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You do NOT need to put in a brillo pad! That's too rough and completely unnecessary. (The new skin under the shed is very delicate and you don't want to damage it.)
Lightly mist the snake once a day until he sheds. You don't need to put any extra stuff into the cage. Most snakes can get the shed off just rubbing up against themselves or the sides of the tank. If you have a branch and hide boxes, that will be plenty.
My BP goes into his moist moss box when it's shedding time and doesn't come out for almost two weeks. When he does, he's left a rolled up piece of skin inside the box. So obviously he can manage to shed without a lot of help inside a small plastic box.
Do not feed or handle your snake during this time! Snakes tend to be very irritable during a shed. There's a lot going on in their system that I don't think many people appreciate. The skin is the largest organ in the body. And they're in the process of growing a new one!
During a shed my snakes act like I feel when I have a fever: I just want to stay in one spot in the dark and wait till it's over. ("Don't talk to me, don't touch me, don't feed me... etc.").
Just lift up the hide carefully and mist him with lukewarm water every day and WAIT. They shouldn't need anymore "help" than that. The towel trick is not necessary unless he has some pieces of skin stuck on AFTER the main shed.
It takes about two weeks from the time my BP goes into shed (meaning crawls into his moss box and doesn't come out at night) till he's shed. From the blue phase till the clear phase, about 3 days. From the clear phase to the shed another 3 days. Once the snake starts to actively rub and peel back the skin, (if it's not disturbed and if it's a healthy shed), it will come off in probably less than an hour depending on the size of your snake.
Good luck!
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Andrea
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