Retained shed on head

[CaptainRatbag]

Now you are clutching at straws :lol:

In a pillow case in a tub of water is the idea I am against

 

[thomasssss]

. As you can see in his second post ^ he thinks he has no worries, thanks to your advice :shock: I certainly hope he gets to see there is some more advice saying it is not a "no worries" situation and he might act a to further investigate.... just to be sure

no it wasnt my advise i just passed on what was written in a book written by John Weigel and i stated that in my first post so the op knows that it was the advise of John Weigel so go and take it up with him

Do you two want to get a room or something?

na probably end up in a fight 2 very conflicting personalities and opinions here , don't go well in confined spaces

 

[CrystalMoon]

I was hoping some-one else would shed(pardon the pun lol)some more light on this? Not as a debate or weeing contest, just factual knowledge/experience? I am still confused as two posters have 2 different answers and they both got their information from reputable Authors (Oh not inferring that there was already a weeing contest happening either )

 

[Chris1]

wet the snake and rub a thin layer of paw paw ointment onto the retained shed, wait 10-15 mins and it should come off no probs,...

retained eye caps can cause infections, so it is important they come off,...

 

[disintegratus]

No expert here! Noodles (adult Brisbane carpet) retained one of his eye caps and half the skin on his head last shed. He'd been having issues with mites behind his eyes before that, and had them flushed with saline, so I put it down to that causing the ratained shed. I removed the stuck shed, I think it was easier because there was a fair bit of head skin attached to the eye part, so I could get a bit of purchase on it. Basically I sprayed his head, let it sit, then used a facewasher with quite warm water to rub it until I got a large enough piece I could hold, then slowly peeled it off very gently, wiping down with the warm (and very wet, not just damp) facewasher periodically. I'm not sure if that's explained adequately, but the best way to say it is I assisted the skin, not forced it off. That was a couple of weeks ago, so far, he still looks good and seems healthy and happy.

 

[thomasssss]

thats interesting Chris1 it doesn't mention anything about a retained eye caps being able to cause infection in the book i was referring to actually says it causes no immediate health problem to the snake , although its a good book written by a good herper ,i don't take it as gospel so thats good to know. It does definitely say you should attempt to remove any retained shed just that there is a warning for the eye caps if the don't remove easily , what would you recommend doing if the eye caps are a little stuck and hard to remove?

and captinratbag you still haven't answered as to whether or not the book you where referring to contained any sort of warning / caution about the eye caps not removing easily can you answer that please

 

[Ramsayi]

I'm guessing that the snake is set up in a tub? If so just put some paper towel down on the base of the tub if you aren't already using it and wet it thoroughly.Leave it wet for 24 hours or so then if the retained piece of shed is still there wipe it off with your fingers.You could also put a small branch or rock (provided it can't tip it or get stuck under it) or even a copy of "keeping & Breeding Australian Pythons" in as well to help the snake get the shed off a bit easier.

 

[remlap]

Hi all
thanks all for thoughts. in the end i followed congo_pythons method of a good soak and i a small peice of sticky tape as it was still quite firmly attatched even after a soak.
after about 20 mins in some warm water and a few failed attempts to start it by rubbing her nose i got a small peice of tape and stuck it on her nose and carefully pulled it towards the back of her head. slowly and carfully i got the whole head ( including eyecaps ) off.
my baby girl is now much more comfortable and happy.
again tahnks all for the thoughts and ideas but if anyone else runs into this problem especially with such a small head i reccomend the above method worked a treat.

 

[Boa2112]

When one of my snakes don't shed all the way or have a piece or two hanging on, i usually just keep a dampened rag on the unshed skin while holding the snake, after a while the skin gets softer, i then lightly rub the unshed skin with my thumb until i can peel it off. PLEASE mind the scales and eye caps, your nails can injure them.

worst case scenario i use store bought shed aid.