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I have been keeping snakes for over twenty years and this is the first time I have encountered this. I have seen false sheds from larger boids but not like this. This is a young adult pueblan milksnake. First,she went into the blue, cleared up and a few pieces of shed came off. The rest would not come off at all. Even after soaking it was glued to her hard and fast. She continued to eat well so I waited for her next shed cycle. Six weeks later, she goes into the the blue again, clears up and no shed at all. All the soaking in the world will not loosen up her old skin. She shares a room with over a hundred other snakes who have no shedding issues what so ever. Even my biggest Burm sheds nearly in one piece. Is this maybe a vitamin deficiency? Any help or advice would be very welcome. She still eats and acts normal but this can't be healthy. Rich

I had what sounds like the same issue with campbelli many years ago. It progressed to nearly "Zonata Disease" symptoms before I worked out how to fix it. I'd offer those campbelli a moist hide all of the time. A Zip-Loc tub filled with high-quality sphagnum moss (identical to what I use as laying chambers for my females) is perfect and seems to help with skin issues around here. Even in a humid herp room like yours, I think the milks would benefit from it.

I can stop over some evening this week and take a look, if you'd like.

-Cole

L. t. multistrata - Thomas Co., NE

Milksnakes from latin America have fairly thin skin, and they suffer more from lack of moisture than most.

One can keep milksnake skin tone healthy by providing a shoebox filled with damp spagnum moss, or else a substrate of coir fiber that is dampened as needed. Contrary to care sheets, there has been no skin infections or anything like that. Tight hides like PVC pipe help too - as a snake coils tightly in a hide, less water evaporates from its skin.

An alternative is to soak once or twice a week in very shallow water for 5 minutes, at least until the snake looks better.

Comparing cornsnakes, common kingsnakes and milksnakes, the milks are more likely to take advantage of damp hides most of the time. At least where I live in the Southwest. May not be necessarily true in more humid areas.
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Mark

Thanks guys. I have been keeping her hide moist by misting it as needed. I even tried keeping her on damp paper towels but nothing so far works. I'll try moss and a little more humidity and hope she has a good shed next time. And Cole. Please come over. I have something you need to check out! Rich

Rich,

Try the moss thing - I'll keep my fingers crossed that it works. Dell and I have been referring to that phenomenon as a "double shed", and see it from time to time in our NA milks that are in brumation or just after.

I'll give you a call later this week.

-Cole

Hi Rich,
It does sound like a, for a lack of a better word, "double shed", like Cole suggested. But it could be something else too.
Is the snakes skin folded over in one of it's bends in its body when you're watching it move around in it's tub? Kind of like it looks like it wants to come off? But it won't come off even if you help it.

I'd keep a moss tub in its' tub like others have said, and a nice rub rock too.
Good luck.
-Dell

No wrinkles that are obvious. Not like a shed that is just dry. It's like it melts back into her skin then looks normal, although her color is a bit off. Pics don't show it at all.

Yeah, that sounds different then what Cole and I are talking about. Strange, I'd like to see it, maybe we can meet up this weekend to take a look. I'd still do the moss tub, moist hide thing though.
Again, good luck.

-Dell