Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I never claimed to be a snake expert, so my little boy has got me baffled. Just the other day I had to move him from RI to CT for my holiday break. He seemed fine. The next day he threw up a part of a mouse I had fed him 4 days prior. A little unnerved, I tried to feed him later in the day, & he refused to eat. A few days later I tried again, & again he refused. That's when I noticed he had started to grow dull & was about to shed, so I left him alone. Then last night I noticed him rubbing on everything in sight, so I figured by morning he would be all shed. Well.. I was almost right. His whole body & chin were shed cleanly, but not the top of his head & eyes. Also, there were 4 balls of what I can only assume would be fecal matter. 2 whitish yellow on one end of the cage, & two dark brown on the other end. Which I thought to be a little weird, usually he defecates in one area & they're rather small compared to these. There was also some shed attached to them. It's probably all perfectly normal & I'm just being a worried mother, but this is my first ball (I've had corns & rats) & I want to make sure he's ok.
Also, if that's all normal, how can I take care of the unshed portion of his head?
Anyone's advice would be greatly appreciated, & happy holidays!

-kit10

for the unshed portion of his head you might want to try and rub it off with a warm wet rag. usually shed skin comes off pretty easily.
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There are a few things you could try. Just give him an area where he can "soak" in his enclosure or put him in a small container with some lukewarm water in it. Also, you could try getting a pillowcase wet with warm water and then put him in there. The high humidity and rubbing against the fabric can help. If the eyecaps are being particularly difficult then you could try gently dabbing mineral oil on them which has worked wonders for me before....

Good Luck

It's not unusual for a snake to undergo a bit of stress during a move, which could affect how he sheds and eats. Also the humididty may be different where you're at and may need a bit of adjusting. Not to worry. If your snake if fairly docile and used to being held, you can use a warm wet washcloth and rub the remaining skin off of him, it should come off faily easily. If not, you can try the pillowcase or humid box trick that has been mentioned. Hope this helps! He should be settled down in a week or so and go back to his normal routine.
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Tosha

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5.4.2 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
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