| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Kazzaboobers |
Posted - 16/05/2010 : 22:26:11
I came home this afternoon to her shed - however i can see on her tail about 5 cm long that this bit hasn't come off - my question is how do i know if her top bit has come off esp the eyes and should i help the tail and if so how!?!? Thank you x |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kellog |
Posted - 23/05/2010 : 04:57:21
That is fantastic news Kazzaboobers  ! I am so glad that the retained tail tip came off with you only having to use the damp towel method instead of you having to resort to bathing her.
Well done for holding your nerve and dealing with her when she didnt want to be dealt with! That must have really done your confidence the world of good! Quite often my 2 show signs of not wanting to come out (only by wrapping their tails round branches and the occasional tail rattle from Silvesta), but once I get them out they are fine and I actually have a battle to get them back into their vivs  !
Now that you know she may have a problem shedding her tail you can do a few things once she turns blue to try and help her out....I mentioned them in my last post and Danny also mentioned adding the damp hides. You can either replace her usual hides with damp ones or just add moss to her own hides. You would need to put damp hides in both ends of her faun as they lose humidity faster than wooden vivs. Only put them in once her eyes have cleared though, so she doesnt have the change to her faun while she is virtually blind.
I am really glad it is all good news - both with the shed coming off and you handling her the way you did....just what we want to hear!
xxx
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| elament |
Posted - 22/05/2010 : 11:04:16
Nice one. Well pleased for you. I had the same thing happen with my Xena but no matter how hard I tried the tip just would not come off. It eventually went black but when she shed she had a nice new tail tip in its place so no harm done. |
| Kazzaboobers |
Posted - 22/05/2010 : 10:38:23
YEHHHH the tail is off - after lots and lots passes through a damp towel and I had my longest hold at the same time - it was the first time i have got her out when she wasnt really exploring and wanting to come out so she did 3 or 4 fake strikes at me but then calmed down when she was outside the viv fully and i had stopped shaking - such a wooss! Im fine holding her when she has slithered out on a nightly explore but this was new - bring it on lol! |
| Kellog |
Posted - 18/05/2010 : 04:09:35
I am so glad that you found the head shed with the eye caps....I am always nervous when mine shed and it is the first thing I check. Danny has given you great advice about how to remove the last bit of retained shed left on her tail.
If this doesnt work (which hopefully it will) then you could swap her usual hides for damp ones so Sookie HAS to use them (or just add sphagnum moss to her usual hides). Put her own hides back in (or remove the moss from them) after a few days, if the retained shed has been resolved that's great, if not then the few days in the damp hides will have prepared her for a good bath....but a bath is really only to be used as a last resort.
http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=3699
The bath can be done in a RUB, sink, washing bowl, bath whatever is a good size. Put a digital thermometer in it to make sure that the water is between 27 and 28 degrees. It should be deep enough that Sookie's belly can touch the floor in case she wants to rest. Let her swim in it for a couple of minutes or untill the temps drop to around 22 degrees. You can run your fingers gently down her body when she is having a bath just to make sure that the waters are really getting at the retained shed. The water should have helped to loosen and dislodge the skin. She will have no desire to be in the water, and will try to escape as much as possible, so be prepared for a fast snake as well. When you get Sookie out of the bath, get a dry towel and let her wriggle through it but apply a bit of pressure to it - it usually helps to encourage the retained shed come off. This probably wont be necessary but just in case....
To help Sookie out next time she sheds, once you see her go 'blue' you can mist her faun once a day in the morning, nothing more than that as you dont want to cause the humidity to rise too much as this can cause respiratory infections.
Once her eyes have cleared you can add a damp hide which will also help. In a wooden viv you can put the moss in the warm hide but as Sookie is in a faunarium you would need to put it in both hides to help her loosen her skin.
Again, Danny's info is right about Sookie being less active coming up to a shed. This is because once her eyes have gone cloudy she will be virtually blind, and during the period between her eyes clearing up and her shedding her eyesight is still compromised. This is why a number of us dont handle our snakes during this period as we dont want to cause them any stress.
Let us know how it goes with getting Sookie's retained tail shed off....
xxx
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| newsnakekeeper |
Posted - 17/05/2010 : 20:48:26
Least that one bit out the way the eye caps that the first bit i look at wen i take the shed out the viv. Hope i nevercome across it witht eyecaps not coming off |
| Kazzaboobers |
Posted - 17/05/2010 : 20:24:44
Yeh we have found the head shed and def eye caps there - phew - now to check the tail think will try her with a damp towel later if we cant find that in our looky around her viv :-) |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 17/05/2010 : 11:07:48
Yes, they normly become less active coming up to a shed, nothing to worry about there. |
| Kazzaboobers |
Posted - 17/05/2010 : 06:28:27
Thank you for the advice - i shall see how she is today and i will pop in some damp kitchen roll and fingers crossed - i had her out last night and should have got someone else to look for the head - and this morning she has buried herself in the aspen so dont want to give her or i a fright by digging around! she was very active last night wich she hasn't been for while so fingers crossed x |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 16/05/2010 : 22:47:15
With the tip of the tail i would probably dampen a bit of kitchen paper and let him run through putting ever so slight pressure near the tail area so the skin can slide off. This is what i do when candy retains shed on her/his tail. This avoids the stress that a bath can intail.
I think baths are only really needed when there is more shed retained or if its a bigger snake, with hatchlings a bit of kitchen paper dampened with luke warm water normly does the trick.
As for the eye caps, as the other 2 have said if you find the head part then you will be able to feel the eye caps in there. The eye caps will have most probably come off since it was a very messy shed but its always best to check.
Edit: it may be worth getting some Spagnum Moss so you can add a damp hide next time he is going into shed just to help loosen the skin a bit and then sookie may be able to get the last bit off without it snapping. |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 16/05/2010 : 22:39:44
If yo can find the head of the shed anywhere you should be able to see the eye caps.
I think people will suggest damp moss in hides to get the shed that's still on off as it's less stressful to the snake than a bath. However I myself d it the way newsnakekeeper suggested as then at least I know it's off but I have only ever have to do this once and I know the snake would be fine with this method. Although before a bath maybe try a damp/wet towel and let them run through it. Baths can be very stressful to snakes. If all else fails like the moss and towel it's then people suggest a bath and I do this by making the water the temp of the hot end of the viv, putting it into a rub with a lid with airholes and put snakey in. Only fill the water like half girth of your snake, you don't want it swimming, you want it to be able to sit in the RUB without struggling.
In the mean time if you don't have moss, try damp kitchen roll although if your not going to be able to get hold of the moss for a while then the damp towel would be better. |
| newsnakekeeper |
Posted - 16/05/2010 : 22:29:20
Hiya if you have a look at the shed wen it is dry you will be able to tell if the eyecaps have come off as you will see this at the front of the shed. As for the tip of the tail if u have a look at the tail skin it should narrow right down at the bottom like your snake's tail does hope this helps. The retained shed you could probabl put the snake in a warm bath for about 10 mins or so to soak the skin then dry it off with a towel allowing the snake to move it way through it. You should also be able to see on your snake if the skin on the tip of the tail has come off or not.
I am no expert on this mind am sure if i am wrong some one with more experiance will be able to give you better information. |
