My snake won't shed all her skin????

Question

I have a 7 month old Ball Python...she has been shedding for two weeks now and she is having trouble shedding it all...what do you think is wrong? Best answer wins 10 points!

Answer 1

You can gently help her finish shedding the skin. If it has a lose piece sticking up use tweezers and grasp it and pull slowly. Never tug hard as it might not be ready to come off, but if she has been trying to shed for two weeks then it just needs a little extra help. Make certain that you have something rough in her cage to help her rub against to help next time she starts to shed.

Answer 2

Stuck sheds are pretty common when you don't increase humidity during the shedding process. One trick that I use all the time is to soak a pillowcase in warm water, and then wring it out so that it is wet, but not dripping. Place your snake in the pillowcase and twist it a couple times. Put the pillowcase in a plastic container that can fit in the cage so it can stay warm, just don't put it directly under a heat lamp. Keep him there for about 2 hours. That should be enough to soften up the skin and when he moves around in the pillowcase, and it should be enough to rub off the old skin. If there is any left you should be able to peel it off easily.

Many people would recommend that you just soak him in a container of water for an hour or two. That works too, but it's more difficult to maintain the temps and I like the fact that the pillowcase is used to rub off the old skin. If you just soak him, you have to peel it off yourself which may stress your snake out even more.

One more thing... a lot of people seem to recommend that you place something rough in their cage to rub up against. Although that can help sometimes, it's not necessary for a good shed. Humidity during the shedding process is MUCH more important. None of my snakes have anything rough in their cages and I get perfect sheds every time with increased humidity. The shed ends up looking like a rolled up condom after they finish.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I had the same thing with my first Ball, I now have four. Has she shed before?How many times? Usually, young Balls have incomplete sheds for the first couple sheds. To get the skin off, you should soak her in room temp water for about 10 minutes, then try and gently rub or peel the skin off. If a piece won't come off, then just leave it, it might not be ready to come off. Don't worry, your snake is going through something completely natural. Hope this helps!
-Tiffany

Answer 4

xyz_gd basically nailed it. In the future to prevent the same problem I'd recommend adding a "humid hide" either all the time or just when he looks like he's going to shed. This can be as simple as a plastic container with a hole cut in it, with wet paper towels or moss inside of it. Depending on the size of the snake you can also get a terra cotta flower pot, flip it upside-down, widen the hole, and soak it in water for a while. It'll absorb the water and create a humid chamber inside that will last for quite a while. (that's what I use for my rainbow boa, he loves it!)

Answer 5

is it eating well? if it doesn't shed fully, maybe there might be something wrong with her or the skin is stuck there. But usually snakes should be able to shed their skin off, so i think your pet might have a bit of problem. Might be insufficient nurients? Or perhaps hunger for love. LOL

Answer 6

Many animals, including humans, shed their skin. Snakes will normally shed their skin in one piece. If they have difficulty in removing all or part of this skin serious problems and even death may result. Normally, when a snake starts the shed (slough, dysecdysis) process, its pattern and colors become dull with a grayish-blue overcast. When this happens the eyes cloud over to the point where you may not even be able to see the dark pupils. This condition is called by herpetoculturists "being opaque." It is caused by a secretion coming between the outer and under layers of skin loosening the outer layer of skin. When the skin layers are prepared for the shed, the opaque condition subsides and the skin pattern and colors look normal again. Within a few days after this clearing of colors, the snake should shed, hopefully in one piece. If the snake does not shed soon after the clearing of the colors, the secretion between the two layers of skin will dry and virtually glue the old skin onto the snake's body. If the entire body is covered for an extended period of time, the snake will probably die. If parts of shed skin remain, the snake may be able to survive until the next shed, which will probably occur sooner than normal. If just a portion on the end of the tail remains, it will probably constrict that section of the tail as the skin dries, cutting off circulation, and causing that part of the tail to dry up, die, and eventually break or drop off. Snakes do not regenerate their tails, so the animal will be mutilated for life.

As a rule, skin problems including wounds, diseases, etc., will increase the frequency of shedding. Presumably this is part of the healing process.

PREVENTING SHEDDING PROBLEMS
Why does a snake have problems shedding? There are theories suggesting a number of factors including poor health, dehydration, low relative humidity, keeping the environment too dry, etc. It could be one are all of these plus some other unknowns in any given situation. How can this problem be prevented? An easy method is to record when your snake is in the opaque condition. When the clearing of the opaque condition occurs, you should expect a shed within the week.

PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH PROBLEM SHEDS
If a partial shed occurs, we should assist the snake out of any remaining pieces. Look for the piece of shed from the head and verify that they eye "caps" have been shed. If they haven't, look for a loose piece of skin attached to the eye cap and lift up gently and pull away from the eye orbit. If no skin is available, use a finger and gently push across the eye, forcing the cap to slide into the eye orbit on one side, but exposing the edge of the cap on the other side. Hook the exposed edge with tweezers or your finger nail. Lift up and off. The cap should lift out with very little pressure. If too much time has passed and the eye caps are "glued" in place, leave them. It is better not to risk permanent injury to the snake's eyes. The snake should be alright, even though partially blind, until the next shed.

For the rest of the body with skin left, pretend that the skin is a woman's stocking. Find the edge nearest the head and roll it back towards the tail. If it seems to be stuck, it keeps tearing, or you suspect that an entire skin is still on the snake when it should have been shed off, find a round-bottomed container which the snake, when coiled in it, goes around twice. Put ventilation holes in the top, add water to a depth of one half the thickness of the snake, and place the container where it will be 82°-88°F. It may take only one hour or it may take 24 hours, but the soaking and the friction caused when the snake crawls on its own body should remove the skin. Do NOT put the snake in a cloth bag then soak it in a shallow container. The material can soak up the water to a point where it excludes air passage and the snake can smother. It is imperative that shed problems are cared for immediately on baby milk snakes. Within a matter of 24 to 48 hours, they can go from healthy looking to dehydrated, to being on the verge of death. If the snake looks dehydrated (in fact this appearance is caused by the crinkling and adhesion of the old skin onto the new one), don't wait a week until after the opaque condition clears, start the soaking immediately.

Perhaps in the wild when milk snakes are opaque they retreat to some moist underground hide-away which prevents any shedding problems. In the wild, a snake can also bask in the sun so the ultraviolet light can kill any bacteria on the skin. In captivity, if we keep milk snakes too damp for extended periods of time, they end up getting skin disorders. However, a temporarily damp cage or a hide box containing a wet substrate, if made available during the shedding process, may significantly reduce the potential for shedding problems.

By closely monitoring your snakes and keeping records of when they turn opaque, you should be prepared to soak them when necessary and prevent any shedding problems.

Answer 7

Be sure you have something in the tank for the snake to help itself shed, a large water dish and a store-bough branch are both good. Something the bedding you have can be helpful too. When my snake shed, she had pellet-type bedding, and she would burrow through it to help herself shed.

I've also been told that putting the snake in warm water can help the snake. In a shallow dish of course, since you aren't trying to drown it.

Answer 8

Inadequate shedding is often a result of a mite infestation or stress brought on by various other factors. Mite infestations should be cleared immediately and aid should be given to the snake experiencing difficulty in shedding. I would consult a vet that specializes in reptiles.

Answer 9

it's probably in too confined a space. I am assuming you keep it in a cage or tank. Out in the wild, they slither all over and it come off naturally by shedding it on grass in water, on rocks, etc.
I think trapping a snake is really stupid. Do you think a snake is happy in a tiny tank?
Or do you think that feeding live animals to it is cool? I think it's disgusting and dumb.

Answer 10

let her soak in a bathtub of lukewarm water for about 10 minutes.
Her shedding problem is most likely caused be lack of humidity in her enclosure. Take a bowl and put some pete moss in it, then spray the moss with water. Put the bowl of moss as near as you can to the heat pad in your snakes cage and the humidity should rise..