Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my 4 year old black rat today. The breeder said that he's getting ready to shed... however, he doesn't look like he's getting ready to shed... his eyes are cloudy, but the rest of him, except for some scattered rough spots is bright and shiny. It looks as though he recently shed but only partially and retained the eye caps. How can I tell if he's going to shed, or already did? How long can the eyecaps be retained before damage is done???

It's my own fault for not asking to see the snake in better lighting, and for not examining the snake more closely, the reptile room wasn't that bright. But the guy said the snake was getting ready to shed, so I didnt want to disturb the snake too much. I also didnt' want to disturb him too much after I got him home, but decided to give him a soak, when I did, some of the rough patches came off, some are still there, along with the eyecaps and some skin on his nostrils. He's also missing some scales on his nose and face, couldnt see those in the light of the snake room either. I'm such an idiot. This snake DEFINITELY is not ready to shed, but already has but not completely, they guy HAD to have known this. He seemed nice enough. Right now I need to worry about getting these eye caps taken care of.

those missing scales seem worrisome to me. At least put neosporin on the missing scales. You also might want to wait until the next time shedding to worry about the stuck eyecaps, as they might come off then. You can do a lot of damage getting them off if you don't know how. And having them on for an extra shed cycle is better than doing permanent damage to his eyes. When he goes into another shed cycle, seriously increase his humidity.

Here is a my way of getting stuck sheds:

I take a plastic animal cage, such as the Kritter Keepers, of an appropriate size. Put about one inch of warm water in the bottom. Then put several paper towels in on top of the water. Put the snake in there. Then put a few dripping wet paper towels on top of the snake. Leave the snake in there for about 30 minutes. Check to see if there is any shed skin stuck. If so, put the snake back in for another 30 minutes. Repeat as necessary. I have also heard of people using small towels. The beauty of paper towels is that you can just throw them away.
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sue

well, the snake went back to the guy I got it from.