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[guidofatherof5]

Diffidently a retained shed.
Sounds like a shed box or running warm water and an emergency shed is needed.

[kibakiba]

Yeah I got it off of him with a warm washcloth. I didn't have the large bowl that I normally use for soaking and leaving them in there with a warm damp washcloth. Squirt definitely didn't like the help until it was over.

What could really cause him to retain his shed like that? I try to keep all of my snakes as healthy as possible and I keep the humidity in my room a lot higher than what it is in the rest of the house and Squirt does seem like a healthy little guy.

[EasternGirl]

That is scary. I don't know much about shedding. I do know that I'm getting concerned because Selena has been dusty looking for two weeks now and she is only now starting to look like she is beginning to shed on her head. I'm guessing her eyecaps already came off because her eyes aren't cloudy anymore. We're snowed in right now, but I think that I am going to go out and get her a bigger water dish when I can get out...one that she has more room to swim around in.

[ConcinusMan]

Marnie, shedding goes like this...

First you may notice the snake's colors looking a bit dull for a week or two, then the eyes go cloudy(and sometimes the belly) for a few days, then they clear up. The snake should shed within a couple of days after the eyes go clear. The skin should come off in one piece like a sock pulled inside out.

A retained shed is when that last part doesn't happen for some reason. If the snake fails to shed, the old skin gets fused to the new and it can be fatal.

Reptile Skin Shedding

[EasternGirl]

Okay...well, Selena shed today and everything came off in one piece but she has a piece stuck on her head...I tried to pull it off and she got mad...I put her in her water dish and she swam around but it still didn't come off...what do I do? I think it's the whole head part that's stuck.

[EasternGirl]

And someone needs to help Chantel with her snake retaining his shed...sorry, Chantel...I didn't mean to interrupt...

[gregmonsta]

Try the shed box idea with her . As most of it came off you can give it a little time before trying again. She may still peel it by herself. For head-pieces I find tweezers can be handy - less threatening finger near the head

[ConcinusMan]

Okay...well, Selena shed today and everything came off in one piece but she has a piece stuck on her head.

Then it didn't come off in one piece.

I tried to pull it off and she got mad...I put her in her water dish and she swam around but it still didn't come off...what do I do?

The longer it stays on, the worse the situation becomes. If you're sure there's still skin on the head, then forget about her "getting mad" and you firmly grasp her in such a way that allows you to get the skin off. In other words, force her. Find where the edge of it is, use your fingernail if you have to, and get the skin off. Sometimes you just have do whats best for their health in spite of their protest.

I had a baby radix that had troubled shed a while back. One day (about a week after shedding), I found her barely alive and highly distressed. The cause was that the shed only came off from the neck down. Somehow I had missed the fact that the skin on her head hadn't come off.

That snake never did have a normal shed any of the times. I went through this several times, always having to force hold that snake and get skin off of it to save it's life. It eventually did die. Of failure to shed. Go figure.

[guidofatherof5]

I have found that a warm, moist micro-cloth can catch the edge of the shed quiet easily. I've even used a 3M Scotch pad to assist in shedding.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husb...dding-pad.html

Hope it helps.

[EasternGirl]

Okay...well I tried to pull it off with tweezers...much to her protest...but the one piece is attached to her eye....I was really afraid I was going to hurt her, so I stopped and left it alone. I'm not sure if she still has shed on the rest of her head or if it is just the two little pieces on either side of her eyes. I am going to leave her be for a bit because I think I'm going to give her a heart attack if I don't leave her alone right now....she was really scared. Maybe I will put her in some lukewarm water in the morning if it still hasn't come off on it's own. How do I make a shed box?