and it was all coming off in tiny pieces. I haven't had this problem before as my previous snakes have been thoughtful enough to shed easily. I finally gave him a good soak tonight - even though he really seems to hate water and was sure that I was intent on doing him great harm! Nearly all of the old skin is off now, except for that over his right eye. Frst question - how can I avoid this shedding problem in the future (yes, I do mist his enclosure daily for humidity) and secondly - what is the best way to get the old skin off of his eye?
when i get stuck eye caps i put a warm wet rag or something into a pillow case and tie the snake in there and leave it on the warm side of the tank for an hour or so and usually that takes care of the problem you could try a humid hide to prvent this in the future. i up the humidity like crazy when ellie goes blue and so far ive hardly had any issues
I got the eye cap off earlier today. I put a drop of olive oil on it and later was able to pull it off with feeding tongs. Might not have been the best way, but it did do the trick. I will certainly keep your method in mind and will certainly try the super high humidity when he looks like he is about to shed again. Something I found interesting - after he suffered the trauma of being in water, he immediately crawled into my fleece top and took up residence in my sleeve. True or not, it reminded me of a child clinging to his mom for comfort after a troubling incident. Thanks for your help!
Check humidity levels--bad sheds are due to low level dehydration. Ball pythons should be at 60% humidity at all times, and it doesn't hurt to raise humidity to 80% when they go blue.
I agree with the others. Just try and raise the humidity level when you see him in the beginning stages of shed. If he has trouble shedding again, you can use a wet Q-tip to try and wipe the skin away.
I have a small "jungle" of about 70 tropical plants and trees in the house. (The hobbies I have!) I keep a humidifier going at all times to keep the humidity up - 60 to 80. High humidity is me is anything over that. ( My husband hates it, but I am convinced that I was meant to live in a tropical rainforest). I also spray the snake's container each day when I mist the ferns. What more do I do? This last shed was most strange in that he shed completely on his left side, but pretty much not at all on his right side.
Odd. Do you have a dish large enough for him to soak in, in there? While only a few ball pythons like to soak, some do, and if he does, it could help him out a lot. You can take a wet wash cloth and gently rub the stuck shed away. Putting him in a wet pillowcase (in a warm place) for 15 or 20 minutes first will help, too.
He definitely does not like to soak and seems to avoid his dish except to drink. I have often joked that was sure that I was trying to do him in when I had him in that "forced" soak that actually got most all the skin off - though I don't believe that he has reported me for animal cruelty yet. He doesn't even like the misting in his container. I do like the wet pillowcase idea. I love my little guy and don't want to cause him distress. He is actually one of the very few animals I have ever had throughout my life that has not been previously abused and required a rehab of sorts to bring aout trust, a more relaxed nature, and good health. The rehab bit seems to be my calling, but it is good to have one that does't have issues any more serious than not liking water.
I have a few that tend to disagree with soaking. I give them a wipe down with zoo med's Repti shedding aid and they usually shed out within a day or so. I call it armor-all for snakes...lol. It moistens the shed and makes it a bit tacky so they can easily rub it off, I also provide a flat sand stone for the really stubborn sheds.
If we are to provide a water bowl large enough for the snake to lie in, then on what basis do do some disagree with soaking? Soaking him that last shedding definitely worked, and I had only hesitated due to his dislike of water - but I am sure that my little guy would prefer the wipe down to being soaked. Good suggestion. I have two features in his home that should facilitate shedding and they do seem to help - though perhaps since he seems to shed on one side more than the other, he only rubs against them going in one direction!
Sometimes you have to soak them, I have some that won't go in the dish and some that won't stay out of the dish....lol. They do tend to use the inside of the hide and just go in circles. This is where the tackiness by the shed aid spray helps so it rolls off like a sock. I use the pump spray type and wipe it on, I don't really trust the aerosol style, but that's just me being over protective.
Good to know there are options. Thanks for the help. I can understand not going aerosol - anything that can be breathed in by the snake that could be harmful. I looked for a spray today and found none - but the search will continue. Yet if the snake is lke my children were, now that I have gone to the trouble of seeking out all of this advice, I will never have the problem again.
The two thing I always keep in my "snakey medicine cabinet" are "Wipe Out" for mites and "Repti Shedding Aid". Both are Distributed under the Zoo-Med Brand name. Not shed related but---> If your snake soaks when not in shed just to be safe check for mites, Usually they hide under the scales but can be seen easily on the belly, in bedding and in the water bowl as small black specs.
Where do the mites come from if they were not present when you got the snake? I assume that I can get both of those products on line if I can not find them locally in my part of the country - where I could always find deer hunting supplies and such, but not much in the way of herp products.
Mites can come from bedding or other reptiles, Think of them like flea's. That little advert at the top of this site for reptilesupply.com has most of what you need at a competitive price. I actually used this shop before and wasn't disappointed at all with the online store. Shed aid product link Mite spray
Snake mites are specific to snakes, so they have to come from other snakes--however, mites wander very far in one stage of their life, which means they can wind up EVERYWHERE around a snake that has them. So you can bring them home on supplies from a pet store, or even from a field on your pant legs...essentially count on one day having mites get into your collection. You probably won't know how they got there, when it happens. Most of the mite products out there are either ineffective or dangerous. Don't mess with them. Just use PAM, aka Provent A Mite. You remove the snake and water bowl, spray it lightly in the enclosure, let it dry, and put the snake and bowl back in. A couple days later, no more mites. It kills the new ones as they hatch (nothing really kills eggs). Works for like 20 days. No fuss, and it's approved for use around reptiles. No need to put anything on the animal, or soak it, or stress it out--the mites all die with no further worry. I keep a can of it on hand at all times, just in case. Many folks use it as a matter of course in all of their quarantine racks. (I recommend buying it before you actually need it...mites can spread fast, and there are rarely local stores that stock it, so you will probably have to buy it online).
I have always heard of snake mites, but how was I so lucky to not have had the problem. I was always observant and checking for their presence. The PAM threw me as I immediatly thought of the cooking spray. I will order some to have on hand. what is in it that it is so much more effective than other products? How, Winged Wolf ,did you get into all of this? What is your story?
