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Re: The Shedding Process
Hi, I actully set up till 2 a.m. with her. She started the process before I went to bed and I sat up and watched her. It was really neat to watch! Thanks for the info.
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Re: The Shedding Process
Excellent information!! My first ever BP, Xena is about to have her first shed (well since I've had her, anyway) and she just went into the clearing up stage. Which is why I was looking up more shedding info. Did not know about this stage. Thanks alot for the great post.
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Re: The Shedding Process
I agree. This is the first time I've had my snake in his shedding process.
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Re: The Shedding Process
So do you feed your snake during the shedding process? And is it ok if he doesn't move around much like normally?
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Re: The Shedding Process
I don't feed during shed. But if you want (and your snake wants to eat) go for it. I like to give my snakes a break from feeding and shed time is the perfect time.
They normally don't move much druing shed time. Don't worry.
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Re: The Shedding Process
My snake is going through his first shed, I went to change his water tonight and I removed his hide to see how he was doing, and I noticed 2 pieces of skin in there and he got scared and put his head under him. I put his hide back on and changed his water. So i'm not supposed to hold him I take it? I'm glad to see that his eyes are pure black, as they have been cloudy since ive gotten him. Since he didn't shed in one piece, does that mean that he is in critical condition?
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Re: The Shedding Process
Hi,
Not at all.:)
As long as he gets all the skin off I wouldn't really pay attention to how many pieces it is in.
Is his humidity high enough for him to shed ok?
dr del
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Re: The Shedding Process
I don't know the exact humidity, but he has been staying on the cool side of the tank in his hide, and its the first time ive ever seen this- all of the fir bark substrate was pushed out of the way and he was just laying on the glass when I removed his hide.
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Re: The Shedding Process
hey danny, i didnt read all of the process yet, but what should the humidy and temp be for my baby ball when shedding? she is in the stage of eyes tenting blue.
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Re: The Shedding Process
Sorry if it was posted already, but I cant get the pics to show. In firefox, there is just blank space. In internet explorer there is the red x image boxes, but when I click on them or right click to show pic, it doesnt come up.
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Re: The Shedding Process
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Re: The Shedding Process
Cool, thanks for the quick repost.
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Re: The Shedding Process
Hi,
Thank you for hosting the pictures and giving us updated links - much appreciated. :salute:
Is the article available online as well?
dr del
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Re: The Shedding Process
ok...your info about shedding really gave me a much greater idea on how it works. it may be the answer to one of my questions. I just got a 6 month old ball python and was wondering why its always in its hyde or just curled up in its little tree. i have had it for 3 days now and it only gets active while i handle it. Then i realized that its in its shedding stage. im not exactly sure what part of the process its in now but its definatly shedding. so that may be the reason why its so lazy? and i didnt know that you were not supposed to hold it when its in this stage. but its really mellow calm when its handled.
AND i fed it yesterday and it ate fine.
Im new to having a snake, it really facinates me and i would like to learn more. thanx
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Re: The Shedding Process
OK, I'm a newbie and first timer at posting on a list like this and a newbie at raising a ball python (actually my sons). Anyway, we got a baby ball python several months ago. He (or she) started shedding about 2+ weeks ago. I've read the articles about the shedding process and am beginning to wonder about him. He still has his skin on him and some pieces have fallen off, but very little. I haven't handled him during this nor attempted to feed him. How much longer should I wait on his shedding before I get concerned? How do I tell if maybe he's having problems with it? I've put a good rough piece of wood for him to rub on to get it off. I don't feel that his environment is a problem. I'll try to get a good picture of him and post it here so you can see his "condition" and give me some calming advice.
Thanks in advance,
Brian
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Re: The Shedding Process
Hi Brian,
We actually have a good sticky on dealing with problem sheds as well.
That should help you get him shed free in no time but if it doesn't just post up a thread and we will try and find some more ideas to help. :gj:
dr del
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Re: The Shedding Process
Thank you very much daniel for that very informative post. I still have a question. I read on a comment on "YouTube" that after they shed, their skin is sensitive and we should wait a week before handling them. Is that TRUTH OR FICTION??
Thank you!:)
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Re: The Shedding Process
what happen to all the pictures???
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Re: The Shedding Process
They were hosted on Daniel's site...and he either deleted them or rearranged his site, whch changed the pictures' URLs. We have copies of them and will get the thread fixed in the next day or so. :)
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Re: The Shedding Process
Quote:
Originally Posted by JLC
They were hosted on Daniel's site...and he either deleted them or rearranged his site, whch changed the pictures' URLs. We have copies of them and will get the thread fixed in the next day or so. :)
Yep. I completely wiped out my server a few weeks ago so the pictures (as well as everything else) are gone. I completely forgot to keep them up. If any are missing, let me know as I still have them on my desktop.
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Re: The Shedding Process
Alrighty....the pictures are fixed and I removed the broken link to other articles. I had to put up the full size images instead of thumbnails because our nifty new program that automatically resizes oversized images is overriding the old thumbnail/url reference. :rolleyes:
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Re: The Shedding Process
awesome post. i have had my corn for almost a year now, and ive never actually seen him shed! sneaky thing does it while im sleeping every time! he must be shy. :rofl:
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Re: The Shedding Process
Thank you for the pictures . Very informative.:D
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Re: The Shedding Process
I'm nervous about my snakes shed. I am having a very difficult time keeping the humidity where its supposed to be at.. actually i'm having a very difficult time keeping it above 50%. I spray the cage ith warm water about 3-4 times a day and it may reach 65% if i'm lucky. He has been actually shedding for about a week now and im getting nervous. I read that you could use a rag and help with the process but he hisses when I do that. I dont really know what to do.
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Re: The Shedding Process
Do a search on "humid hides". If you setup a good humid hide, you won't have to keep misting. Best solution in my opinion.
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Re: The Shedding Process
I have a ball python that was given to me 3 years ago and it is a classroom pet in my high school room. Monty is about 4.5 feet long and about 7 years old. During the summers (I live in Central Indiana) I have been keeping Monty in an outdoor 4ft x 8ft x 6ft outdoor habitat with plenty of water and sand on the bottom, shade and branches to climb and shelves to rest on. Monty is housed with my 3 box turtles and my green iguana during the summer in that habitat and loves it! Monty is housed by itself (I have no idea what its sex is) during the school year. During the school year Monty is in a 40 gal aquarium with wood bark for the substrate and a water bowl and a 1/2 log for privacy. Under the water bowl I have a heater and 2 heat lamps over the water. Monty eats well- 2 mice or Siberian rats/2 weeks. Monty was shedding every 5-6 weeks all last year. Last April Monty started to have bad sheds-- coming off in patches. I increased the humidity by adding another water bowl. The summer shed was fine. When I brought Monty in this fall (mid-September) it's skin was really crinkely (however you spell it:confused:). It started to get that way at the end of August. Monty's belly was pink and the skin was dull so I knew it was about to shed again. I was extrememly concerned about the condition of the skin so I put in damp Eco Earth for the substrate to really increase the humidity. Monty has logs to crawl up on to get away from the moisture-- which it did not do. Monty shed yesterday and it came off in 3 big bunches- much better than the spring, not as good as the summer, but apparently some of the shed stuck to the new skin and pulled off some of the new skin! Monty has about 8 raw, open patches about the size of peas on it's back. Monty still has one patch of shed stuck to his new skin and if I gently pull it it looks like I will cause another wound. I called the exotic vet and she said that since it is not infected to wash it with antibacterial soap and it woud be fine-- WHAT IS CAUSING THIS?? What am I doing wrong? I know that it has to hurt and I do NOT want it to happen again!:mad: As I said I have put Monty outside for 2 years during the summer and it as been really healthy at the end of the summer. HELP:bow::please::upset:.
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Re: The Shedding Process
Hi,
I would have a quick read through the caresheet to get an idea of what we normally recommend.
What are you using to measure your humidity? We normally recommend the acurite digital weatherstation with probe from wallmart for about $12.
It is traditionally a right pain in the situpons to get the temps and humidity right in larger enclosures - and trying to do it in an enclosure also housing a green iguana and box turtles would probably drive me insane.
I would try and keep his enclosure simple and easy to keep spotless until he has recovered - I would recommend newspaper or paper towels as a substrate as they are easiest to see when it needs cleaned and by their very nature demand a total cleanout every time.
They are cheap enough that this is not a problem however.
Make sure anything you apply topically does not contain painkillers as they are known to be toxic to BP's.
Keep to the clean setup untill he has shed at least once and the open wounds are gone - it generally takes a few sheds as the sheddig process itself can sometimes re-open scabbed over wounds.
Look for the post on treating the screen top to see if that is something you can do and think about making a humid hide if there seems to be no other way to get the required levels of both temp and humidity.
I'm sure I have forgotten something but others will chime in to help.
In the meantime I will copy this into a thread of its own to better help you get the replies needed.
dr del
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Re: The Shedding Process
certainly answers all my questions... :) thank you.. :)
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Re: The Shedding Process
My ball python is going through his first shed cycle since I've had him, and this post has been extremely helpful! Thank You! :D
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Re: The Shedding Process
This was the most helpful thing when my python went through her first shed with me. Ecdysis is an amazing process and your description and pictures make it so that anyone can understand what's going on and know what to expect. Thank you!
I have(hopefully had) a big problem with humidity and she started having a bad shed. I put her in 4" of slightly warm water. After soaking for a few minutes, I added an upside-down hiding log. She explored the log, then went underneath it and used the weight and rough bark of the log to start crawling out. After a while she decided that it was enough and found her way out. The rest shed off in one piece overnight.
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Re: The Shedding Process
How long after there eyes turn that milky color will the shedding actually start?
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Re: The Shedding Process
My snake had his first shed since I've had him, and everything went perfectly. Because of this post, along with other tips on the site, I had a complete shed with eye caps and all. Thanks a lot.
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Re: The Shedding Process
They go in blue, once they are out of blue - they normally shed 3 days or so after. I know it depends on the size of the snake our burm takes a lot longer than a baby BP.
hope this helps
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Re: The Shedding Process
This was a great read! Mine had just shed when I picked him up so it's not something I was too worried about, but I was wonderiing how I would notice when it started happening. Thanks.
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Re: The Shedding Process
how often do they shed?? and how long after they feed do they poop??
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Re: The Shedding Process
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ara
how often do they shed?? and how long after they feed do they poop??
They don't shed or poop on a schedule. When they're young they shed more often, and poop less. They absorb as much of their meals as they can, and grow. As they age, they still absorb some of the meals, but they shed less often... Mine haven't shed in about 2 months or so. It all depends on the snake. Mine typically poop every other week or so.
Sometimes if they go into a shed and haven't pooped in a while, you'll wake up to a nice clean shed, and lotsa poop and pee.
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Re: The Shedding Process
thanks for all the info!! :snake:
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Re: The Shedding Process
My 7-year-old just shed (pretty good shed, for the most part) but he was eft with what I can only describe as a bionic chrome left eye. The right one is normal black-ish, but this one looks like chrome. I'm assuming this has to do with some sort of improper shed, but will I need to take him in to get fixed or is this something that can wait til the next shed to be fixed?
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Re: The Shedding Process
Hi,
We have a sticky about bad sheds. :)
dr del
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Re: The Shedding Process
Ok, I understand why they turn blue and how/why the shed like they do, but why does the belly turn pink before?
I have read this entire thread and the links, but I either missed it or forgot and I'm sorry if it's already here, but I just don't remember that it was.
My guess is that bloodflow increases to get the lymph out there between the two layers of dermis. We only see it on the belly because it has no pigment. Yes, no?
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Re: The Shedding Process
do they eat the skin that they left behind or shall we throw it away?
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Re: The Shedding Process
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiddomarc
do they eat the skin that they left behind or shall we throw it away?
Throw it away. They won't eat it.
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Re: The Shedding Process
I have a few questions. My female normal is about 2 months old. Is this the normal time they begin their shed process? I have her on an every 5day feeding schedule and she has eaten every time I've fed her since she was 4 weeks old? when I got her. She currently feeds on live hopper mice.
I'm suppose to feed her today but I think she is about to shed. Her eyes looked gray and cloudy as described in the first post and her scales do seem faded. Should I attempt to feed her still today or wait until the 12days is up so she can shed? I feed her in a separate enclosure btw.
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Re: The Shedding Process
Hi,
They actually have their first shed about a week after they leave the egg on average. :)
You can offer while they are in shed - some will eat and some will not. Just have a plan in place on what to do if they refuse and you should be fine. :gj:
So have a little enclosure with some rodent food and water, bedding etc for the hopper if he isn't intrested and you can re-offer once he has shed.
dr del
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Re: The Shedding Process
Quote:
Originally Posted by dr del
Hi,
They actually have their first shed about a week after they leave the egg on average. :)
You can offer while they are in shed - some will eat and some will not. Just have a plan in place on what to do if they refuse and you should be fine. :gj:
So have a little enclosure with some rodent food and water, bedding etc for the hopper if he isn't intrested and you can re-offer once he has shed.
dr del
Alright, thanks for the advice.
&to clear things up, their eyes turn cloudy gray, then into a blueish tint after as a sign of shedding? I checked on her earlier and her eyes looked like they went back normal but then she struck at me for the first time when I tried to pick her up :( lol
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Re: The Shedding Process
Hi,
People call it "in blue" but it can look grey depending on the light. Here's a pic of my original girl Cleo in blue (ignore the dent :) ).
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...deyeshrunk.JPG
Once their eyes go back to normal looking they generally shed in a couple of days - but it can take up to 5 and the whole process takes longer the older they get.
Just make sure you get the humidity up to about 60-70% and they should be fine. :gj:
dr del
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Re: The Shedding Process
Alright, thanks again dr del. I appreciate it :gj:
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Re: The Shedding Process
Thank you for the information Daniel! It helped a lot. I recently go a ball python and had been starting her shedding process as of now. Her eyes are already dull, bluish and her skin faded. :snake:
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