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I got a corn snake for my birthday...about 3 months ago. I named him "snake". He is set up in a 10 gallon tank with soft bedding made out of fluffy card board material. He has a large peice of drift wood that he can climb on and I also made him a snake condo out of old paper towel roles. I feed him pinkys out of my hand, not in his tank...he has no problems eating or drinking. He shed once when I got him and the skin came right off...no problems. He just started to shed last week, but only the top came off. the sides and bottom are still attached. Am I doing something wrong? I've tried to help him with taking it off butt it just comes off in little peices. Plus he squirms around alot and its hard to get hold of the shedding skin and not his new skin. So basically my question is should I change something or just leave him alone and it will come off? And also is my setup alright or should I change something...Thanks for any help!

Dude you really should of read up on snakes alittle more, . But about his shedding try soaking the parts that havnt shed in warm water, and raise the humidity in the tank alittle, by spraying the inside of the tank alittle with 'room temp' water. that should help, oh and put something with a rough'ish surface so he can rub on it (nothing abbrasive enough to hurt the snake). your not doing anything wrong as far as i tell sometimes sheds just dont wanna come off!
Hope it helps!

Anthony
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One of my corns is loose in the building!!

"He is set up in a 10 gallon tank with soft bedding made out of fluffy card board material."
-I would question the absorbancy of the material. It may be causing your corn to become dehydrated. You may not even pick up on the signs of dehydration until its too late. I personally use paper towels simply b/c its the easiest to clean up and the best at easily recognizing any problems. I read see many posts from people who are having problems with corns and when I reply, the first thing that I ALWAY try to impress upon them is that once something is a bit off with your corn, throw the natural look out the window and try to do what is easiest in monitoring the animal. For example, IF your corn is dehyrated, paper towels would allow you to see its defecation easier to see if there is a problem or not.

He has a large peice of drift wood that he can climb on and I also made him a snake condo out of old paper towel roles.
-I go through a ton of paper towels and I always save the rolls for the snakes when I'm done. Its a good way to provide extra comfort for hiding. As for the driftwood, if it came from a store, I once bought one infested with mites and decided NEVER to go that route again (unless you disinfect it well).

I feed him pinkys out of my hand, not in his tank...he has no problems eating or drinking.
- I would get out of the habit of feeding him out of your hand IF you want to eventually show him off or let others hold him. I find corns are susceptable to classic conditioning (pavlov's dog)... It will eventually associate hands with being fed. I use tongs to feed all my animals now. Its easier and you don't have to touch the mice.

He shed once when I got him and the skin came right off...no problems. He just started to shed last week, but only the top came off. the sides and bottom are still attached. Am I doing something wrong?
- None of my corns have ever had problems shedding. It may not all come off in one piece BUT you may very well have something wrong with its setup that could be causing it to have difficulties with shedding.

I've tried to help him with taking it off butt it just comes off in little peices. Plus he squirms around alot and its hard to get hold of the shedding skin and not his new skin.
-You should never have to assist it with shedding unless its a stuck eyecap or stuck piece of tail, which can be more common with incorrect humidity and temps.

So basically my question is should I change something or just leave him alone and it will come off? And also is my setup alright or should I change something...Thanks for any help!
What do you have for a heat source, and what are the temps? Do you have a water bowl in the tank with it? Can you post a pic of your setup? There are a million things I can think of but its hard to provide advice without knowing more details.
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I know what your saying about the feeding him, lol yeah that could end up bad with letting my neice hold him. It may be in fact that he is getting dehydrated. The card board material is very dry, but I often see him drinking from his water dish. Also every now and again I will spray water into his face and he drinks the water. I am thinking that this isn't cruel because I imagine this is what they do when it rains.

I probably should have read up on this , but like I said it was a birthday present...so it was a suprise. I love snakes...in fact I'm going for a zoology degree right now. But I just haven't learned all that much about snakes yet. Just what I've watched on animal planet and national geographic channel.

I'll try and get a pic of him and his set up on here but im not sure on how to do it.

Thanks again for your help it is very appreciated.

P.S. is probing the only way to sex corn snakes? Or the short tail = female thing work with them?

If he is drinking often from his water dish, then it may very well be dehydration. Also, is the water dish large enough for him to soak his whole body in? Spraying with water would probably be stressful for him. Corns in the wild probably seek shelter during rain & storms. Maybe they drink the water that pools up afterwards but I don't see the same behavior with my corns as I do with my green tree pythons for instance...so spraying would not be a suitable source for them to obtain H2O.

I probably should have read up on this , but like I said it was a birthday present...so it was a suprise. I love snakes...in fact I'm going for a zoology degree right now. But I just haven't learned all that much about snakes yet. Just what I've watched on animal planet and national geographic channel.
- I have taken undergraduate herpetology courses AND those still don't give you the knowledge of how to properly care for them in the wild. I would invest in Kathy Love's Corn Snake Manual as its corn snake 101 for answering any and all ?'s you'll have.

P.S. is probing the only way to sex corn snakes? Or the short tail = female thing work with them?...I always popped the hemipenes when I bred awhile back, but that only works for hatchlings so I would either have it probed by someone who knows how to do it correctly OR try to use the tail method, which is not the best but who cares if its only a pet and its not going to be used for breeding. In Kathy's book, it explains how to sex by looking at the tail. I have always just trusted the people I buy from. It will be their loss if they screw me b/c I'll never buy from them again if I put two corns together and both are males! Of course, mistakes happen BUT what are the chances that someone makes a mistake and gives you a female when you request a male? LOL
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Joe,

The best way to help a baby snake shed is to leave it in a container overnight with some damp paper towels. The snake will do the rest. In the winter, forced warm air used to heat homes takes humidity out of the air, which could cause shedding problems.

I have a photo illustrated corn snake care sheet in the corn snake section of my website which might help you.

Tim

Third Eye

thanks alot man I'll check it out. Just as an update since I have posted this I have misted his tank regularly and his kin is coming off on its own. I think I'm gonna set up a container that he can go in and out of that retains moisture. Thanks again for all your help!