Shedding tips

[sorakitty]

So I know my girl is in shed. Her eyes are that cloudy blue color. I've read (from other people on the forum) that when their snakes go into shed, they just hang out in their hides. I know every snake is different, but my snake doesn't hang out in her hide. She had two, one on the cool side, and one on the warm side. The cool side is about 80 and the warm is around 90. The humidity is around 60%. She will switch to each side, but she doesn't stay in her hide. She'll go in every once in a while, but not for to long. Am I the only one who's snake acts this way? I'm just curious.

Also, I took out all her bark because I found out it had mites in it, and I replaced it with newspaper. I am going to get a better bedding for her, but all my money went into the Provent-A-Mite. I have a hard time keeping up her humidity. I have her water dish, along with a plastic container with wet paper towels inside. I also mist very frequently, but that doesn't last to long. She's in a 20g glass tank. Any tips on how I can help keep the enclosure humid while she's in shed?

[xdeus]

Hello,

Hopefully I can answer most of your questions. You shouldn't be too worried about your snake not using her hide. I have many snakes and some use their hides all the time, some use them sometimes, and others never use a hide. They're all different.

As far as humidity is concerned, you can try covering most of the top of the tank with aluminum foil. This should help keep the moisture in. You can also make a humid hide which is essentially a plastic bowl with a lid and a hole cut in the side, and filled with moist sphagnum moss. It will help, but it's not essential. There are also many easy methods to use if your snake has a stuck shed, but we'll cross that road if we come to it.

Finally, you mentioned that the bark you used had mites in it. I just wanted to point out that the mites that may have come with the bark are different than reptile mites that feed off of your snake. You still want to get rid of them, but if they are the mites that came with the bark at least you don't have to worry about them harming your snake.

[Kaorte]

As long as your snake is eating consistently, it doesn't really matter if she uses the hides or not. What kind of hides are they?

As for boosting humidity, if you are using a heat lamp, that will significantly lower your humidity. Tin foil, foil tape, or plexiglass over the screen lid will help to trap humidity. A larger water bowl will also help a little bit.

While she is in shed, try to keep the humidity about 70% and you will be good to go.

[sorakitty]

I wasn't to concerned about the mites, until i find a few in between her scales. I haven't seen any on her in about 2 days, and theres nothing on the newspaper nor in the water. Though I do know there can still be eggs. I still got the PAM to take care of her enclosure anyways, and spray all future substance that I get from now on.

I'll try the humid hid for her. Now I'm glad I work at walmart. XD I'll be able to ge my hands on a plastic container easy. lol. I don't have any money to get moss. If I laid some damp flat paper towels in there will that work, just as a temp for her? I'm getting a like a shredded cocoanut bedding for her when I have the cash, and I was told that, that is great at holding humidity.

And thanks for telling be about the hid thing. I was just confused about what was going on with her.
Thank you for the tips!

[pavlovk1025]

You said your humidity is 60% or WAS 60%?

If its currently 60%, you're good to go. If it isnt, cover 3/4 of the tank with a layer of plastic wrap and then cover that with aluminum foil.

Mist and enjoy. Serves 3.

[snakecharmer3638]

You can also just get a plastic shoe-box sized tub and put about an inch of water in it and place it in your tub or tank. I do this every time I notice they are going into shed. Sometimes they use it to soak and sometimes they don't. But since I have started doing this I have never had a bad shed. I leave it in until they shed and just change out the water every three to four days.

[sorakitty]

@Kaorte: I have a rock looking hide, and a little cardboard triangle like hide. I do use a heat lamp. I don't have much of a choice as of right now. My room faces all the wind that hits the house. And even though I put the tank on the inside wall of my room, it's still cold in here. So I need to use it to keep up her temps.

@Pavlovk: It's dropped down since the first post. I'll do the plastic and tin foil thing. Thanks.

@Snakecharmer: I'll try your thing if the other two ideas don't work. Thanks also.

[snakecharmer3638]

Hope somethin' works for you.

You can also try covering part of the top with a damp towel.

[sorakitty]

Gosh! I didn't even think of that! I think I'll try that first and work from there. Thanks for the tips everyone!
Also back at Kaorte, I know she ate last Wednesday (not yesterday). The lady I got her from told me I didn't have to offer her food yesterday, because she was going into shed. So we'll see how she is after her shed. Another quick question, I know that the time period of shedding depends upon the snake. The girl gets fed every Wednesday, if she was to shed on a Saturday, should I feed her Sunday, or just wait until Wednesday? I just wondering so I can be prepared for after her shed.

[Kaorte]

A lot of ball pythons will eat during shed.

Is this a new snake? If so, I would wait a week from the day you got her and feed her then. Or pick a day that is convenient for you to feed her on and go with that. If she is normally fed on wednesdays and you want to stick with that, then that is perfectly fine.

The shed cycle lasts about 7-10 days. After their eyes go blue, they clear up and look almost normal and then they shed in the next 24-48 hours.