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Post by littlequeen on Jun 22, 2006 19:57:46 GMT -5
hay. i have my first corn snake and im kinda gettin worried about her. she started shedding but hasnt actually finished...and it hasnt even come off in one peice. It kinda looks like she has dry skin..right underneath her jaw and partway down her back it looks like she started to shed but never got the rest off. She is still kind of pale so im wondering if maybe she just hasnt finished shedding or if it is something i should be more worried about. any ideas on what i could do would be appreciated.
Michelle
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Post by minnow on Jun 22, 2006 22:30:22 GMT -5
I don't know a whole lot about snakes, but I know that if they don't shed properly you could have problems. What I used to do was put my snake into a rubbermaid container with a wet paper towel. The moisture helped him to shed properly. What do you keep it in? An aquarium? If so, you might want to mist his enclosure occasionally so it's not so dry. I'm sure you will get more answers much like this but I wanted to get back to you so you can try the rubbermaid idea ASAP. Carol
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Post by Ryan on Jun 22, 2006 23:52:33 GMT -5
Carol's advice on putting it in a container with wet paper towel should do the trick for you and it is something that you should keep an eye on. If it still doesn't come off on its own then you can gently peel it off after letting it moisten in the container for a while, even letting the snake slide through your fingers can get if off. If the shed was bad I'd also want to check that both of the eye caps came off ok, if they didn't this could become a major problem down the road.
As for preventing bad sheds....what I do is buy small tupperware containers big enough for the snake to feel secure in and then cut an access hole in the top. Put a layer of either damp moss or damp paper towels inside and this makes a perfect humid hide for your snake, also removes the need for misting the entire enclosure.
Hope everything works out.
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Post by minnow on Jun 23, 2006 0:51:44 GMT -5
Good Idea Ryan, I will try that. (having a damp hide) I know I've heard of that but never tried it Carol
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Post by littlequeen on Jun 30, 2006 12:55:19 GMT -5
Thanks for the great advice. I put my snake into a damp hide overnight and when i woke up in the morning she had fully shed in one piece.
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Post by Ryan on Jul 1, 2006 23:32:08 GMT -5
That's great to hear!!
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Post by Shawn(snakebite) on Jul 3, 2006 20:08:45 GMT -5
:)Yep Good advice...with the damp hide. Its a good prevention for future sheds, but as for shed problems that are happening at the time, I skip the wet paper towels and just put them directly in water , and usually they get the remaining shed off in a half hour or less.A direct soak in room temp water and only as deep as the snakes width or half that works quick and eliminates the longer time frame required of resorting to the damp hide for this purpose.
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Post by Shawn(snakebite) on Jul 3, 2006 20:19:59 GMT -5
I also wanted to comment on the eye cap thing Ryan mentioned.Always examine your snakes shed to make sure these came off.Also the tip of tail is a problem spot as well, for if the tip does not come off either and you don't notice it it will build up with future sheds and eventually tighten up constricting and eventually pinch off the tail , causing it to lose part of it and making it a less perfect snake.I have had spectacles stay on a kingsnake of mine when I was away so when I got home and noticed it was already a few days so they were fairly stuck.A good soak and the I used scotch tape wrapped around my finger and gently touched the eye and they came off.You have to be very delicate around the eye and any forced action will do damage very easily.Never force them off, and if you can't do it they usually will come off with second shed, but it's definately good to get it off as soon as you can.
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