Bad shed - again!

[Lawra]

My 8month old woma had a trouble shed last month so when his eyes clouded up a few days ago I thought I'd just leave him alone and not interfere to "help" this time.

Just checked on him and this is what I found. Should I leave him alone to rub the rest off or put him in a bath? There are flakes everywhere. I don't know if it's the weather or if I've done something wrong.
Edit: pics

 

[BeZaKa]

I am probably going to be shot down for this but please bear in mind it is a) a suggestion and b) just trying to help.

My Woma and black heads once moved from click clacks to their bigger enclosures have ALWAYS given me troubles with their sheds. Read: really bad, in pieces stuck for days on end and have always needed my help. The last few months I have started misting the enclosure once to twice a day as soon as I see them "go blue" and I have had nothing but perfect sheds. Also worth mentioning as soon as I see them go blue I DO NOT handle or feed.

Not sure if this helps and I could be wrong but I haven't been having shed issues since I have started doing this.

Cheers. Phil.

 

[Cold-B-Hearts]

put him in a tub with warm water leave it half an hour then handle him and just pull the shed off. I made a video of me doing it to one of mine if you want me to link it i can
Cheers Liam

I am probably going to be shot down for this but please bear in mind it is a) a suggestion and b) just trying to help.

My Woma and black heads once moved from click clacks to their bigger enclosures have ALWAYS given me troubles with their sheds. Read: really bad, in pieces stuck for days on end and have always needed my help. The last few months I have started misting the enclosure once to twice a day as soon as I see them "go blue" and I have had nothing but perfect sheds. Also worth mentioning as soon as I see them go blue I DO NOT handle or feed.

Not sure if this helps and I could be wrong but I haven't been having shed issues since I have started doing this.

Cheers. Phil.

Normally if one of mine has trouble when he comes to his next shed i mist every couple days in his shed week, 99% of the time they get it off themselfs. saying this if a snake sheds no problem there is no point.

 

[user 30368]

the spray method works a treat. And a click clack of warm water. I have also put a rough object in the click clack with the snake and water (like a rock of rough vine) and the snake has taken care of its face and lenses on its own.

 

[Rob]

Misting still stresses my animals out, so I "encourage" them to drink when I know they are in slough, and this tends to help.

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/noteworthy-threads-5397/bhp-assist-shed-pic-heavy-190702/

 

[Wing_Nut]

I would suggest there is definitely a husbandry related issue that needs addressing if your animal is having continued bad sheds. I have read in other posts you have made you have a unique and complex methodology for caring for your woma. There are in my opinion far to many unknown factors to give a suggestion as to the root cause of the issues your woma is experiencing and I believe only you will be able to identify what is and isn't right about the environment in which your woma resides.

Having said that, I have seen a lot of shed related issues with woma's due to the choice of substrate. While the natural range is usually considered quite dry, they do spend a lot of time underground in cool, partially damp soil also. Misting may be a way to mimic this. Investigating or trialing different substrates may also help you with a solution. Stress, excessive handling, feeding techniques, and many other factors could also play a part in the problem your woma is experiencing.

I hope you can find some answers.

Kind Regards

Wing_Nut

 

[Ramy]

It's all about humidity. If it's too dry, they'll have problems. Mine usually shed fine because I live on the coast (and it always seems to want to rain here). Then there was that hot spell where it didn't rain for a month... If you're having trouble with shedding, then misting them, moving the water bowl to a warmer spot or getting a bigger one, toping it up with warm water around shedding time to increase evaporation... Anything that increases the amount of water in the air should help. You could even put them in a damp bag/pillowcase for a brief a few days after they start going cloudy, though they mightn't like that.

Meanwhile, I'd encourage you to give him a warm (not hot) bath, or put him in a damp fabric bag for an hour and any loose bits from the latest shed should fall off fairly quickly. None of my snakes seem stressed out about a bath, and it helps... so I don't see the harm in trying.

 

[Lawra]

Thanks everyone I will take it all under advisement. I've since heard back from the person I bought him from and all is well.

I've given him a bath and he's fine, just a retained eye scale I'm a bit concerned about, but I've been told to give it a couple of days before stressing

He's on paper towel so if that's drying him out, it will hopefully be fixed when he moves into his new enclosure with coir peat. I put a damp hand towel in there a few days ago and re wet it each morning and moved his water bowel closer to the CHE.

I am thinking that me feeding him too close to a shed may be what caused this one going bad and the last one too. I'll change that next time and see how it goes. This is only his third shed with me and the first one went fine: that was when he was in a little fish tank with a heat mat. So the change in enclosure could have something to do with it also.

Thanks again

 

[Cold-B-Hearts]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PxPW5HBcyo

 

[Ramy]

I don't know if womas are any different, but my carpets tend to reject if they don't want to eat around shedding time. Sometimes they'll eat and then shed the same day, and still shed fine... More often they'll reject between going cloudy and shedding. I've only had shedding issues if it's not humid enough. I personally assume that my pythons know when they do and don't want to eat. Though I've heard womas are more aggressive feeders? I still think problems with shedding come up when it's too dry and the skin dries out.

Either way, good luck. I'm sure he's a happy little python.

 

[andynic07]

As wing nut stated there a lot of possible reasons for possibly having a bad shed. I would suggest trying the easy ones for first. Make sure your husbandry is spot on then look for other stuff. I make sure my woma has fresh water every second day. I also keep it on either wood shavings or hemp fibre and have had no issues with bad sheds. One thing that I think works in my favour is cooling my reptiles over winter, this reduces the air exchange and drying out of the enclosure a lot. Also up until they are 12 months they stay in plastic tubs where the humidity is controlled with less air flow. I also do not handle my reptiles very much so they would not be stressed. I do not need to spray any of my snakes and do not get bad sheds. Hope you can look through this information and pick useful techniques that you can tailor to your keeping style and help your snake shed well.

 

[Snowman]

Invest in a hygrometer and mount it in the viv. Don't let the humidity drop under 35-40%

 

[Snowman]

Also for WA, up north has what we call the wet season. So BHP's and womas up there get a bit of humidity and rain during the summer months when they are active.

 

[princessparrot]

I also keep it on either wood shavings or hemp fibre and have had no issues with bad sheds. .

"hemp fibre"?????

 

[andynic07]

"hemp fibre"?????

Yeah , I grow my own and when I finish with the flowers and leaves I use the stem for my reptiles. Just kidding , it is a commercially available product that is sold through one of our sponsors. I believe there are farms around that are licensed to grow hemp for various reasons (very low thc content) and this is one, also used for horse bedding.

 

[Lawra]

Thanks When I got him it was getting towards the end up wet season up here. Do you think that when I change him over to coir peat instead of paper towel it will help?

I'll definitely have to invest in a hygrometer, so I can keep an eye on the humidity.

 

[Ramsayi]

Try moving the water bowl,maybe even use a larger one,closer to the heat source once you notice it going into a shed cycle.No need to spray or bathe the animal especially not with warm water which will most likely be too warm for the snake anyway.

 

[andynic07]

Thanks When I got him it was getting towards the end up wet season up here. Do you think that when I change him over to coir peat instead of paper towel it will help?

I'll definitely have to invest in a hygrometer, so I can keep an eye on the humidity.

Not sure on coir peat sorry I have never used it.

 

[Snowman]

I certainly wouldn't be keeping it on any damp substrate.

 

[Lawra]

So I shouldn't mist or wet the substrate... Do people buy humidifiers for their herps?