When I first got Chester off the vets, he always soaked in his water bowl, I thought there was something wrong with him cause it wasnt like one of my corns to soak all the time, at first I thought I had temp issues, it took ages for him to shed, when he did finally shed it was in loads of peices, it was terrible, since that awful shed he has not soaked and he shed again last night and its perfect, all in one peice, and he seems to look more happy now, I have had a few snakes come into my care where the first shed that has been awful, then they go to have normal sheds, why do you think the first shed is always awful for them, is it change of enviroment?

Glad to hear that Chester shed well last time, hopefully from now on he should continue to do well in your care.

I don't think it's the change in environment that is the cause of poor shedding,. it is more likely due to past poor care - the wrong conditions can cause a reptile to suffer for a long time even after it has been moved into the right care. The constant soaking will have helped him, although if you notice him soaking too much in the future there may be issues that need addressing.

One of our royals came to us as an adult that supposedly fed every week and had good all-in-one-piece sheds.. he didn't eat in our care for 6 months! And his first few sheds were all in bits and he needed a lot of assistance, despite us providing him with better conditions and higher humidity when in shed.. it was apparent from the top of his head that he hadn't always had good sheds, as he had marks that were due to poor shedding and perhaps even old unshed skins.. he is doing much much better now, eating every week (although he has just stopped again for his winter fast) and shedding much better.

Good luck with the future health of Chester, and your others that have come from less-than-adequate homes.

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Ahhh well hes all hungry now and ready to eat, he looks so much healthier today than he did from his last shed, he must of been living it rough bless, going to change him to his new viv tomorrow, hope it doesnt set him back