Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 10 month old Jayapura gets wrinkled skin for about three days and then sheds the eye caps and head. Then the skin remains wrinkled and does not shed the remainder until about five days later. My temps are 85/80 and the hum. is about 80% during the shedding period. The snake has shed like this for the last six times.

Is this normal?

My Rainbow boas slide right out of their old skin overnight.
Thanks,
David

It sounds like a dehydration/humidity issue to me. Although some animals will have difficult sheds every time. What kind of hygrometer are you using? Most aren't worth much in way of relaibility. What kind of setup do you have? You may want to decrease airflow to the cage.

Brandon Osborne

It is in a 10 gallon tank with about half of the top covered with a piece of lexan. Moss on the bottom and it has an analog humidity gauge, Digital temp. large water bowl. It drinks from its bowl and coils. Eats great. Just sheds strange.

The enclosure stays moist/damp and I use a 7 watt bulb to keep the left side of the cage at 85 during the day. I live in S. Florida and a 25w bulb takes the gage to about 92.

I could cover more of the top, but I don't want the temp to increase much more.

any thoughts would be appreciated,

Thanks,
David

I'm pretty sure most 10 gal aquariums are not made of tempered glass. You could get a glass bit and drill some extra holes around the aquarium and completely cover the top. You could also check out Doug Barrs cages. He has a 16" cube that's very affordable. I would start with covering more of the top and ventilate a little more around the light if you are worried about over heating. Just because the cage stays wet doesn't mean it has the proper relative humidity. It's a balancing act and you'll have to figure out what works best. Experiment with it and you'll find what works. Good luck.

Brandon Osborne

Thanks for the help Brandon. I think that I will cover more of the top and buy a Rheostat for the lamp so he doesn't cook. I am planning to purchase a better/larger enclosure as he(?) grows a little bigger. He is about 20 inches now.

Thanks again for your Knowledge and willingness to share.

David