BHP assist shed [Pic Heavy]

[Rob72]

I've been seeing quite a few threads lately with people concerned about their snakes having bad sloughs, so I thought I'd make a little thread describing a method that works for me. I am in no way claiming that this is the best or only method, but it is one I have used numerous times now, and it appears to be working out just fine.

In 15+ years of keeping snakes, I've never had trouble with my snakes sloughing. So now, having recently re-entered the hobby after a 10 year absence, I am having a dreadful time with my aspidites sloughing. They usually manage to shed their head on their own, the rest I've had to assist with. I should note that there are 2 major factors that have changed since I last kept snakes. The first is that we are now in a different house with reverse cycle aircon, which tends to suck all the moisture out of the air. The second is that I have never kept aspidites previously. I have tried all the usual tricks, moving a water bowl under the heat source, and even misting both the snake and the enclosure (this ticked this guy off something shocking). The only thing I've yet to try is closing the vents off a bit, to see if that improves things.

So anyhow, I got this guy from Cement (someone I can highly recommend) around 2 months ago. For the first week he handled fine, but then he started to earn his name Lucifer . He really doesn't like me putting my hands in the tank, and he'll lunge from one end of the tank to the other just to show me that I'm not wanted in his personal space. It's for this reason that I have put off doing this until today (he shed his head Wednesday), but it had to be done. Of course, once out of his enclosure he settles down, although I still need to watch him as he did try to munch on my finger once.

EDIT: I am fully aware that this is most likely a humidity issue. I have a Diamond that sloughs without issue, and a Childreni also (although she is currently in a click-clack, so humidity is contained a lot better in there).


So here we go.........

Get a tub (with a lid with air holes, etc.) big enough to hold the animal, and fill it with just enough water to submerge the animal - We want the animal to be able to comfortably have its head out of the water to breathe. Put a small rock in there if you like, but not too big that the animal can remove itself from the water. Be extremely careful with the temperature of the water. If the water feels warm to your touch, it is probably too hot for your animal. If you have a tropical fish tank that is set to 27 degrees, dip your finger in it to understand how cold (rather than warm) it actually is. I use a heatmat with thermostat set to 28 degrees. If you're planning on leaving the animal in the water for a prolonged period, a heat source with thermostat is highly recommended.








Here he is after being left in there for around 80 minutes.




Now, get him out, and carefully just massage the skin off. This may come off really easy, or be a little more difficult, depending on how long the animal has been soaking for.











As you can see, it pretty much just peels off. Ensure that you get ALL the dead skin, paying extra attention to the tail tip. You may need to peel extra slowly here.





And here he is all done














Here is his old skin. Notice how I've managed to get it off in one piece, pretty much. The whole massaging process took roughly 5 - 10 minutes.





Done !


Little side note to Raycam: Is he one sexy beast or what ?

[Rob72]

Comment removed

[crosswire]

Great post. Good advice for the beginners and some of us who have been lucky to not have a problem so far!

[Spider178]

Cool, thanks for that. My Woma had her first bad slough a few weeks ago, I ended up soaking her for a bit and then using a wet cloth.

[abnrmal91]

Great looking BHP Rob.

[saintanger]

nice snake, i use simular method and it works. i

[happynagini]

Thanks rob. im still having problems with my bhp so im gonna do this now

[Gruni]

If you do it again I'd be curious to see if you notice any difference if you use camomile tea for the soaking. My mate with 30 odd years experience with snakes swears by it.

Either way, great thread and pics, very helpful I think.

[rvcasa]

Great looking BHP Rob.

+1


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[adz83]

iv had to do this in the past also......my male bhp tries to eat me at any given chance these days though

[PMyers]

I've had to do it with a BTS... that bugger HATES water. Talk about the hissy fit to end all...

But the slough came off wonderfully after only a twenty minute soak... and a bit of blood spilt from a sly bite...

[rvcasa]

I had to do this recently for my Woma too (first time ever needed) due same reasons...

Unfortunately I did not notice about 4mm skin still left at end of its tail tip.
(cause it was semi transparent once wet)

Should I try to remove it again with same method, or wait till next shed?

Thanks for sharing.
Cheers


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[mxf92]

if you are having this problem slightly or even frequently its because you dont have enough humidity in the enclosure.
try spraying them every now and again with warm water out of a spray bottle and you shouldnt have this problem anymore.

[jase75]

I have had to do this with a Tiger Snake before, not much fun. Great looking BHP.

[Gruni]

Unfortunately I did not notice about 4mm skin still left at end of its tail tip.
(cause it was semi transparent once wet)

Should I try to remove it again with same method, or wait till next shed?

Do it now. The tail tip can drop off due to cut circulation before the next shed.