Accidentally handled BP during preshed, will it be fine?

So as the title says, I handled my about foot and a half long BP and noticed she had her eye caps a milky color and recognized that she is going to shed soon. Will she be ok as she seemed to be stressed a decent amount from it.

She should be OK. Obviously you know you shouldn't have or you wouldn't have asked: snake's skin is more fragile at this stage & some say handling can even
cause some damage (there is moisture secreted between the old & new skin layers to facilitate shedding). Mostly, snakes choose to lay low instinctively at this
time because they cannot see well, making them at greater risk from predators while fumbling around...so mostly, you just caused some stress. I'm pretty sure
you'll be forgiven...;) :snake:

I wouldn't worry about it too much. How deep in shed was she when you handled her? Just make sure she's left alone for the remainder of the process to prevent stressing her further, and keep the humidity UP! I handled my albino snake during early shed a few times when I was (and still kind of am) very new and naive about recognizing milky eyes/dull coloring. She still shed perfectly well. The worst that could happen is your bp sheds in pieces and you might have to deal with a bit of stuck shed. Not as scary as you'd think to fix, but as always I know it's best to prevent that from ever happening. Humidity is the most important thing to fuss over when they're in shed. You and your bp will be just fine, good luck with everything!

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She isn’t that far into it, no discoloration or scales and the eyes are entirely milky yet so she just started today or yesterday. I put her back within seconds of picking her up as well. Afterwards I filled her water dish and strayed the enclosure down for added humidity.

It is fine. My king is in blue too. I just petted her a few hours ago. She is fine. She has yet to have issues with shedding. Just let them be and they know what to do.

You’re fine, no worries. Limited handling won’t hurt but it’s best to leave them alone until they’re done.


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Ok thank you for helping :), I’m new to being a BP owner and everything is going well with her. Just new to some things haha

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Originally Posted by EldritchPreacher

Ok thank you for helping :), I’m new to being a BP owner and everything is going well with her. Just new to some things haha

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We were all new to keeping snakes at one time...so ask away! And some of us had no forum like this to ask when we got started.

No idea of anyone is still watching this but she has fully shed from what I can tell, beautiful colors and seems comfortable. I was just wondering how long I should wait before handling and feeding

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Originally Posted by EldritchPreacher

No idea of anyone is still watching this but she has fully shed from what I can tell, beautiful colors and seems comfortable. I was just wondering how long I should wait before handling and feeding

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You haven't really told us much about her...like how long have you had her & how many times she has eaten for you. Eating is job #1, handling can stress new snakes into NOT doing job #1, & we generally recommend NO handling until after a new snake has eaten (easily) for you 3 consecutive times so as not to interrupt their feeding instincts.

Do some ppl not follow this "rule"? of course... but just don't say no one told you, if or when you have trouble getting her to eat.

Some snakes are more easily intimidated (by handling & by being in new surroundings) than others...BPs are among the very shy (easily intimidated) snakes & can be very picky eaters. But for any & all snakes, remember they rely on instincts for survival, & the only thing that picks them up in the wild is normally a predator about to EAT them.
So...if you were terrified, would YOU be thinking about having lunch, or fleeing & hiding? Same goes for your snake- we are big scary giants, & it takes time for them to learn.

I’ve had her for a while now, around two months and she has eaten about ten times now, very well at that. I’ve handled her at least once a week until the molt and I didn’t handle her the first week. At the beginning she wasn’t sure about handling but now she is calm and explores without panicking. I handle her at night so she can sleep during the day. At about a foot and a half
long she isn’t any trouble to keep track of either. I feed her small frozen arctic mice as that’s the biggest I feel she could take down comfortably. I also don’t handle her until she has digested her food entirely usually.

You shouldn't be feeding more often than once a week (for a young snake like this), so it sounds like you need to lengthen the time between meals, & if she's still
hungry, consider whether the prey size is adequate for her size. Otherwise, good job! :gj:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

You shouldn't be feeding more often than once a week (for a young snake like this), so it sounds like you need to lengthen the time between meals, & if she's still
hungry, consider whether the prey size is adequate for her size. Otherwise, good job! :gj:

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I am only doing once a week. Every Monday is when I usually feed her.

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Originally Posted by EldritchPreacher

I am only doing once a week. Every Monday is when I usually feed her.

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Just went by your post (fed 10 times in 2 months).

Around two months. I’ve lost track a bit thanks to schooling but I know I’ve gone through a box of small mice an I think one more.

But I still don’t know when I can handle her again and feed her again. She finished her shed yesterday but this is my first shed with her so I don’t know what to do haha

OK to handle....just don't handle for at least a day after feeding, or you risk causing a regurge.
Her freshly shed skin MAY be a little more sensitive right now, so keep a light touch, but she's fine...go ahead. Sounds like you're doing fine.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

OK to handle....just don't handle for at least a day after feeding, or you risk causing a regurge.
Her freshly shed skin MAY be a little more sensitive right now, so keep a light touch, but she's fine...go ahead. Sounds like you're doing fine.

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Thank you :) I usually wait a couple days after feeding for the mouse to be gone fully and I’m probably going to wait until tomorrow to handle her. I really appreciate the advice and help :)