Feeding during a shed cycle..

So our little guy is in the shedding process and it has been about 8-9 days.. The cloudy eyes have passed yet he has still not shed his skin. However, I just went in to check his humidity level (which has been perfect) and add some water to his bowl and much to my surprise, he came right out with his tongue slithering away and appeared to be looking for food! How soon can we offer him food? Do we need to wait until the shedding process is completely done or is it safe to do so now since he seems to be looking?

FYI.. I had posted a while back about our snake not eating. Long story short, we had him for about 6 weeks before he would eat and I had to do a live feeding. He did get in 4 feedings before he started the shedding process but is still very skinny.. Just as I had him going on feedings, he showed me his pretty bluish eyes, lol.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance,
Carrie

:welcome: to BP.net...

Some snakes will eat during shed and some won't. Some people will feed and some don't. It's up to you and your snake. Personally, I don't feed after their eyes go opaque. I'd just prefer them not have a full belly while they are trying to come out of their skin...

My male eats during shed. Has never missed a meal since I got him. Every snake is different though, but I would definitely offer it to him.

My male eats during shed too. The eye caps dont matter too much since the snake detects its prey mostly by smell and heat. Mine has no problem snagging a rat by the neck while i hold the tail.

Of all my snakes only one for sure won't eat in shed, and one is a possible shed-rejector (he's pretty new to me and so I'm not totally certain of his quirks yet). I always offer in shed, even to the one who never eats in shed, just because I prefer it. When one won't eat, someone else gets a second dinner. ;)

That being said, my Cinny is the most agressive feeder of all my Balls...he'll come shooting out of his hide every time I open the tub, and he'll strike at prey, coil and eat anything, even in blue with eyecaps totally white. I'm pretty sure I could toss a stinky, dirty sock in there and he'd eat it. :rolleyes: It all depends on the snake. Next time my Cinny's in shed I'll try to get a video of him attacking his f/t prey without the ability to see it, lol!!!!

Guess you won't know if yours will eat in shed or not until you try it. ;)

Not only did he eat, he took a frozen thawed :D. Thanks for the input guys :).

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Originally Posted by Kyle@theHeathertoft

Of all my snakes only one for sure won't eat in shed, and one is a possible shed-rejector (he's pretty new to me and so I'm not totally certain of his quirks yet). I always offer in shed, even to the one who never eats in shed, just because I prefer it. When one won't eat, someone else gets a second dinner. ;)

That being said, my Cinny is the most agressive feeder of all my Balls...he'll come shooting out of his hide every time I open the tub, and he'll strike at prey, coil and eat anything, even in blue with eyecaps totally white. I'm pretty sure I could toss a stinky, dirty sock in there and he'd eat it. :rolleyes: It all depends on the snake. Next time my Cinny's in shed I'll try to get a video of him attacking his f/t prey without the ability to see it, lol!!!!

Guess you won't know if yours will eat in shed or not until you try it. ;)

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My cinni is the same way, he'll shoot out of his tub to get his meal and will strike at anything in his way. he's my favorite.

Mine will usually eat during a shed but I've had a few times where they won't, I guess it just depends on their mood.

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Not only did he eat, he took a frozen thawed . Thanks for the input guys .

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No prob, glad he ate! :D

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My cinni is the same way, he'll shoot out of his tub to get his meal and will strike at anything in his way. he's my favorite.

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My Cinny and my Mojave male are my favourites. :) They're night and day...the Mojave is super-docile, super-gentle, takes prey like a total wimp (seriously, sometimes he doesn't even really strike, just gently takes it like a puppy) and he's the snake I bust out when I have people over who're afraid of snakes, since he's so sweet. My Cinny is a little hellion, total spitfire...hisses and s's up all the time, hits prey like a mack truck, snitty as heck and I just love his feisty personality. :D

My girl eats during shed and she's never missed a meal! I'm just lucky I guess. I'd say if he seems to be looking for food, offer him some! Worst case he just doesn't eat it and you freeze it for later...

Yay! He took another mouse tonight! He still has not shed yet and it looks like we may need to assist him but he's eating just fine. How long should I give him to shed himself before helping? It's been just about two weeks now.

We feed during her sheds and lucky for us, she eats! Fed her yesterday afternoon and she finally shed last night. I'd say try to feed and if he doesn't eat, you'll know the next time.

i find humidity if it aint higher when the snake starts to shed it takes a Lil longer. like i recently picked up 2 female balls from same breeder siblings both have always eaten the same thing same day same cage set-up other then one cages holds humidity a Lil better(not really sure how) came home today one finished shedding the other feels like it is about to shed and looks like it to real dual color and feels really rough like they do a few days before shedding.

i myself give them a choice if they want to eat (like others have said if there eyes are blue i leave them alone but if on Friday there eyes aint blue no-more like today i fed them. both snapped up there prey with-out hesitation. and reintroduced the unshed baby to the water bowl it's been 3 hours since doing so and she is still laying in the bowl so figure it will be a day or 2 before she sheds.


if your needs help you will know just check her a couple times a-day and make sure she can still move if she can barely move then you will need to help her i actually had to help on of my green tree pythons shed its skin as it was laying on the cage floor and could barely move cause the old skin dried out to much for her to work it off itself.

if yours gets like this i'd stick her in a deli cup if it is a baby and put paper towel on bottom spray the towel with warm not hot water I'd say no warmer then 85.F. (or what ever your coolest side of the tank is) warm water will loosen it's skin quicker keep the water warm by placing the deli cup in the tank the baby came out of for a few hours at least this