Bad Shed

[888lowndes888]

2 sheds in a row now my blone mac has had rough sheds. Last time i put it down to humidity as the enclosure she was in was over ventilated so i blocked alot of the holes and moved her water bowl close to the heat source to try and ramp up humidity. She shed today and again it was still a rough shed. She is a healthy snake who is fed weekly and has never refused a feed. What other factors are there besides humidity in a bad shed?

 

[FNQ_Snake]

Maybe you could give her a feed during the shed to help "loosen" the skin. Just an idea.

 

[888lowndes888]

I also thought that and did that this time round but still didnt work lol. Is it possible that a snake can just be a bad shedder?

 

[andyscott]

Some other factors to help narrow down your problem.

1/ What type of substreight do you use? Some substreights can dry out your enclosure.

2/ Do you have UV? I know some people say UV isnt important for pythons. I find UV to enhance the snakes color and keeps it looking healthy. Healthy skin sheds better.

3/ What are the temps? Warm end, cool end.

4/ Is its enclosure brand new, or was another snake kept in it before your Mac? If second hand it may smell the other animal and be a bit stressed.

5/ Is the water bowl big enough for it to take a bath and soak if it wants?

6/ Do you have at least 2 hides, 1 at hot end, 1 at cool end?

7/ If all the above are ok, try using easi shed, or repti shed. It may be that you have a bad shedder. I wouldnt think there is a stress problem due to it feeding well.

 

[dee4]

Get your humidity higher, I know you said you moved it closer to the heat source. Get it underneath the heat source. Remember where they come from, there is a higher humidity than more southern snakes.

 

[888lowndes888]

Some other factors to help narrow down your problem.

1/ What type of substreight do you use? Some substreights can dry out your enclosure.
I use newspaper for substrate.
2/ Do you have UV? I know some people say UV isnt important for pythons. I find UV to enhance the snakes color and keeps it looking healthy. Healthy skin sheds better.
No I don't have UV for her only heat.
3/ What are the temps? Warm end, cool end.
Warm end is 32 and cool end I havent measured.
4/ Is its enclosure brand new, or was another snake kept in it before your Mac? If second hand it may smell the other animal and be a bit stressed.
The enclosure is brand new.
5/ Is the water bowl big enough for it to take a bath and soak if it wants?
I recently purchased a new water bowl and it is big enough for her to bath in if she desires however I have never seen her do so.
6/ Do you have at least 2 hides, 1 at hot end, 1 at cool end?
I have one hide and warm end and the other at cool end.
7/ If all the above are ok, try using easi shed, or repti shed. It may be that you have a bad shedder. I wouldnt think there is a stress problem due to it feeding well.

Thanks heaps for that. I don't think she is stressed as I only handle her once every maybe 3 days for about 5 to 10 mins. She is also in my bedroom in a low traffic area. As I said she is a healthy looking snake with a strong feeding response. Picture attatched just to show she isn;t under or over weight or anything.