Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My baby Amel is having a terrible shed. The first 2 - 3 inches came off intact, but the rest of it is just a mess and looks like shredded newspaper just hanging on her.

I've been putting her in a very warm, high-humidity (85% - 90%) 2.5 gal plastic terrarium twice a day for an hour at a time to help her get the shed off. (I have a UTH under the whole length, and put 5 wet paper towels in with her.) A little has been coming off each time, so I'm hopeful that, by Monday, we'll have it all off.

Thanks to all you who have posted before for those great ideas!

Anyway, my question is, obviously, what is wrong? The humidity in her normal enclosure is consistently 50% - 60% at substrate level. I've read in other posts that corns don't need much humidity, and that should be sufficient.

And, if this is related, we just acquired a 7 mo. male Okeetee from Kathy Love, and that boy is much thicker, and much more active than our Amel. "Sally" (from Petco). Don't ride me for that....I just wanted to present you guys with all the facts. She has been eating pinkies like a pig and has a great disposition. And, yes, they have seperate enclosures...

Thanks for your help and I'm sorry it's a little long. Better too much information, in my opinion!

Cindy

It sounds to me your doing a good job. I've been having trouble with a bp. What I did was let it soak for about 15 minutes then let it crawl through a wet towl in my hands. This worked well for me. How long have you had your snake? I may be wrong but I think sometimes it just takes the little fellas a while to learn the best ways to shed. I remember a couple of mine having trouble when they were young. No problems now. Give it some time and make sure it has something rough to rub against, and I bet it will eventually get the hang of it.
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1,0 snow
1,0 amel

1,0 aney stripe motley
0,1 normal
0,1 anery
0,1 motley
1,1 oketee
1,1 tx rat
4,4 ball python
1,1 dumerils boa
1,0 columbian red tail boa
1,1 green iguana
1,0 leopard gecko
1,3 dogs
freezer full of mice & rats

just put a shedding box (cottage cheese container with entrance hole and lots of damp moss) in her cage. She will probably spend lots of time there. Once she sheds, remove it. Let it dry out completely between sheds, so it won't grow mold, bacteria, etc. If she makes use of it during the week or two prior to shedding, I doubt she will have a problem with her next shed.

Thanks for the great idea. The only question I have about that is how will I know one to two weeks in advance of a shed? Is it just a rhythm you pick up on over time, or are there other indicators?

>>Thanks for the great idea. The only question I have about that is how will I know one to two weeks in advance of a shed? Is it just a rhythm you pick up on over time, or are there other indicators?

So, when the snake blues over and goes opaque then put in the damp hide. By the time the snake hangs out in it and clears before it's shed the humidity will help it's shed.
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Sonya

Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with the software.

n/p

You know, my very first love, a kingsnake called Mark Antony, had trouble shedding when he was a youngster. The first time it happened, I just soaked him in some lukewarm water for like, 10 min and everything came off just fine. Then I put a different water dish in his cage, one that was bigger and easier for him to take a "bath" in. Just a suggestion.

Rae
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Me, Beatrice, Theta and Nora. Who could have guessed?