Bad pre-lay shed.

Topic says it all, I'm just not sure what to do. Should I soak her like I would any other, or should I leave her alone and try to keep her humidity up? No reason why she would've had a bad shed... but she did.

At any rate... Suggestions? This is my first year breeding, so I just don't know what to do.

I have never come across this question before so remember than when I share my opinion.
1. Leave her alone. She is fixing to do something big.
or
2. Let the vet know what the deal is and see if you should try to bring her in. The only reason I even begin to suggest #2 is that if she were dehydrated this could slow her labor or impede it.

The other thing I would do is get a hold of a big serious breeder and ask this question. My choice would be Ralph Davis because I know him, I trust him and I've bought from him and will buy from him again. However, we have some pretty big breeders here, so I'd ask them directly!

I would guess you could just soak her like normal.... I don't see how that would harm the eggs any.

Cover her with a boat load of wet newspaper for 24 hours or so and see if that doesn't remedy the problem, it might prove less stressful than soaking..

I would bump the humidity and let her be. I don't ever soak any of my snakes. Usually bumping up the humidity for a few days is all it takes. There's no need to stress her.

What I do is move my water dish to the middle of the tub rather than only on the cool side. The sheds are usually off within a few days. I usually never have shed problems either so I know how you feel. There's no reason he should have had a stuck shed! :taz:

Well. I uped her humidty and most of it was off by this morning. But now I have a new question...

Shes doesn't look like shes eatten a jumbo rat or anyhing... Was this shed pre-ovulation or pre-lay? I've been looking at Markus Jaynes breeding guide and its been alot of help, and he says they do a pre-ovulation shed, but others I've read make no mention of it. I'm just trying to get all my bases covered.

Been pairing since late October, 3 days on, 3 off. Atleast 1 lock each time, till about 2 weeks ago.

Hi,

So you haven't seen her ovulate?

What made you think this was the pre-lay thread? Is she still locking up with the male or eating?

Have you tried palpating her to see if you can feel anything?

It can be really tricky to work out where they are in the breeding cycle (well it is for me :oops: ).


dr del

Hmm. I'll palpate her sometime this week.

I just assumed it was pre-lay shed since I hadn't heard, or read, that they shed before ovy. I'll take a look at her when I get home from work. The lady folk says shes brighter then before.

Hi,

Thats the thing that makes it tricky - the whole process can take months and they can keep shedding at intervals all the way through it - with hindsight one of them is definately going to be the shed before ovulation but I don't know what significance it has in the reproductive cycle. :taz:

The shed after ovulation I get the significance of as it lets you know the timing of egg laying.

This year I will be keeping a better note of the shed timings to see if there is a timeline associated with the sheds before ovulation as well if I can. ;)


dr del

Soaking would not be a problem regardless of what stage she's in. A 5 minute soak is usually all you need to take care of a bad shed.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith