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Shed issue, help!

ilm Feb 14, 2009 08:06 PM

Hey guys, my corn shed Tuesday and left a bit of skin on his tail around the vent. I soaked him and the shed slipped off to the end of his tail. The skin is hanging off the end of his tail, attached only by a very small section (like 1/8th of an inch). Basically the skin was rolled off his body like a sock, and it was just hanging off the edge of his tail, and he's dragging about an inch of dead skin around.

Well I tried to gently wipe it off with a bit of wet cloth, but he was so stressed from his first soak that he attempted to strike twice as I was doing it, so I stopped and put him back in his tank. I was hoping that after him moving around for a day the shed would dislodge and everything would be fine. When I came home Wednesday I found that it was still there...

What can I do? It's been days since his shed, and I've been soaking him daily. I can't just wipe him with a wet cloth as he's kind of odd. He handles fine but if you lightly touch him in any spot of his body he jerks away, which makes the wiping option impossible. Now that's on a normal day, without a soak... After (and during) each of his soaks he is extremely irritable, and if I try to rub the end of his tail gently he freaks out and jerks his whole body as far away as he can. Is there anything else I could try? When I soak him I put a rag in a tub and fill the tub with enough water to cover the rag, and let him move around in there for around 40 minutes. I'm kind of at a loss so any help is appreciated, thanks.

Replies (2)

Shaky Feb 15, 2009 08:48 AM

OK,
this may sound harsh- prepare yourself....

Don't be such a wimp!

Pick the snake up, hold it firmly, and, using a damp cloth or paper towel, wipe the tail so that the dead skin softens, loosens, and rolls off.
There doesn't seem to be anything wrong except that he isn't handled enough.
Of course the animal wont enjoy your help, but it needs it.
-----
Jack Jeansonne

zbass222 Feb 15, 2009 09:04 AM

Great answer


-----
lost in the jungle somewhere
Z

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