[Shedding] First Shed

[Des9699]

I have just came home from work and my Boa has had his first shed with me.



There is a tiny tiny piece of skin left on the tip of his tail, will I need to remove this somehow or will it come off on its own?


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[acephantom903]

Re: First Shed

If he lets you, you can lightly rub your thumb over it to get it off. Most snakes are hesitant to letting their faces and tails get touched until they get comfortable with being handled. The shed looks complete. Are you sure it isn't his poker? They have a little hard poker on the very tip which is used to dig into bark to anchor themselves.

[Des9699]

Re: First Shed

If he lets you, you can lightly rub your thumb over it to get it off. Most snakes are hesitant to letting their faces and tails get touched until they get comfortable with being handled. The shed looks complete. Are you sure it isn't his poker? They have a little hard poker on the very tip which is used to dig into bark to anchor themselves.

The tail of the shed is open not closed, and it looks like there is still a tiny piece left on him. I did try rubbing it off a bit but he kept flicking his tail out of the way.
I will check again later and see how I get on.


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[acephantom903]

Re: First Shed

If it isn't off in 12 hours or so, you can put him in a tub with water which is around 85 degrees F to soak for 30 minutes or so. You don't have to make the water that high at all because you don't want him to feel like he has to keep swimming to keep his head above water. Just keep an eye on the water temperature and him to make sure he isn't struggling and is keeping his nose above water. That will rehydrate the skin making it easier to come off.

Does anyone else have ideas?

[Des9699]

Re: First Shed

If it isn't off in 12 hours or so, you can put him in a tub with water which is around 85 degrees F to soak for 30 minutes or so. You don't have to make the water that high at all because you don't want him to feel like he has to keep swimming to keep his head above water. Just keep an eye on the water temperature and him to make sure he isn't struggling and is keeping his nose above water. That will rehydrate the skin making it easier to come off.

Does anyone else have ideas?

Could I put him in a rub with a heat mat underneath 1/4-1/2 of it to keep the water warm? Its cold here at the min and I wouldnt want the water getting too cold for him.


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[acephantom903]

Re: First Shed

That could heat mat idea could work. Just be careful with water and electricity. I put my guy in 1" of water because his back is about 1" tall. You don't want the water getting under 76 degrees F because it will cool his core too quickly. Keeping it between 80 and 85 is good because that is what their ideal core temps are from my understanding.

[Des9699]

Re: First Shed

That could heat mat idea could work. Just be careful with water and electricity. I put my guy in 1" of water because his back is about 1" tall. You don't want the water getting under 76 degrees F because it will cool his core too quickly. Keeping it between 80 and 85 is good because that is what their ideal core temps are from my understanding.

Im an Electrician, if I start having problems with electricity then Im in the wrong game lol.


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[acephantom903]

Re: First Shed

I work with computers. It is best to make sure you confirm something before assuming it. A couple of my co workers came to me saying their computer was dead because the screen was turned off...