Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My axanthic was having a problem shedding. So as I have done before with her and any of my other snakes that were having a dry shed, I put her in a wet warm cotton bag and put her in a cage with a heat lamp. This time though I think my heat lamp was more directly over the top of her then in the past. I have left my snakes in their bag for hours, but I have always checked in on them periodically. This time I got busy as most of us do and forgot that I had her in the bag. She was in her bag for approximately 6 hours before I remembered. She had shed her skin, but she had also died. I have learned several lessons today. Always be sure that your setups (Cage, Soaking, heating etc..) are correct. Also slow down, we should never get so busy that we forget our pets.

Thanks
Russ
"Colorado Ball Pythons"

Honest mistake, but 6 hours??? At least you've learned something out of it as most people don't. Thats really sad that the snake had to boil to death under a heat lamp in restricted confines. Thats the WORST way for something to die next to being buried alive ofcourse. Glad you learned though. And this was not meant to be of any disrespect to you, its sad that the animal cooked to death and I had to vent.

No direspect taken. I understand I made a fatal mistake. I just hope that my mistake will help someone else not repeat it.

Thanks
Russ

No need to rub salt in the wound! Anyone who works with animals for any length of time has made tragic mistakes.

Christy

Russ, I'm terribly sorry for your loss, but yes we need always to remember our charges. We all, I'm sure, slip up to some extent.

Quig

Russ, I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. I know that dealing with the circumstances is very hard. We all get a little too wrapped up in our daily activities from time to time and I really feel for you. Things happen and others shouldn't judge, because we're all human...it was obviously a lapse of time/attention and I know you're feeling the grief now. If you could change things, I'm sure you would. I live in Arizona and every year we hear of parents who leave their children in the car and forget they're there, only to have to deal with the tragic results later. Again, I'm very sorry, but I suppose, keeping things in perspective, the positive side is: it was only a snake.

God bless.

Tim

Sorry for your loss man, but this reply is to this statement from someone else:

Again, I'm very sorry, but I suppose, keeping things in perspective, the positive side is: it was only a snake.

Only a snake? Yikes. That should go over well on this forum.

Sorry to hear that.
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0.1 CB '05 Ball Python
Chlorhexidine

Sorry to hear that happened - what a bummer. Best of luck with your other animals.

Christy

Christy I didn't mean to burn him at all and I put myself in the animals shoes for ahwile which I shouldn't have done. Everyones busy and has things to do in there daily lives that sometimes over shadows things. But serriously thats gotta be one hell of a painful death for anything...

I understand, I just know how bad it has made me feel when I have made an error in judgment that has cost an animal it's life.

By the way, that was one awesome snake you posted a pic of on the ven forum...geez it is beautiful (whatever it is!).

Christy

Thankyou very much, its a Ceylonese palm viper (T.trigonocephalus). She's very docile for a hot that is. Still can pack a punch for anyone that wants to get rough with her

That has to be one of the coolest looking snakes I have seen!

So sorry to hear about your snake! As Quig said I am sure most everyone on here has made mistakes. 6 hours can slip by so fast. I talked to someone in another forum that was taking care of her husband after surgury and left one of her dragons under a heat lamp and had the same thing happen. Thanks for letting us know about it and openning yourself up like that. I am sure that some people will be a little more careful after hearing it. Take Care!
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

That stinks and my condelences. There are a couple of things here to learn but I think the first is not the amount of time the animal spent under the heat, rather the heat source not being correct to begin with. Obviously, it was too hot. I recommend the "sauna" method of aiding a bad shed, but I also state to ensure the temps are not too hot. It does not take a lot of heat to begin with. That snake should have been fine even overnight or days for that matter. The lesson here, IHMO, is proper setup.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I agree. The important lesson here is the danger of an unregulated heat source.

I've used the "damp pillowcase trick" many times in the past with great success. I place the pillow case [snake inside] in the enclosure under normal [regulated] temperatures. The most the animal should experience is high humidity. [The temperature never changes.]

[My condolences.]

Chris
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mean people suck

wet bags will steam a snake....

wet bags cannot be creathed through like a dry bag

I never did like the wet cloth bag trick......I was going to post that before but I figured I would get 57 posts that said.""I been doing it for years and mine never smothered in a wet bag""

they do.........they push thier face into the bag trying to get out and the wet bag keeps them from actually being able to breath through it.....

.......been there

.....3 7 foot carpets.....one styro box.......cold day.......friend kept saying to go to car..they will be too cold....

well........I thought they'd be ok...(warm).....

they were ...the one on top urinated and that alone made the 3 bags wet and heated and the box got over 100 degrees in there I bet.and yes the one on the bottom was dead...(always did hate her anyways.Barker jungle carpet..10 years..0 eggs....)....
the weight was maybe like 20 plus pounds per snake.......so use 3 boxes too.......

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so what do you then do for bad sheds? I have yet another snake with a bad shed to fix today, so any other ideas would be great.

Los Angeles has been really really dry(not normal), and in the last 3 weeks I have had about 3-4 snakes not shed right which never happens to me. I used the bag method on the others but I checked on them often and I left half of the container on near the heat and half not so they could move around if it was too hot(which it wasn't) I found the bag would get cold not hot. Worked great at removing the stuck shed. Though hearing about them not being able to breathe is something I didn't consider so thanks for pointing that out.
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Misty Sprouse Ball Pythons

Between the Santa Anas and just the dry cold air - I've also had some that just aren't sheding well the past few weeks. IF there is still shed stuck to them I use a warm wet towel and just let them sit inside of it for a while (like 5-10 minutes until the towel starts to cool) then I make them move or wiggle thru the towel - sheds usually come off with no problem - sometimes a follow up with a warm wet washcloth is needed but the humidity inside the towel as well as the texture really helps. Also you can try putting them inside a small tub filled with crumpled moist (not sopping wet) newspaper similar to a humid hide except the newspaper gives them something to crawl through to help them remove the shed. Put the tub somewhere warm so your snake doesn't catch cold doing its thing, this might not work with some snakes - some just sit there and don't do anything. There is the tried and true method of soaking too - but soaking tends to dehydrate and stress snakes - so I don't usually use this method. Good luck with whatever you try!!
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

As a precaution and for a little peace of mind, maybe next time put a timer on your heat lamp? That way, if you do get caught up, then this could be avoided. Sorry to hear about your loss. And it's been said, if you have so many animals and take care of them daily, then mistakes will always be made.........we're human!!

My heart goes out to you, what a horrible thing to have to go through, both for you and the poor animal.

Just a thought, when I have to help an animal with their shed all I do is take really damp towel that fits their tub and lay it over them inside their tub. Works like a charm and no way that it would be lethal. If you are using an aquarium just put the animal into a tub that will fit inside the aquarium and put it so that it is 1/2 over the heat pad and it should work fine too.
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Nita Hamilton
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Ball Pythons
ballpythonworld.com

I have never used the "wet bag" trick. I always put about 1.5 inches of warm/luke-warm water in a rubbermaid tub and let the snakes sit for 30 minutes ( I use a kitchen timer in top of the tub because i did leave them in once for about 3 hours, but they were fine)