a question about sheds

[RealmIyce]

Amys eyes are kinda glossy and blueish..and she's getting these little spots where the skin looks to be peeling or coming off (starting to, anyways)..is this normal for a snake going into shed? and how long will it last, etc..

[elevatethis]

Everything you just said is normal.

The "shed cycle" takes anywhere from 4-7 days depending on the individual snake and environmental conditions.

It begins with the eyes clouding up, which is basically a layer of fluid forming between the old eyecap and the new eyecap underneath. You will also notice the rest of the snakes colors dulling up and drying out.

During this time, maintianing a proper humidity level is crucial. Anything from 60-80% is what to shoot for.

After a few days, the eyes will clear up and go back to black. Expect a shed withing 24-36 hours after you notice this happen. Some snakes take longer or shorter to shed at this point to than others. My bp waits until the skin is practically peeling off before she starts wiggling out of it; my friend's bp is one that tried to rub it off its nose as soon as he can.

A few things you will notice during this time that are normal:

-Refusal of a meal. I don't offer prey during shed anyway. They're under enough stress as it is. Some people feed during shed w/no problems though.
-Wheezing. Not to be confused with a respitory infection if all of your conditions are right. This is likely just the old skin around their nostrals making noise.
- General irritability. If you were wearing 2 layers of skin, one that was new and super-sensitive and one that was old and dried out, wouldn't you be a little grumpy too? Also, fluid-filled eyes equal crappier vision than they already have, so they feel very vulnerable and are more jumpy than usual. Hold back on handling as much as you can during shed.

Thats about all I got, I'm sure others will elaborate on this issue that gets beated to death here on the boards.