bad shed question...

[Yve]

my blood started shedding today and has been at it all day...huffing puffing and wheezing...to no avail.....her whole body is covered in pieces of loose skin and only small pieces have come off. Her last shed was very good, no probs. at all. Her humidity has been 70-80% during the shed cycle. I'm wondering if her mite infestation may have damaged that skin? Anyhow, can I soak her and then try to get the skin off by rubbing her with a soft cloth? Or should I soak her and let her take care of it on her own? Never dealt with this before! Need some advice. Pleeeease. and thanks!

[Gorelith]

Mites will definately have an effect on a snakes shed. Soaking the snake repeatedly 2-3 times a day, every day for 2 weeks is how I got rid of mites on my boa. Keep in mind I don't actually keep bloods, however, I do know that they require high humidity. I'd definately soak her/him for about 15-20 minutes every day until the shed completely comes off on its own. You may have to do it every day for a week or so. A lot of people try to help their snakes shed (which can be a good or a bad thing), I personally feel the best way to help is by upping the humidity and soaking the snake, even a few times a day wouldn't hurt. The biggest reason I personally don't believe in assisting with the shed is... the snake is already extremely uncomfortable and irritable therefore even handling during a shed could put a lot of un-necessary stress on a snake or any herp for that matter. In some instances you do have to step in though, eye caps for example are something that sometimes could use a bit of extra help with. I've heard of people using scotch tape but even the thought of that scares me, with eye caps being retained the easiest thing may be to wet a q-tip and gently massage the eye cap (some people say mineral oil, but water is more natural), you may have to do this several times a day so it's may be easiest just to soak the snake. Best of luck.

[Grant vg]

I've said it before and i'll say it again....soaking ur snake for 20 minutes or so for two weeks straight is a BIG waste of time.....its just more stressful for ur snake if ur constantly taking it out of there enclosure and soaking it all the time.....
Bloods.... well.....any snake will usually have a bad shed after dealing with mites and even more so if treated with mineral oil or ivermectin or whatever....
Bloods are swamp snakes.....Soak her for a long period of time....at least two hours i soak mine for up too five hours sometimes....keep her in a warm room and u can even keep a heat pad under 1/3 of the container so that the water doesn't cool too much....it's usuually the top 1/2 of a snakes shed which is the hardest to get off....so make sure the water is deep enough to fully soak the whole body.
u want to soak her long enough that all of her shed is loosened so that when u take her out...all will come off at that point.
when shes out....firmly take a hand a wrap it around her body starting from her neck and start maneovering the old shed off as if she was doing it herself on a rock....if the ventrasl half comes of easier put more pressure on her dorsal area....the thing u will want to do is not to mis any if possible,,...cause it will be more iratible for her if u go back and pick at all the little bits u missed....sooner or later all will start coming off in one piece....but i find this only works if u soak her for a LONG time!
By soaking her for a long time....all dead skin gets fully moisened and is easily taken off.
i've done this with my bloods, boas and balls and havn't had any problems.....
Hope this helped....and watch out u dont get bit....but as the shed begins to come off easily i notice the snakes begin to appreciate it..
Good luck!

[Jezabel]

What I usually do is I put them in a wet pillow case for a few hours. They rub against it to find a way to get out and the shed come off easely.

Good luck

[Yve]

Thanks for your help guys! I soaked her for 3 hours and the shed just started peeling away so I took it by the edge and gently pulled it off. No fuss, no muss! She's as clean as a whistle.
PLUS.......she took her first poo poo! Which I will take to the vet and make sure all is well inside. BTW....it was scary!!:toilet:


Appreciate all your advice!

[Grant vg]

hehe.....works everytime...!!!
guess u didn';t get a crisp head shed?

[Grant vg]

BTW, how was the poop like???
musta been a big one!
slimy?, hard?, details please......o>

[Yve]

Grant, you sick lil' puppy!lol It was super hairy and about the size of a St. Bernard poop! Easily weighing about a pound!! Urates looked like ping pong balls!! I thought there was a new snake in the enlcosure!!ha, ha!!
......and the head shed was tattered, I couldn't find it, just a bunch of small loose flakes everywhere. Better luck next time...hopefully!

[Grant vg]

ewww....i didn't want that much detail...
Ping pong balls???

Damn!
How do u fit those into those lil fecal containers.,...

[Yve]

actually I use old washed out vitamin bottles or a ziplock baggie tightly closed. I don't bring urates for testing.....my vet has always said that you only test the feces....is that not so?

[Grant vg]

My bad...i was trying to be more funny then acturate with that post...guess it wasn't too funny..lol