I’m a new corn snake owner so bear with me. I’ve had Ghost for about 3 weeks and she’s only a couple months old. She’s a scaleless anery, in case that changes anything.
This was her first shed with me. It looked like it all came off in one piece, but then I noticed she still has some shed stuck on her head. She has a humid hide with moss, and my humidity normally sits around 48-58%.
On Monday I put her in a large tub and gave her a bath to try and loosen it. It didn’t really remove anything, it just made the shed flatter and more stuck to her head. I tried gently rubbing my hands over her head but she really didn’t like that, and the shed is still there. After the bath and the handling I felt like I’d stressed her out, so I put her back to try again later.
Her next meal day is Thursday, so I’m hoping to sort this out before then. Any thoughts on the safest way to get it off?
I had this issue too, and what I found is that scaleless snakes need higher humidity than scaled snakes to shed. When you notice them going into blue you should try bumping up their humidity to around 80%, but it shouldn’t remain that high when they aren’t in shed.
When they did get stuck shed on them I put them in a bowl of lukewarm water for a couple of minutes and then rubbed my fingers gently back and forth over the stuck shed to loosen it, some didn’t like it and others started pushing against my fingers as if they were rubbing against them to help. Since it’s on her head, she probably won’t like it.
Scaleless snakes can have an absolutely terrible time shedding if their humidity isn’t suitable, unlike scaled snakes who can tolerate fluctuations more. Their sheds are also thinner and can tear much more easily, resulting in pieces left on the body.
I’d aim for 60% humidity and see if that helps with future sheds with the humid hides being around 80%.
I tried to do this with her the first time but she kept dodging my hand. This is my first snake so maybe I’m a little shy. I’ll try to be more confident this time around.
Thank you for the advice. I do have a humid hide for her as well to help with the shed.
The humidity right now is around 60%. I’m thinking about switching from aspen shavings to the coconut bark stuff. Not sure if I should switch it out now or wait till I’ve used my bag of shavings first.
My scaleless anery starts to look more dull, her black/dark grey markings become light grey. She also gets the blue eyes that most snakes do. One thing I’ve noticed is that scaleless corn snakes start to look wrinkly when they are about to go into shed, though it’s not every time.
If you do make that switch, I’d reccomend getting Reptichip’s “Microchip” coconut bark. It is very finely ground specifically made for baby snakes. Regular coconut bark is very coarse and may damage the snake’s skin…
This is why I didn’t get coconut bark for mine, I was too worried about them getting scratched. If I had known there was a ground version I probably would have tried it.
I only very recently discovered that they make finer ground options, I use it for my baby Ball Pythons and its much more suitable than the full chunky pieces.
I’ve switched all my snakes over to a rack system which has been a lot better at maintaining humidity, but if I ever keep a snake in a glass enclosure again I might have to try that instead of aspen. I was constantly fighting to keep it above the 20% it liked to sit at in the winter.
For a cloth bag, something like a small pillowcase can work but it’s really hard to get it tied off on such a way as to keep a small snake inside. You can get muslin bags in craft stores and sometimes specialized food prep places. If you do that, be sure it’s in another container or her home to prevent escapes.
I would get some rather damp sphagnum and put her and a couple handfuls of that into a small container with a couple of air holes Don’t leave a lot of air space. Chances are good that she will burrow down into the moss. Put it in her warm area and leave her in it for at least a few hours. Overnight is fine. Chances are decent that she’ll get the stuck bit off on her own. If not, you can try gently rubbing it with a moist cloth. She may not like it, and you do need to be careful.
As far as feeding goes, it won’t hurt to delay a couple days while you try and sort the shed.
Repti Chip’s Babi Chip is what I used for mine, I have not read all the way through this thread but here is what I know from experience with keeping a scaleless.
As babies they need a much higher CONSTANT humidity around 80%. As long as you don’t see condensation you are fine. They also need a semi rough substrate such as Repti Chip Babi Chip size. You can also mist this substrate a bit to help keep the humidity high during the shedding process. The shed should look all rolled up and in one piece, kind of like a condom. That’s what you want. Along with that you should provide a piece of cork bark. When your snake gets a little older you won’t have to worry so much about the shedding process. But as babies you need to stay on top of things, constant high humidity, rough substrate, cork bark or a rough rock for the snake to rub against.
At this point I would not worry about the stuck shed because it should come off with the second shed, provided you have made the adjustments above. I’m a tub keeper so I had no problem with sheds. If you want in the meantime, you could use a tub for a few months until your snake grows a bit.
As an afterthought, you picked a snake that would be more suitable for an intermediate keeper, because of its delicate nature. I’m not saying you should not have purchased a scaless, I’m just saying these guys need a bit more keeping experience.
Don’t stress. The snake will be fine. And if I am echoing what has already been said I apologize to everyone!
I’m only asking out of curiosity, not in accusation, but wouldn’t constant 80% humidity increase the risk of RIs in a temperate species like corn snakes? What age would you start to lower the humidity? I have my humidity at 80% when they are in shed, but I try to lower it to somewhere in the 50% range afterward. If I can improve the care of my snakes I’d love to know how.
Never be hesitant to question ANY advice given here by ANYONE, including me! I totally understand your hesitation!
That being said, I kept mine in a tub so the humidity is going to naturally be higher, especially with misting, than a tank. I am suggesting the higher humidity while the snake is young because proper shedding is crucial to these little scaleless guys. As long as you don’t see condensation or mold you will be fine.
6 months would be a good age. Once you start to see the “roll up” sheds you know you are on the right track. Also you need to maintain good ventilation.
