Dont try every day, that stresses them out. Every 3-4 days at minimum, me, if one of mine doesnt eat, they have to wait 10 more days till I feed again. Also while you are in the process of trying to get the shed off, dont expect it to eat at all, any and all handling stresses them out as well. IN fact, I would not handle or even look at the snake for five days or so, THEN try to feed it again, and do it at night. Dont worry about stunting it's growth, reptile growth depends on amount of food, not by age.
Here's my tried and true method of getting stuck shed to come off:
Get a pillowcase, preferably flannel and a terry cloth hand or dishtowel. Soak them in the hottest water you can get from the tap (trust me on this) and then wring them both out as much as possible, till they are not dripping... by this time they are cool enough. Place the towel inside the pillowcase and put the snake in there too... loosely close the pillowcase by twisting it (I never put knots in them when I do this) and make sure it's all a nice loose pile, place somewhere where you can watch it or at the bottom of a bucket or something in case the snake does get out (I've never once had an escape this way, knock on wood, even when I have forgotten them for a few minutes or left the room) in the process of the snake slithering around in the warm, moist pillowcase it rubs against the towel and sides and the shed often comes right off. Every once in a while I've had a few with really stuborn patches, with these I use the terry cloth towel on my hand, close it around the snake above where the skin is, tight enoug that the snake is pushing, but loose enough that it can easily slither, and hold on to the snake and let it slide through the towel and your hand, this will often snag an edge of the shed and peel it right off.
My adult balls all have hides with moist moss in them... the young balls are in a rack that holds in humidity better so I dont use moss on them, but that helps the skin stay nice and healthy so they dont have the bad shed in the first place.
Sarah
Originally Posted by Snowberry
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou for the speedy replies!!
I had heard a few horror stories of prey injuring predators, so I wasn't too sure. I tried feeding him in a smaller container and he just got scared and rolled up tightly while the mouse was cruising around. I've been offering him the mouse atleast once every day (and its the same mouse) and he usually follows it around, but rarely strikes at it, and he has never grabbed it or attempted to constrict it.
I guess only time will tell? I'm hoping eventually that his appetite will get the best of him.
I have heard a few times that a ball can go a year without eating, but I really don't want to stunt his growth at such a tender age. It could have damaging mental and physical effects.
He sure is a cavebat, though! He never comes out of his little rock shelter. By the way, he STILL has not shed all of his skin, so I've been bathing him in a 1-5 oil/water mixture to try to ease the skin off. I usually set him in the pan while I watch TV until he starts to get squirmy (15-40 mins) and then I dry him off lightly and put him back.
At what point should I seak medical treatment for this? I can't tell when his eyes are clear/capped because they've looked the same since I got him.
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