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Voldy shed today! Bit stuck on tail..

L

Lavbino368

I have herps!
Hey, All!

Voldemort shed while Ray and I were at the Pet Expo in Reading, PA (didn't see anyone.. kinda bummed, but it was still cool to see everything... blue scorpions?!)! I kind of assumed he was getting ready to because I saw a tiny skin flake sticking up the other day and he was kind of touchy with me.. lil' bit of snake 'tude!

It was a full shed (looked like it anyway to my untrained eye) and I got so excited! Then I went to take him out to get some new pics of his color, and he still has some stuck to his tail! Should I be worried, should I put him in some tepid water and let him slither through a towel like I've seen posted before, or should I stop being a crazy snake mama and see if it comes off on it's own? He's getting fed tonight, so he will be on his own for two days. Is that safe?? Here are some pics (of the shed, and the piece that's stuck). It's literally not even a centimeter attached, but in all the piece of skin is about an inch. How often can I expect him to shed?

Shed1.jpg


Shed2.jpg


Shed3.jpg


I know there are probably a million answers to all of these, but I was so discombobulated and I stink at using the search option on here, and I do not trust the interwebs anymore! I even have Kathy and Bill Love's comprehensive guide to corns book, but I feel like live advice and response to pictures soothes me more.

Thanks in advance for any and all responses!!
 
First off, I love the name! As for the stuck piece...it might come off on its own, but I would probably put him in with the washcloth and water like you mentioned just to be safe. It shouldn't take him too long to get it off, it looks like it's just barely still stuck on there. You're not being crazy, you're taking good care of him! :) One of my snakes consistently has trouble shedding the tip of her tail so I put her and a wet washcloth in a tupperware (with air holes in it of course) and put the whole package on the warm side of her viv for about 15 minutes. It works every time.

If you didn't already feed him I would try and get the last piece of shed off first so you don't have to worry about it. I'm not sure about leaving it on for an extra couple of days...I don't *think* it would be too bad but it's definitely not ideal and you do want to get it off ASAP. I'm not entirely sure on that though so hopefully if I'm wrong somebody will correct me.

As for how often he sheds, it depends completely on him! Helpful right? :p How old is he? Usually the younger they are, the more often they shed because they're growing so fast.
 
Thanks! I'm gonna go ahead and try to help him out then. I skipped feeding because I figured I should at least try to get it off first =] He was 4 months last week. He has grown since I brought him home! I'll be keeping an eye on Nagini as well, because he's looking a little dull.. Thanks so much for the help, Kate!!!
 
There is a sticky in the Health section with pictures about how to fix a stuck shed. I would take care of removing the shed before feeding, but if you have already fed the snake before noticing, then I would wait two days before trying to remove it. Usually it isn't a problem to get it off. In the future, I've found that the simplest way to increase humidity in a viv with a screen lid is to place a sheet of plastic wrap loosely over the screen and mist inside the viv, lightly, every couple days or so.
 
Thanks, Nanci! I didn't want to raise the humidity too much, as it's currently at 54%, but I did give a good mist and it went to 63%. It came off before I even had a chance to try and get him out to do the slither through towel thing! =]
 
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