The Shedding Process

[Merriah]

Thanks so much for this article! I have owned 5 snakes, and i currently have two. The first three have been adopted to kids who are in the hospital or disabled and they are allergic to traditional therapy animals. Every one of them has shed differently. I do notice that they struggle more in the winter here in Minnesota. I have a humidifier, I spray their cages when they sleep, and I put them in a swimming bin and coat them with mineral oil. Any other tips?

[kimmu]

So Traya had her first very surprise shed with me. Could just be because she's a pale grey with a white belly, but never caught her getting dull and she only has one eye and I never caught it looking blue. She also ate on Thursday just fine. Just went to clean her cage yesterday cause I smelled poop and also found the shed skin.

The issue is she shed butt first and it's all off except for about two inches back from her head up to her snout. She's understandably head shy, so any tips for helping getting stuck shed off of her head?

[daniel1983]

Some morphs can be hard to see when they go into shed. It took me a while to figure out albinos. You should be able to pick up on some slight changes after awhile. If it is a morph with a clean white belly, the pink belly phase is easiest to pick up.

For stuck shed problems, I always recommend a humid hide. They do wonders.

[Finnsmom]

Hello! So I just want to reassure that my first ball python- Salazar is doing good. I believe he is in Day 10 of the shedding process. I haven't seen him come out at all. He's just been hiding. This is normal? And will he be dehydrated? I haven't seen him drink any water either since he hasn't came out of his hide.
Thanks.


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[Craiga 01453]

I only have on BP to compare to, my others are all colubrids...
Just for reference, my BP has shed twice with me and both sheds took 5 days from eyes turning opaque to two perfect sheds. I don't know if my guy shads fast, or if age or other variables affect shed time. My two corns have both had sheds that lasted 10 days though. I'm curious to see if shed times vary with species, age, etc... I'm looking forward to seeing what others have to say..

But yes, it is very normal for snakes to hide throughout the shed process. Their vision is obstructed and they feel vulnerable while in shed, so they stay where they feel safe and secure. As long as the ambient humidity in the enclosure is right he should be fine. A lot of people suggest putting some damp sphagnum moss in their hides while they are in shed.

[Finnsmom]

Ok. Thanks for the info.
I actually have another question and am just curious if anyone has any input. So I just got home from work- and he's poking his head out of his hide. This is the first time I've seen him alert since Friday the 10th. He hasn't shed yet- but his eyes aren't cloudy anymore. So I'm thinking it's about to happen? And I'm wondering do they get alert before hand? Or is he possibly just hungry? He had no interest eating on the 10th which was his feeding day- so he hasn't eaten since February 28th.


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[Craiga 01453]

Nothing at all to worry about. Snakes shed at their own pace and can take up to 10-14 days from turning blue to shedding.

Seems like you're doing a good job snake sitting. What is the humidity in the enclosure?

[Grandma]

The tank humidity is between 50 and 55, but in his moist hide, the walls are sweating, so near 100, I guess. I can raise tank a bit if I need to.

Thanks for reassurance.

[Craiga 01453]

The tank humidity is between 50 and 55, but in his moist hide, the walls are sweating, so near 100, I guess. I can raise tank a bit if I need to.

Thanks for reassurance.

It wouldn't hurt to get the humidity up to about 70-80

[Berlynn23]

My ball python is in shedding but it seems to be going on for quite a while. She did not do a full shed it seems to just be coming off in little pieces im not sure if this is normal or something i should be worried about she also seems to be having some trouble on her face around her eyes mostly. What can i do to help her if anything?