Constant bad shedding question?

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

RSPcrazy

Very Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
Messages
1,146
Reaction score
1
Location
Hawkesbury, NSW
One of my children's pythons that I have had for many years now, has had a bad shed every single time she sheds.

This baffles me, as I have tried different beddings, different humidity levels, different temps, different size enclosures and tubs, and yet, she still has very bad sheds every time.

Her sheds are so bad, that normally, only the shed on her head comes off, the rest of her shed stays on her body and becomes very hard and I have to soak her and rub the skin for quite a while to get it off.

I'm interested to know if constant bad sheds could have something to do with this snakes bloodline and not just humidity levels?

Any info people may have on constant bad sheds, would be much appreciated.
 
Hi not sure if this will help I had one of my stimmson's having bad sheds and had skin that wouldn't come off and stayed on I tried soaking in water for a week daily that didn't really help she was shedding really often as well like every 3 weeks for around 3 sheds and a friend who is a member on here I forget his user name told me to use some sphagnum moss put it in inside like one of those long pot plant containers the brownish ones you get from a garden shop not sure on there exact name so I did that and it cleared up havent had any issues with her sheds since then.

Hope that helps maybe give it a try for afew sheds see how you go I am sure more people with be able to give you advice and help but this worked for me.
 
Hi not sure if this will help I had one of my stimmson's having bad sheds and had skin that wouldn't come off and stayed on I tried soaking in water for a week daily that didn't really help she was shedding really often as well like every 3 weeks for around 3 sheds and a friend who is a member on here I forget his user name told me to use some sphagnum moss put it in inside like one of those long pot plant containers the brownish ones you get from a garden shop not sure on there exact name so I did that and it cleared up havent had any issues with her sheds since then.

Hope that helps maybe give it a try for afew sheds see how you go I am sure more people with be able to give you advice and help but this worked for me.

I have tried sphagnum moss already, but no success. This has been an on going problem for many years (as long as I've had her). She has lived in a rack setup for a couple of years now, but she is still the only snake in that rack with shedding problems.
 
How often does she get fresh water? I remember reading on here somewhere that dehydration can be a cause. As I'm sure you probably already know, snakes won't drink from water that's been sitting for more than a day or two so even if there's a full water bowl all the time they won't actually use it. Completely changing the water more regularly helped my Water Python that was having a similar problem to what you described
 
Brick it!

Oh, sorry... wrong thread..... again! :facepalm:

I agree with sax ^

Hope it comes good.....

Maybe try feeding it before it sheds... so the lump going down expands and loosens the skin? I know you arent supposed to feed them in shed cycle (try telling that to my lot) I actually fed monty (my coastal) his usual 3 rats one day and he shed the next day :shock: I had no idea he was in shed cycle..... it didnt effect him at all? I am just trying to think outside the square?

Good luck
 
How often does she get fresh water? I remember reading on here somewhere that dehydration can be a cause. As I'm sure you probably already know, snakes won't drink from water that's been sitting for more than a day or two so even if there's a full water bowl all the time they won't actually use it. Completely changing the water more regularly helped my Water Python that was having a similar problem to what you described

All my reptiles have large water bowls for soaking and adding humidity to the enclosures, I change and clean the bowls once a week, sometimes twice a week if I notice to much has evaporated or the water looks dirty.

I am aware snakes won't drink stagnant water, but I figured it would take roughly a week before that started. My snakes don't rush to get a drink when I change the water, so I figured they were satisfied with the water they had for the week.

Even if this was the case, it doesn't make sense that out of my 40 odd reptiles, only one would have a bad shedding problem from dehydration for all these years, when they all get the same treatment and live in the same conditions.
 
Sax wasnt saying you are a bad keeper, or having a shot at you in any way.... imo, you asked for anyones advice/opinion and he gave you one. I also made a suggestion.... I am not suggesting you dont feed your snakes enough or anything like that, I, same as saximus have just tried to think of things you might like to try in order to help you and your snake out ;)

Hope it comes good..... it just could be that one snake has some sort of skin condition? I am not suggesting that you are in any way causing such a skin condition.... it might have a genetic skin condition?
 
Sax wasnt saying you are a bad keeper, or having a shot at you in any way.... imo, you asked for anyones advice/opinion and he gave you one. I also made a suggestion.... I am not suggesting you dont feed your snakes enough or anything like that, I, same as saximus have just tried to think of things you might like to try in order to help you and your snake out ;)

Hope it comes good..... it just could be that one snake has some sort of skin condition? I am not suggesting that you are in any way causing such a skin condition.... it might have a genetic skin condition?

At no point did I think Sax was saying am a bad keeper or having a shot at me, or did I think you were suggestion I don't feed my snakes enough. I'm sorry if my post sounded defensive, it was not intended to be.

I appreciate people's suggestions on this matter, I'm just trying to get across how baffled I am with this one odd snake and wondering if anyone has heard of any skin or genetic problems that may be causing her to have these bad sheds all the time? I've tried just about everything I could think of to try and help her, but its getting a bit tiring having to help her shed every time.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top