shedding trouble

[drache]

hi
Coffee, the very one of my new Xenochrophis, who's been in less good shape from the beginning, is trying to shed. the problem is that while his skin is kind of loose already all over his body, it's not on his head. Either his head just isn't ready, or it's already shed. But if it was the latter, the rest of the skin should come off easily, since it's loose, so I think it's the former.
I've got him in a wet bag since this morning. Last night I still thought he was going to do it on his own.
Any additional hot tips will be most welcome

[Cazador]

Be sure to keep the wet bag in a fairly warm place, like in his enclosure, so he doesn't get too cold. You could also add a rough rock or fine sandpaper (~120 grit) to give him something to rub against. Just don't carry the bag around with the rock and snake both inside it at the same time.

Rick

[LeapinLeo]

But you dont want to rough of sand paper because that could shred its real skin underneath

[adamanteus]

The wet bag should do it Rhea. Keep us posted!

[drache]

the wet bag
and the stuff came off in shreds
some of it I helped rub off with the wet bag
never found the brille of either eye
the eyes look normal to me and Jeff
how obvious is it when the brille has not been shed?

[Cazador]

Hi Rhea,

I'm glad it shed for you, but the "brille" is very subtle and hard to see unless there's a bit of whitish skin showing in the corner of the eye or around the edge. Try taking a very close, macro picture of each eye and zoom in on the picture to look for that tell-tale extra bit of whitish skin.

Rick

[drache]

I tried that last night and the little guy just wouldn't hold still for me.
I did look with a magnifying glass, but again - I didn't see anything.
after how that shed came off, I do think there's a good chance the brilles are still unshed.
I didn't put the snake back in the wet bag, but I did make sure there's a hide with damp moss in the enclosure.
more later

[Ameivaboy]

"IF" it's still there it will surely come off with the next shed, when i got this python regius it had it's eye cap stuck (crappy picture but you can see it)
I couldnt get it off with any of the usual methods and was too stuck to pull of safely with tweezers so i let him ride it out tell his next shed and no more eye cap

[Cazador]

The biggest problem is that when that old skin dries, it hardens and contracts and can lead to blindness. If the brilles/spectacles aren't on the old shed, they're almost certainly still on the snake. I'd at least give it one more overnight wet bag attempt because it's a harmless procedure, and there's nothing to lose by trying it even if the brille/spectacle has already come off during the last attempt.

Rick

[drache]

I've already put him back in the bag this morning
because I found some more shed on his side
you know, his shed came off in so many shreds
and then he was in the bag
then back in the cage . . .
I'm not sure that I'd necessarily find the brille, if he lost one
this morning, I looked straight down on his head, and it seemed that one eye was bulging out more than the other