# Ball python shed question



## night4now (Nov 1, 2009)

OK, so my 2.5 year old ball python, Lacy, has been in my care about 2 months now. When I got her she had just had her shed, but her eye caps were still on. I upped her humidity and they fell off, luckily, and everything went fine.
Well, she shed about 2 weeks ago, but didnt really shed. She started peeling, and she will get little bits off, but nothing like a full body peel like she should. 
I have been bathing her. At first every 3-4 days, to try to help her along. Nothing. Then I bought some 'snake oil', mostly tea tree and avacodo oil, to put on her, and again nothing. Ive been soaking her daily, 10 to 15 minutes a pop, and she still is only about half shed, and again her eye caps are stuck on. 
Her humidity is high(for utah, where we sit at about 25%), low for her tank is about 60%, usually 75%. She eats fine, a small rat a week. She doesnt have mites, her cage is clean... I just dont know what her problem is. Anyone have any ideas on how to help her finish her shed? And, more importantly, how to keep this from happening on her next shed?
Thanks a bunch!


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## rasputin (Nov 1, 2009)

What are you using for a substrate? Do you have any logs or rough surfaces for her to "itch" herself on?


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## Big Red TJ (Nov 1, 2009)

Don't put oil of any kind on a snake that is an old wives tale.  Soak a bath towel in warm water the put the snake in a container wrapped up with the towel.   When the snake crawls through the towels it will help remove the stuck shed.  I have a female pastel that has always been a problem shedder, while my Pinstripe always does good.  As far as substrate I like newspaper or towels easy to change and will not harbor bacteria.


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## 2bears (Nov 1, 2009)

*shed*

I like to put some cantainers in the cage with water and get a large piece of
"no slip" material in the cage so the snake has something to rub the shed off, I like the material because you can clean it and use it again.
Its the same material thats used in kitchen shelving so things dont slip.
I get mine at Walmart.
Twobears.


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## cbeard (Nov 1, 2009)

This is why I prefer racks to tanks...

If you can put a rubbermaid bin into the tank that the snake will fit into, do that. have a few holes drilled into the side of the RM, put a folded piece of paper towel on the bottom, spray it with warm water a few times, so its damp but not wet. Put the water dish in the bin with the snake and nothing else, and you will be fine.


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## Harmony67 (Nov 1, 2009)

Use a water dish large enough for your snake to soak its whole body and give it fresh water every couple of days.

If you keep the snake in a tank with a screen lid cover 3/4 of the screen with a towel or plastic to keep the moisture in.

If it has an incomplete shed you can soak the snake in tepid water and ease the skin off slowly and gently.  Some snakes are poor shedders,  but if you can keep the humidity right it'll generally work itself out.


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## night4now (Nov 2, 2009)

*Thanks*

These are all great ideas, but unfortunately I have done all of these things.
She is in a 35 gallon repti tank, has a log hide, a decorative log, a fake half rock that is her favorite to hide under, a giant water dish, some decorative plants... pretty nice set up. I am using astroturf for her tank bedding, have 4 pieces that I wash in very hot water between uses. Ive put a damp washcloth in her rock with her, to up her moisture. 
She has been getting 15 minute daily baths lately, and really either likes it and just soaks, or hates it and i have to snake wrangle. The plus is when I wrangle her she rubs parts off into my hands. It seems this is the only way to get any off.
On the downside, I left a decent size peel out to dry, and once it dried you can see this is her 3rd layer of skin. Does that mean, like I think it does, that shes had 2 other incomplete sheds and the kid I got her from didnt do anything, or even mention it?


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## rasputin (Nov 2, 2009)

It sounds like it's time to go get a cert of health from the vet


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## night4now (Nov 3, 2009)

OK, after about a week steady of all of the above mentioned things, we finally got it all off. I am hoping that now that she has had a complete shed, with no left over skin attachments, that we will have a nice, painless complete shed next time... bad plan?


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## Lucas339 (Nov 4, 2009)

once you see her go blue, mist daily.  the tank should fog up for a few hours.  if it doesn't, you aren't getting proper humidity.  most hygometers are garbage.  i never use them and never have issues with sheds.  although, only one of my animals is in a glass enclosure. what are you using to heat the cage?  heat lamps/ceramic heaters dry the cage drastically.


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## night4now (Nov 4, 2009)

She currently has an under tank zoo med heat pad, extra large with the water dish half on it, to increase humidity. Occasionally I turn on her light, but more just to watch her than anything. She is such a pretty girl


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## Harmony67 (Nov 8, 2009)

night4now said:


> OK, after about a week steady of all of the above mentioned things, we finally got it all off. I am hoping that now that she has had a complete shed, with no left over skin attachments, that we will have a nice, painless complete shed next time... bad plan?


Ok, sounds like you might have found out why she was having a bad shed.  Stuck sheds makes for bad sheds.  Good luck with the next one!

FYI, when one of my snakes has a bad shed experience I put the snake in the bath tub with about an inch of cool water and make sure it doesn't escape while rubbing down the length of the body with my hand to remove any shed.  It's easy to do with a ball, but a p.i.t.a. with a burmese python....


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## Lucas339 (Nov 8, 2009)

you shouldn't use cold water.   you need to use warm water.


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## erika357 (Nov 11, 2009)

I have used this idea from time to time with both of my ball pythons and it seems to work. I tear up newspaper and crumple it. I then put the paper in my second tank (my ball pythons are in a 60 gallon tank and I use their 30 gallon tank for feeding). I make sure that there is an inch or two of paper covering the entire bottom of the tank. i then pour water all over the paper (like I absolutely soak the paper). I let it warm up a bit with a heat lamp on one side of the tank. Sometimes I will include a hide in the tank or at least a rock for them to rub against. put the snake in the tank (keep the heat lamp on so the snake doesn't get cold). i just keep checking on the snake and usually remove it after no more than a few hours. really seems to help!


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## erika357 (Nov 11, 2009)

also, i used to use astroturf. i loved it because it was easy to clean. but it really didnt hold in the humidity at all. i am having much better luck increasing the humidity since switching to aspen. when i mist it really seems to hold in the moisture. you might want to give it a try.


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## Shrike (Nov 11, 2009)

Sometimes its helpful to put a hide box in the enclosure filled with sphagnum moss or some other moist substrate.  The higher humidity inside the hide box should help the snake shed without any problems.


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## Sunset (Nov 18, 2009)

when you put her in the water do you use warm water and do you feel it up half was so her hole body can go under water and if that does work, wait about another week or so and do it again. do not use snake oil its bad from them.


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## night4now (Nov 21, 2009)

OK, it is coming on time again for a shed.  I recently bought some water pillows for her hide rock, so up the moisture in the area she stays in. Has anyone ever tried this?


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## night4now (Nov 29, 2009)

*Perfect*

It seems as if the old sheds were the problem. She did a perfect shed, all in a single piece. I dont know if the water pillows helped, but they sure didnt hurt, and it was well worth the  59 cents for them.


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