Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My bp had a "flaky" shed, and ~1/2 of it is still on him, in patches. What is the best and easiest way to get it off? Luckily, the skin on his head did shed and the eyes are clear. I kept it humid, mist everyday, humidy gets at the lowest 50.

Thanks in advance
Neal

You could give him a soak. Just put some luke warm water in a container and let him soak for a while. You could then place him in a damp pillow case and let him wander around for a while. The friction against the damp pillow case after the soaking should help to remove the rest of the shedding skin.

In the future, when you see he's about to shed try to bump the humidity up a little higher...65% or so...

Hope that helps

I guess I am having a hard time keeping humidity levels up. He is in a 55 gallon long with a slide on lid w/ some mesh on the lid...maybe I need to try to cover up part of the lid and "enclose" it more?

Also, when I soke him in a tub, how do I keep him in it? He never likes to sit still and will probably try to explore as soon as I put him in it. I guess I will just have to stand there and guide him back into the tupperware container.

Shouldnt be a big deal though. ONe time he had an incomplete shed and I had to remove the scales over the eyes by hands. Man, that was SUCH a nerve racking 30 minutes! He was such a good boy though, didnt get hissy with me once...it was like he knew what I was doing was helping him.

Yeah, it would be hard to keep the humidity up in an enclosure like that. I would cover up a good portion of the mesh top. Also, depending on what type of substrate you are using you might consider changing to something that will help with humidity levels.

In the past, when I soaked mine I just put him in a tupperware with the top on with a few holes for ventilation. Made it real easy.

Tip I got about retained eyecaps...if you put a little mineral oil on them they soften up real nice and usually come off with a "pillow case treatment".

Soaking in a bathtub works well, but make sure you get an actual temp of the water before you put your snake in it. People have a different tolerance for temperature than snakes do so "luke warm" for you could be over 100* and that's far too warm for your snake. Yes, it will try and explore your bathtub, but as you try to keep him in it, the skin patches usually loosen up and peel off. It only takes 15-20mins and it's funny watching them swim. Don't be surprised if it defecates in the bathtub though, the water always stimulates mine.
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