Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello there

Any advise would be much appreciated following what I can only describe as a shedding disaster. My male ball python tried to shed on saturday night, unfortunately when I went to look at him on Sunday he had hardly shed at all and had flakes of skin hanging off all over. I immidiately bathed him in warm water to try to help the process along but since I put him back in the tank he has not moved and there is no sign of any more shedding. I also bumped up the humidity in his tank by spraying water and putting a water bowl directly under his light. I will try to bathe him again later today but how long is a good time to do this for and is it recommended to help the skin shed by gently pulling at loose pieces?

Cheers

Hello,
You can soak your snake in slighlty warm water for a little while and this should help. Also, I do assist in removing the shed from my snakes when they have shed stuck on them. Just make sure that the eyecaps are removed with the shed.
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Tim and Monica Bailey
Bailey & Bailey Reptiles
website on the way

Thanks for that, a quick question with regards to the eye caps though. Basically, how do you go about removing them?, he has got one off but the other remains and he really does not like me going near his head, so will just soaking his head do the trick and then let him get it off on his own or should i go for it and gently rub around the eyes?

Cheers

soak him for a bit, then put him in a tied off damp snake sac or pillow case for about an hour that has always worked well for me.

usually that will get it all off as he crawls around in there.

Also make sure the tail has shed you dont want a stricture on the tail if unshed skin dries out.

TomChambers