Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well my corn shed today and ya it was incomplete, i know why this is not the question. I was looking at the tip of her tail and it looks as if it had not shed sometime in the past before i got her. is there anything i can do about this or is her tail doomed? the tip is hard and slightly darker and stubbyish looking, is this notmal or am i paranoid? I'm now so go easy on me as no one ever describes or shows pics of what a normal corn's tail should look/feel like. Thanks if you can help and thanks if you can't.
Demon
P.S.. i doubt you will be able to see it in this pic

The tip of the tail may be too far gone. If you make sure your snake sheds completely from now on, you have nothing to worry about. Missing the tip of a tail is a cosmetic thing, and the rest of the tail won't suffer so long as sheds don't get stuck on it.

-Kat
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"You keep WHAT in your freezer?"
"Mice. And rats. If that bothers you, I can call them 'cows' instead."

It is constricting her tail and needs to come off as soon as possible, preferably before the tip dies. While tails aren't completely necessary for survival, they are important for fat/nutrition storage. Just so you know, once the old skin is off, her tail may never look exactly normal again but it's better that it is off. I have one snake that had that problem and the tip of her tail is slightly harder and darker in comparison to the rest of her. I always feel sorry for snakes with this problem...it reminds me of Asian feet binding!

To losen it, make her a moist box. Put paper towels, or cloth napkins if you prefer, in a plastic box and moisten them with warm water. Then, you can put your girl in and her movement in and out of the moistened towels should losen it. After about 20 minutes, you can rub it gently with your finger and fingernails to see if you can dislodge it. If it doesn't come off, let her soak it some more in the moist box.

Or you can try soaking the snake simply in some warm water for a while and then try and get it off.
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2.2 Corns (2 striped and 1 okeetee and 1 blizzard)
1.1 Graybanded
2.1 Banana Cal Kings
1.1 Leopard Geckos (High yellow and Jungle)

I was just given two corns about a year old and had the same problem with one of them. It looked like she never completely shed. I soaked it in warm water and let her go through wet paper towel for over an hour and the old layers finally came off. The tip is noticably smaller, only time will tell. The tip did bleed a little and I cleaned it after the shed came off. Good luck!

I can see it becasue the same thing happened to my corn. Chances are the damaged part will fall off. My corn's tip eventually got 'better looking' after a couple more sheds. If you see any remaining shed on the tail just soak the tip in water and it should come off. I did this with my milk and it came right off. But if it's been a few days since the rest of her/his shed it might not come off untill the next shed. I'm a hawk now when it comes to shedding time...making sure all of it comes off. What I do sometimes is mist them right before it looks like they will shed. This helps A LOT. Also, make sure the eye caps have come off. This can cause real problems if they don't. Fortunately I haven't had any problems except the tips of tails. :0)

Thanks all but from what i have hear it is mostly too far gone. it is only about 1-3 mm of her tail so i don't care as long as it won't hurt her. i will try to find something that she likes as a hide box that i can make moist and i will put that in her tank so she can try to get the skin off. I guess there is not much chance as this was only her second shed with me and bot of them with me were complete, must have happened before i got her and wasn't looked after by the breeder.
THX
Demon

I have a creamsicle corn that had a similar problem when she was young. There was a small ring-like indentation about 3/4" from the tip of her tail that looked like a birth defect or something. I was able to get the unshed skin off several times, but after a while, there was nothing I could do. The tip of her tail began to darken, and it eventually broke off. I used Betadine iodine on the wound, and it healed with no problems. Even though she has a "stub tail", It really isnt that noticable now (she is about 4 1/2' and VERY healthy). I hope this helps you out, and I wouldnt worry too much about it (thats easy for me to say, isnt it? LOL). Good luck.
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1.1 Okeetee corn snakes- babies
1.0 bubblegum snow corn snake- adult
0.1 creamsicle corn snake- adult

hiya

that has happened with my corn before, what i do is let her roam around on my arm and gently tease the tip of her tail with a cotton bud or some cotton wool soaked in warm water, she doesn't seem to mind at all considering snakes don't like there tails messed with and it comes off in no time at all

hope this helps

emma