Bad shed! Did I do the right thing?

[user 270]

In the early hours of this morning Chillie my Childreni started to shed. I left her to it and went to bed. When I got up I noticed that she had many pieces of skin and she had half her skin still on her. She had given up.

After soaking her in warm water I tried to assist her without much success. I donned rubber gloves and that helped. After a while she seemed to realize that I was trying to help her and started moving around my hands using the rubber gloves as a rough surface. It took a while but we finally got the shed skin off.

For future reference, is rubber gloves the way to go if I have to assist shedding in the future?

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[africancichlidau]

You will get a bad shed now and again mate. Perhaps the humidity was a little low which is a common problem in the little plastic enclosures, a good idea with these is to cover up about 3/4 of the vent holes when you know a shed is close and move the water bowl a bit closer to the heat source. Can't answer you on the rubber gloves thing as I have never tried it but I would thing that the animal was moving more when you had them on because it was picking up the smell of rubber. A fav smell of mine by the way Just make sure the humidity is up and that shes got rough tank decos to rub against when shed time comes around.
Sounds to me like you did done do good buddy

 

[user 270]

Thanks Afro. I normally have 2 pieces of concrete in the tub. When I noticed that she had started to shed, I removed her hide and repaced it with another piece of concrete.

She is about 47 cm long (still find it hard to measure her) and 38 grams. I cant afford an enclosure for her at the moment so I'll have to buy a larger tub from The Herp Shop (around $40 to $45).

 

[Oliver]

Hi Wombat,

I have found a towel soaked in water helps.
Try to fold the towel around the snake and using your hands to apply a little resistance.
You might have to do this a few times but it ensures the snakes skin is quite moist and a little resistance will help move the skin without any harm.
But sounds like the gloves did the trick.

 

[user 270]

The gloves are the type normally worn when doing the dishes. I bought mine for cleaning the snake's tub so I don't get bleach on my hands(I don't use them when doing the dishes).

Thanks for the wet towel trick. I will keep that in mind if I have to assist in the future.

 

[krusty]

good work wombat.

 

[Rennie]

Sounds good, I usually use a face washer (small towel) soaked in warm water and yes, its best to just moisten the snake for at least 20-30 mins before trying to remove the skin.