Fist Shed!!

eferna · 12-31-02, 11:52 AM

Hey first let me start by wishing everyboday a Happy New Year and hope everyone hasa great new years eve.

My ball had his first shed yesterday. I am not sure if he completly shed though. Do i need to do anything?

Big Mike · 12-31-02, 12:11 PM

Happy new year to you...

Did the shed come off in one or a few pieces? or does it look like a snake exploded in there? Ball can tend to have bad sheds if the humidity is too low.

You should look him over feel him as well. Make sure all the old skin is off. Things to watch for are the eyecaps and the tip of the tail. These can cause damage if left on for too long. You should be able to tell if any old skin is left by the way it looks and feels. If there is some old skin left on then maybe give your snake a bath in shallow warm (not hot) water and rub the old skin very gently. If it's lots of old skin, place him in a wet pillow case and tie it off. Leave him in there for a while and it should come right off.

Hopefully he had a good shed and won't need any help with the old skin. If he did need help, think about adding a humid hide or increasing the humidity next time he is ready to shed.

Good luck

eferna · 12-31-02, 12:16 PM

yeah the shed is in pieces. His eyes look clear. Not too sure about the tail though and the rest of the body. I just fed him last night, so I don't want to handle him yet.

Humidity is at around 60%. Oh yeah how long does it take for him to completly shed?

Thanks

TurboSE · 12-31-02, 12:44 PM

I have found a few things that work well once mine shows the tell-tale signs that he's preparing to shed (cloudy eyes, pale skin, pink belly).

1. I raise the moisture in the cage signifigantly. I mist it more frequently.

2. I raise the temp about 5*. Seems to help with the humidity.

3. I offer a feeder that is slightly larger than the ones I usually give. I'm not sure why (was told to try it by my herp vet.) this helps, but it does.

My snake's first shed was rough. It came off in pieces and left an eye-cap and the tip of the tail. I started doing these 3 things since and have had perfect, 1 piece, full sheds the past 4 times. Hope this helps.

eferna · 12-31-02, 12:47 PM

thanks,,,aaah well i guess the next time the shed will be cleaner all in one piece.

Big Mike · 12-31-02, 01:15 PM

Mine shed in pieces the first time as well. I now keep him in a Rubbermaid which holds humidity infinitely better than an open top tank and I put in a margarine container with wet moss and a small access hole. Prior to a shed he spends almost all of his time in there. Same goes for my other snakes as well.

Good luck and happy new year.

royal · 12-31-02, 02:35 PM

Big Mike, in a smaller enclosure, during a shed, would you have the humid box and a warm hide, or vice versa (a humid and cool hide)... or would you have all three a humid a cool and a warm hide?

Tim_Cranwill · 12-31-02, 02:49 PM

I'd have all 3 with the humid hide on the warm side.

royal · 12-31-02, 03:35 PM

Okay, thanks cranwill.
For all the humid hide users... any ideas on natural looking hides? If not I think I might just try and putt mudd on the outside of a container so it blends?

royal · 12-31-02, 03:39 PM

Oh yah, what were you using in the humid boxes? Peat moss? I'm not good with substrate, but Big Mike has something in his hide(pic above) looks wet, probably pretty good.

Pythonian · 12-31-02, 05:59 PM

What i do with my blood python is cover one side of the enclosure with saran wrap (he is in a rubbermaid so u would have to saran wrap ur top) then put spanish moss under the saran wrap and mist it twice a day. the snake can hide in the moss and it gives off HUGE ammounts of humidity.

Mike

royal · 12-31-02, 07:38 PM

Thats a good idea, the one problem I have is that my pet store is the worst.. It pretty much only has stuff for dogs etc.
Where would I find spanish moss in Canada-edmonton or fort mcmurray- at this time of year?

Pythonian · 01-01-03, 04:59 PM

hmmm. look on older or dying trees.. large oaks... wooded areas.. put it in a bowl with hot water and then in the microwave for 2 minutes to kill anything on it. Or go to Home Depot or some place like tha tin canada. and get sphagum moss.. Also for your substrate get mulch. Aspen dries out the snake a lot.

Mike

escm · 01-02-03, 10:44 AM

congrats on the first shed....my guy shed for the first time the other day as well....luckly all one piece :thumbsup: however, there was a bit of red (blood I am assuming) on the skin where is butt scale is located. (uh-huhuh he said butt scale...) is this normal? Its a very tiny amount...nothing more than a light red tint in one spot. there was no red on the substrate (newspaper...now I really do appriciate keeping a simple a substrate) or anywhere else so it wasn't as if he was bleeding a lot or anything like that. should I be worried?

Big Mike · 01-02-03, 11:26 AM

The moss I use is sphagnum moss. I buy it at the petstore. It's a substrate for swamp type habitats. You can probably get it at home & garden stores for cheaper but watch for little bugs. You can use wet paper towels if you need to but they dry out quick.

The one in the picture does not look very natural, I know, but he lives in a rubbermaid so it's not a display tank or anything. The moist hide I use for my cal king is a clear deli-cup with moss in it. It looks better and I can kind of see him in there. You could use anything that will hold moisture and has an access hole.

BTW...I put the humid hide in the warm side and still have avaliable both warn & cool sides hides.

escm,
I don't think that a tiny bit of blood is something to worry about. Just keep an eye on it and keep the enclosure clean.