Reticulated python has trouble shedding...

Dear VPI,

I own a beautiful tiger retic and everything's good with him except one thing. He always has shedding problems. I've done everything on every retic care sheet I could find and put a box of damp moss in his cage (which he won't use) and I still end up soaking him and removing the skin by hand.

Could you please give me some advice on what to do so that he can shed normally. Thanks,  Kevin   

Dear Kevin,

It's a fact of life that almost all retics of every age have shedding problems. I don't know what they do in the wild, probably soak. There does seem to be a strong correlation between pythons with thin sheds and lots of iridescence and their habitats being very humid, damp environments.

In captivity they usually have some stuck skin after a shed. We always soaked our retics as they were getting ready to shed. RubberMaid makes a 50 gallon box that is an excellent and economical box for soaking larger snakes.  DGB