Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I took a hand towel from the bathroom and soaked it in fairly warm water left him in there for 30 mins or so and he's still not losing all his shed...i tried spraying him with this stuff made by ExoTerra called shed aid (baiscally water and vitamin E), and it just seems that there are little parts left on him. Will this just come off with the next shed or do I need to worry about it and try to get it off now still? I appreciate the help...I have read the previous posts and tried all that stuff...putting the kritter keeper in a laundry tub with warm water also...nothings worked.

And I thought he had eaten a pinky but it turns out that was posted prematurely. I think he may not have been eating because he was going into shed...and I am going to try cutting the head off a pinky and put the head body and him in a small cup and see if that will work..but should I wait until after I try to get all the shed off him or what? He's gotten used to me touching him and he's very calm when I take him out now...here's a couple pictures

here's a picture...look at him around my wrist.

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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat(Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds ("Bill" and "The Bride aka Beatrix Kiddo" )

Well I really wouldn't worry to much about the shed as it should come off during the next shed cycle. As long as the snake didn't retain the eye caps and tip of the tail it should be ok.Sounds to me like he/she was really dry. You could be stressing the snake out by handling him/her so much. Most hatchlings are super stressed already and should only be handled maybe 5 mins tops once every day or two until they start calming down.

Anyway you could try 'braining' a pinkie. This usually will entice a young snake to eat. You need to make a cut or drill a hole in the top of the pinkies head and expose the brain,you could even squeeze a little brain matter out the top of it's head also. Place the pinkie and the snake in a small deli dish and leave over night. Hope that helps.
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Reptiles
0.1 - Early 2002 Anery Motley Corn 33 1/2"
1.0 - Late 2003 Yellow Rat Snake 15 2/3"
0.0.1 - 2003 Banded California King Snake 29 2/3"
1.0 Green Anole
0.0.0 House Gecko
0.1 Painted Turtle

Mammals
4 female ferrets,1 male cat and 1 male doberman...and a few kids!

RIP - Nala my Rottie 08/19/2004

I read somewhere to cut the head off then place both the head and the body out in the deli cup so I think i'll try that because i'm also concerned that the newborn pink may be too large (even though his sister ate one when she was smaller than he is now...not much but smaller...and he has eaten one at one time but regurg'd it)....thanks
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat(Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds ("Bill" and "The Bride aka Beatrix Kiddo" )

Leave your snake alone and put him/her in a quite vibrationless place.Your stressing the little guy out.Give your bairdi a week of not being messed with and I bet it eats and holds it food down.Stress will kill a snake faster than my grandpa can with a shotgun.

I've asked this before but they are both on the hutch on top of my computer desk...they're getting all the vibrations from my computer (fans and such) and me when im typing and whatever else im doing...i want to know if this is not a good spot for them to be? I can find somewhere else to put them im sure....also if i put the tank like a foot away from a tv...would the sound and picture tube and such mess the snake up?
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat(Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds ("Bill" and "The Bride aka Beatrix Kiddo" )

I put Bill (the male) in this 10 gallon next to my licorice stick hopefully to keep him away from the vibrations and such. He seems to be very interested in what i'm doing lol. By the way he's in a 10 gallon. Also, would it hurt to put my female in there with him? She's in a kritter keeper 15"x7". AND she eats and sheds fine! lol.

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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat(Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds ("Bill" and "The Bride aka Beatrix Kiddo" )

I'd keep them separated, until the male eats regularly. You want to minimize any distractions/stressors (like handling, cage rearrangements, sharing space with other snakes)on your male snake and get him shed and then eating. I know you've already gotten some advise on the stuck shed but here's what I've done in the past. With snakes on papertowels- my preferred substrate with the little ones- I just dampen the substrate and the heat stays the same. I'm not moving the snake from cage to cage to soak. If that doesn't work, look at the cage and see if there are suitable things for the snake to rub shed off on. A handful of clean, rough gravel works or even a nice rock with some edges on it. For snakes that need higher humidity, I provide a tupperware style container that has a hole cut in the top with damp moss or papertowels in it, in the cage, that they can hide in. They often rub their shed off in there.
Once the snake has shed completely, then focus on the feeding. With hatchlings, minimal distractions can be important. Feed at night (with some of mine, I've even covered the cage) and don't keep peeking. I used to put hatchlings in a small paper lunch bag with a pinky in it, in the cage. They've got minimal area to avoid the prey item and no distractions. In a few hours, check the bag and if they've eaten, slide them out of the bag back to the floor of the cage. If your snake is refusing frozen/thawed, and you've tried the exposed brain method, you may want to try a live newborn pink.
Good luck!
Lora

Well I am planning on getting a coconut and chopping it in half to make one hide for him one for the female...so that should be something for him to rub against. right now he doesnt really have anything to...just a smooth plastic deli cup turned upside down with a hole cut in it for a hide, and a little cardboard box i cut up (which he has been flipping over...maybe in an attempt to rub up against it). When I get back to my house on Sat i'll do the coconut thing. my other guys have those ceramic hide huts and wooden dowels (climbing) to rub against...but i never knew they needed that either.

As far as feeding goes...by the time they posted for me not to try feeeding last night i already had a decapitated and brain oozing pinky defrosting so i went ahead and put it in there for him to see if he'd take it overnight...didnt...but he has no shed left on his eyes and i peeled it off the tip of his tail. Will having the licorice stick yearling next to him cause stress...should i maybe stick somehting inbetween the two tanks so they wont see each other?

Thanks for all the help & ideas
chris
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat(Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds ("Bill" and "The Bride aka Beatrix Kiddo" )

Putting 2 together would problably freak them both out.You want 0-stress.0000000 stress.A quite spot with no vibrations.That means no tv,radio,stairways,high traffic areas,typing,fans,etc.You have to have one quite place were you live.That's were your bairdi should be.I keep soft foam under my guyana redtails because of kids running around and Im a bumbling clod with a semi loud tv to drown out the other noises.I also keep a foam archery target between my tv and cage that is 4 feet away.It absords the vibes.I also have soft foam under my computers subwoofer and the tv.Vibrations are like a constant earthquake for a snake.Some snakes tolerate it some cant.None thrive from it...Paul