Why snakes shed after being fed a large meal?

[CoolioTiffany]

I have no idea why snakes do this.. it's odd and I don't really get it. Here is a few stories:

My BP, Candice, was fed 1 large f/t mouse normally on a weekly basis. One day, while I was looking at her girth, I though, "Maybe she can take two mice instead of one, since she's getting big." On feeding day, I fed her two large f/t mice, and a day or a few days after she went into shed.

My BP, Monty, was fed 1 fuzzy mouse once a week before I purchased him. The people who I bought him from said, "If you want him to grow faster, you can feed him two fuzzy mice instead of one." So, I did. A few days later, he goes into shed.

My King snake, Steve, was fed the normal large f/t mouse on a weekly basis. He is 4 feet long, and my mom was telling me, "I think you should feed him two large mice instead of one, he's getting huge." And so, I did. And guess what? A few days later I noticed he didn't come out all day, and he normally roams his cage ALL DAY LONG. So, I moved some Aspen aside to see him, and there I found him sitting there with those cloudy/milky eyes.

Why is it when snakes are fed a large meal than they normall eat, they go into shed? Sometimes, I even hear of snakes going into shed when fed a rather smaller-than-usual meal, which has also happened to me, and snakes shedding and a week later they are back in shed. Why does this happen? Snakes can be quite confusing sometimes..

[Kaorte]

Well for obvious reasons, they are taking in more food and are growing more.

For the BPs I think it may be a coincidence. How old are your bps and how much do they weigh? Hatchlings can be started on adult mice.

[Lolo76]

I guess because of how they digest food, even one large meal can trigger a growth spurt! As soon as I bumped up Toby's meal size, he went into his first shed (since I got him). Yesterday Delilah ate one F/T adult mouse, and literally within hours started to peel her skin. I thought she was getting sick at first, because she was rubbing her head on the ground... then I saw a little skin peeling off, and realized she was starting the shed.

[Danounet]

Mine have done the same. I think I feed them bigger meals than what they were eating by their previous keepers/breeders. They are about 160g each now

[Kysenia]

I would venture a guess Tiffany that shedding is not specifically triggered by a certain size meal. The shedding process i would guess is triggered naturally for the animal based on growth, skin cell receptors, hormone levels from growth and when these things line up the brain triggers the natural shedding process to occur to prepare for the bigger animal. I do not know all the things that trigger the response but just like us our body has automatic responses to stimulis which triggers a response, in this case when the moons align for the bp the shedding process begins. Not sure if that made sense

Non Herp Degree Advice lol!