Mr. Bojangles

[IamKaervek]

I've had Mr. Bojangles for the past 2 weeks, and after eating 2 mice (he just now gobbled down #3!), I've yet to see any signs of shedding. I'm not sure when the last time was that he shed, so I've no time-reference to go by. I have seen him start rubbing his snout against some of the wooden structure in his tank (not to mention the glass, but I think that's just because he's getting used to the size) which leads me to believe that maybe he's starting to get a shed going. On the other hand, his eyes have yet to "glaze over" like I've read they should prior to a shedding. Should I be expecting to find a shed in the tank soon?

From my estimations, Bo is about 6 months old, though I've no prior experience with Royal Pythons, so this is mere speculation. He's no more than 2 to 2 & 1/2 feet long.

[greenmonkey51]

The best early sign of a shed is the pink belly. Its hard to tell since every snake is different when they'll shed.

[JimiSnakes]

The glaze over you are talking about will come the day before (or so) he/she sheds. It's more of a fogging of the eyes. The eyes will cloud over and then go away, usually, and then the next day (give or take) he/she will shed. If the shed doesn't come off in one peice, which isn't unordinary in balls for their first few sheds, then either soak him/her in a plastic small tub half way up it's body, with a lid so he/she can't get out, in warm water. Or you can take a pillow case and soak it with warm water and put the snake inside and then place him/her over it's warm end for an hour or so.

~Jim

[IamKaervek]

I came home just a few minutes ago from doing some herp-shopping, and found Bo underneath his (rather large) water dish on his "cool" side in the aquarium. I wasn't too comfortable with how sturdy the dish was sitting, so I picked it straight up off of him and removed him, and he was laying directly on the glass & quite cool to the touch; that side of the tank is in the upper-70's. Is this normal, and is his apparent need for such low temps a sign of something? I'm sure that if he were too cold, he would wander back to his hot-side, but this just seems curious to me.

[IamKaervek]

After coming home from visiting family for 2 days, I'm quite happy to report that Mr. Bojangles is in the first stages of his shed! I came home to feed him (he was hungry, too!), and was ecstatic to see his pretty blue eyes and dull skin. I have been getting quite anxious to see how well he sheds, considering that's a pretty good sign of how well I have been raising him (or how badly!). So far so good... how long after his eyes turn blue should I expect him to take before he's finished?

[frankykeno]

His eyes will be blue and his color muted and sort of dull (I always think mine look like they rolled in dust). Then after a day or so (or more) all of a sudden he'll look basically normal again. Once he goes back to clear eyes he'll shed about 48 hours or so later (nothing is ever exact).

In the future, watch for the distinct pink belly that tells you a shed is coming on. I've found that if we push our humidity up to 70% when the belly goes pink and leave it there until the shed is fully complete we are getting sheds with nothing stuck. Sometimes they don't come off in one piece but if it all comes off, I consider that just fine and dandy LOL.

Don't worry if his first shed or two with you isn't perfect or complete...sometimes it takes time for the snake to get over it's previous husbandry and also for you to get yours just right.

If he has any stuck shed just either do a forum search or ask what to do. There's lots of threads about stuck sheds here and what to do about it.

~~Jo~~

[IamKaervek]

I soaked him today after I noticed his blue eyes. He was soaking for about 30 minutes. I try to do this once a week or so anyway. I also spray his enclosure a couple times a week - not too much, just enough to lightly dampen the upper layers of the coconut fiber. I've also given him a nice humid-hide on the warm side; it's a round tupperware container with damp paper-towels. I'm not sure yet how quickly it dries out, so I'll be checking it every morning to get a good idea of how often I need to moisten it up again. I figure changing the paper-towels once a week should be fine.

Thanks for the input, Jo!

[SatanicIntention]

It's not too good of an idea soaking them. You know when you have had your hands in water too long, they wrinkle and get dry? The same thing happens with them and will make them have bad sheds.


If your humidity is in the 50-60% range and you have a humid hide provided, there is no reason why your snake shouldn't shed alright. It would probably be best to not soak him and just maintain good husbandry by keeping temperatures and humidity in their appropriate ranges. If he doesn't have a good shed, that is when you will need to get a shoebox sized plastic tub with lid, add about 1/2"-1" of lukewarm water, add snake, put the lid on, and place the whole thing on the warm side of the enclosure for an hour once a day until all of the shed comes off.

Mainly look for areas such as the tail tip, eyecaps and any shed that encircles the body. Hope this has helped

[frankykeno]

The damp paper towels will likely dry in a day, you want them damp not soaking wet so if the humid hide is on the warm side where it should be they dry pretty fast actually.

I agree with Becky on soaking a snake that doesn't have retained shed. If it does then soaking is fine, otherwise it usually just makes matter worse (and most snakes don't like it so adding stress).


~~Jo~~

[IamKaervek]

Eep! Thanks for the tip! I didn't realize that soaking him like that could be detrimental.

I've heard about people bathing their snakes every so often. Is this something that should be done, and if so, how are they doing it without soaking their little pals?