Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had shedding problems off and on with my adult CRB for a couple of years now. He seems to go through phases of a few good sheds and then a few bad sheds. By bad shed I mean I check on him in the morning and he has very little skin removed, which I treat with soaking under damp towels followed by massaging the skin off. I used to think the bad sheds came from him not being damp enough during his pre-shed, but last time the skin came off extremely easily once I started massaging with a damp towel. This made me think that he may have been plenty damp (I make sure he stays in a hide box with sphagnum moss and several mistings throughout the day because he won't soak), but that the problem was getting the shed started. This seems a little weird just because he has also had perfect sheds. Aside from his plastic hide box, he has a couple of big ZooMed hollowed logs, 3 natural branches, a fake rock shelf, and several plastic edges (box, water bowels) to rub up against. He seems to get the skin off his nose and eyes, but then lose it at the top of his head, right behind his eyes. That's always the pattern when he's having a bad shed.

So, my questions are, 1) does this sound like he's not moist enough, or that he doesn't have the rough surfaces he needs to get the shed started? 2) If it's the latter, what materials or surfaces would help? It almost seems like he needs a reversed log, with the smooth wood on the outside and the rough bark on the inside where he could rub the top of his head on it. Sorry for the long post. This has been given me problems now for a long time. Thanks!

Matt

Matt,
Don't be sorry for the long post....most people don't bother to clarify what they mean and that in itself can be a problem resulting to not receiving a helpful solution.

1) does this sound like he's not moist enough, or that he doesn't have the rough surfaces he needs to get the shed started?

It could be that your humidity is too low. What is it? And how about your temps?

2) If it's the latter, what materials or surfaces would help?

I don't keep any rough surfaces for mine to rub on. They shed completely every time. Sometimes the shed skin is torn in 2 big pieces....as if it just ripped in half from the pressure it had from being pulled around something. It is almost always in one long piece wrapped aroung a water bowl or a hide, sometimes both.

Linda

-----
When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teachers appears.

Linda,

Thanks for replying. I usually feel that more detail is better than less.

The ambient humidity in my CRB's cage ranges from 60-80%. In the winter months it's usually 60-70 and in the summer it's 70-80. His pattern of good and bad sheds seems to be unrelated, as he's had good and bad ones in both seasons. From the time he starts to turn opaque or blue, I put him in a towel box with damp sphagnum moss and make sure he stays there until he sheds. I also mist him directly several times a day. The box is covered and has one opening on the side, so I think the local humidity in there is pretty darn high. His belly scales never have a problem coming off. I don't know if that's solely because they are absorbing more moisture since they're in constant contact with the moss, or if it's also because it's easier for him to slither across one of these rough branches and get that skin pulled off. Does that make sense? Any tips from your setup would be great since it sounds like you always get good sheds. Thanks a bunch.

Matt

Matt,
I think you have solved your own problem. If your snake sheds well on it's ventral scales and they are exposed to higher humidity, then you could simply increase your humidity for the entire enclosure. If you have to mist daily you must be losing a tremendous amount of humidity from somewhere. The humidity shouldn't be escaping so much. I would try for a more constant level rather than the zones you descibe. Too much air flow or too high a temperature is the most likely cause.

Linda

-----
When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teachers appears.