Tonight, while feeding a group of babies(radixes) that were given to me, I spotted a little one in trouble. This wasn't just one of the babies but the runt of litter
It was obvious to me that I had a failure to shed situation. Usually a dish of warm water and a few minutes soaking would allow the old shed to come off. The water gets between the new and old skin, making the shed happen quickly.
That wasn't the case tonight. After 20 minutes of soaking there were still no signs of the old skin coming off. I decided to force the issue and I started pulling at the skin on the back. I was able to get a tiny section off but it acted like it was glued on.
To make a long story shorter, after an hour of picking and pulling at the runts skin I think I got about 95% of it off. It was like having a new snake. No, not in the usual sense of those words but a new snake that could move again.
I had thought about letting the little scrub rest for the night before I attempted to feed it but decided to push my luck. I'm sure glad I did. The little runt ate 3 baby nightcrawlers.
I have never had a snake with such a bad shed before. It's not the humidity in the enclosure since all the other scrubs shed without any trouble. I'm wondering if this could be a developmental problem since this is a runt. I would like some of your opinions on this and any similar situations you have encountered. I will be keeping a close eye on this little one for a few sheds to make sure she doesn't have the same problem again.



It looks like I missed some shed around the neck. I'll wait until tomorrow. This little scrub has been put through enough.