Both my corn snakes are shedding. One has just finished and it went well, the skin came off in one piece and happened really quickly. The other one seems to be struggling to get the skin off. The skin from her head came off yesterday but she seems to have stopped. They live in the same viv and I've been spraying it three times a day since I noticed their eyes changing colour. Would it be worth giving her a bath now to see if it'll help with the shedding, or give it a couple more days? How deep should the water be?
Also tomorrow is feeding day. Are they likely to eat this close to a shed, or should I leave them a couple more days? I take it uneaten mice have to be thrown away rather than being refrozen.

yes, i'd give it a bath.
warm water not too deep and keep your eye on it

If the skin doesn't come off use a wet towel and let the snake run through it to help remove the skin.

The snake that has shed can be offered food and will probably take it, I'd be inclined to wait with the other one until all the skin is gone.

Any un-eaten mice should be thrown away or fed to something else, they shouldn't be re-frozen

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Baby girl born 7-04-08
My Reptiles1.2 Royal Pythons 0.1 BCI
1.0 cornsnake
1.0.1 Bearded Dragons InvertsSAF L parahybanaAF G roseaAF A semanniP regalisH lividum3 B albopilosum slingsN coloratovilosumG aureostriataMaraca horridaWantedPython brongersmaiGTPDogStaff bitch Puppy

Thanks for the advice. I filled a plastic box with water to give her a bath and she didn't seem too happy about it. She's curled up in her cave now so I can't see if it's made a difference. I'll try the towel thing tomorrow if she still hasn't shed. I ordered a humidity gauge from ebay earlier, so in future hopefully I can avoid having to do all this.

do you know if the eye caps came off with the rest of the head?

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Baby girl born 7-04-08
My Reptiles1.2 Royal Pythons 0.1 BCI
1.0 cornsnake
1.0.1 Bearded Dragons InvertsSAF L parahybanaAF G roseaAF A semanniP regalisH lividum3 B albopilosum slingsN coloratovilosumG aureostriataMaraca horridaWantedPython brongersmaiGTPDogStaff bitch Puppy

I'm not sure. It seems to have helped, she just came out and has shed a lot more, there's only about an inch or so left on the end of the tail.
Is there a way to tell if the eye caps came off?

Ball pythons, as well as all other snakes, have clear scales that cover their eyes. These clear scales provide the same basic function that human eyelids provide. When snakes shed the clear eyecaps are shed as well. Occasionally an eyecap or shed skin is retained. Retained eyecaps do not pose a heath risk to the snake.

There are a few things a keeper can do to fix the situation. The first option is to leave the snake alone and let the eyecap come off during the next shed. The second option is to add a humidity chamber to the snake’s enclosure. Humidity chambers work really well for retained skin but are not always effective at loosening retained caps. The last thing that can be done is to remove the eyecap with a piece of scotch tape. If you are an inexperienced keeper or are unsure if your snake has a retained cap then stick with one of the first two options.

Removing an eyecap is fairly easy but you better be sure that there is a retained cap to be removed before you start. Dented eyes or wrinkled eyes are sometimes mistaken for a retained eyecap. If you try to remove a healthy eyecap (one that is not retained shed), you risk permanent damage to your snake’s eye. If you're in doubt, give the snake a humidity chamber or soak it.

Roll a piece of scotch tape, sticky side out, around your index finger. To remove the cap, gently roll your finger along the cap starting from the head of the snake and working towards the tail. The cap should come off easily and should be stuck to the tape. Make sure the tape does not touch the scales around the eye or the fold of skin between the eye and the scales surrounding the eye. Be gentle and use light pressure. Do not use tape that is too sticky - packing tape, box tape, and duct tape are examples of types that should not be used. These tapes have strong adhesives and if you accidentally stick them to your snake's skin, scales will come off!

Just found on a site

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If Life Was Straight Forward Then So Would Movin On! But If Movin On Is So Easy Then So Would Life - Synergy 2006

Thanks. I checked and she's shed her eyecaps (I pulled the shed skin out of the bin!) I've ordered some stuff to make a humidity chamber for all the snakes so hopefully this will be the first and last bad shed.
I'm just going to use an old butter tub for the corns, but what should I use for the Royals? They're around 4ft, I don't think we use anything big enough to be used as thier humidity chamber.

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