rack systems and shedding

i noticed that many breeders that use racks have nothing in the tubs besides substrate and a water bowl, so im wondering how the pythons shed if they have nothing to rub against? can anyone explain this ?

i use a rack and news prints and i never have any trouble with shadding as long as you keep the humidity where it should be i think the news print has enough texture in it to help in the shed

i use racks for all my snakes now too and they haven't had any trouble shedding. i move the water dish to the side that is heated and mist the enclosure twice a day or so whenever one of my snakes starts going into shed. i think that the holes that are drilled into the rubbermaid are actually a really good surface for them to rub their noses on to start the shed if neccessary but i haven't ever seen one of my snakes use them that way. i don't think they always need something to rub on--i watched one of my snakes shed pretty much from start to finish about a week ago and it was really quite amazing. he didn't rub on anything--he just kind of inched his way out of his old skin.

Both of mine are in sterlites and both have things to rub against. Funny enough they don't seem to use them much tho as far as I've ever seen.

One of ours consistently sheds in her hide. I caught her at it quite by accident last shed and she was just wiggling and flexing (almost rippling all her muscles) in a curled up position. Kinda looked like a woman struggling out of a way too tight pair of pantyhose LOL.


~~Joanna~~

I have 3 questions. How long does a shed on average take? Also what should be done while your BP is in shed.

last question is: How do you heat your Snakes with a Rack System.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HelicopterPilot

I have 3 questions. How long does a shed on average take? Also what should be done while your BP is in shed.

last question is: How do you heat your Snakes with a Rack System.

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1. Mine usually take about 10 days after I notice the pink belly, or 7 days after the eyes start to turn blue.
2. Nothing. Leave them alone and make sure the humidity is up. I usually put a wet paper towel on their hide to boost the humidity to 70-75 percent.
3. I have one rack that is heated using indirect belly heat. Essentially a heat cable routered into the back of each shelf about an inch from the edge. I'm building another rack that will use back heat; an 11 inch strip of Flexwatt running down the entire back of the rack. A lot of people like to use Flexwatt as belly heat on each shelf, though.