Reptile & Amphibian Forums

we have a 7 month old motely corn that has some shed on her tail that is stuck. The area under it is fireengine red and sore looking. We have been trying to set it off with moisture but it seems to hurt her .....is there a better way to get it off rather than "twirling" her tail in our moistened fingers?? Any info would help Thanks

If your snake has started to shed, but has patchy unshed skin remaining, take a plastic animal cage, such as the Kritter Keepers, which are sold by pet stores and animal suppliers, of an appropriate size. Make sure the container is secure! Nothing is worse than finding that your snake has escaped the container. Put about 1/2 to one inch of warm water in the bottom. Then put several paper towels in on top of the water. Put the snake in there. Then put a few dripping wet paper towels on top of the snake. Leave the snake in there for about 30 minutes. Check to see if the snake has completely shed. If not, put the snake back in for another 30 minutes. Repeat as necessary. I have also heard of people using small towels in these containers. The beauty of paper towels is that you can just throw them away instead of having to wash them. You can also take a wet sock, for a small snake; or a wet pillow case, for a larger snake; and put the snake into it, secure the top, and put the whole thing into the snake’s cage overnight.
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phflame

I agree with flame, but was going to recommend a wash cloth instead of paper towels.
In the future mist you tank once or twice a day especially during the shed. That is usually all the moisture you need.
Just my opinion.

I hope your snake's tail heals up. In the future you should use a humidity box. Once the snakes eyes turn blue take a container and put wet paper towels in it. Cut a hole in the lid just large enough for the snake to crawl through. Put it directly over the heat source. It will heat up and steam up like a little sauna. The snake will crawl into it prior to and during the shedding process. It should shed with out any problems. I have used this for several years. I live in Alaska where the humidity is very low and my snakes always had bad sheds until I started using the humidity box. It doesn't have to be big. I use containers that had once held food items, such as little cups for cream cheese, margarine/butter tubs, etc... Just clean them up once the food is used, store them under the sink and as the snake grows us a larger tub. Very effective and no cost. Good luck.
Dave

Thanks for the suggestions I will definetly try them tonight. Can i use these on our milk snakes too?

I don't know about the desert snakes, like the rosy boas and all, though.
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phflame

I use it for all my snakes. Corns, Russian Rats, Milk, Hognose, Tiger Rat, Kenyan Sand boa, Texas Rat. You can also use Care-Fresh which is basically ground up paper. Just moisten for use and throw away when complete. A bag will last a year or more if used only for humidity boxes. I have been doing this for three years with out any problems.