how long can BPs hold their breath?

[snakelover91]

I know this is weird, hear me out...
Frederick my boy likes to curl up in his water bowl when he's going into shed. When I mist his tank, he automatically curls up a little, causing his head to go under water. If it stays under for too long (in my mind), I take him out. Am I underestimating his intelligence? I'm afraid he will drown himself by accident if I don't intervene

[satomi325]

I don't know the exact amount, but I say they can hold their breath for a few minutes.
Due to their slow metabolism and respiratory rate, snakes have spans of apnea where they go through periods of not breathing.

I know one snake here on the forum actually survived a wash cycle in the washing machine.

And BPs do not generally soak, even for sheds. I suggest checking him out for mites.

[snakelover91]

tbh I actually put him in the water, but I felt mean saying that. I put him in and sometimes he chooses to stay for a few minutes, but I can't remember a time he's gone in by choice. I am just super paranoid about my snakes having good sheds ever since I had 1 bad experience with a bad shed (my first one ever when I was really inexperienced about humidity control)

Also, holy crap about the washing machine :o

I actually soak my snakes when they are close to shedding, maybe it is wrong to do... I am just never want them to have a bad shed (and they never do) but if I am hurting them I will stop!

I soak them in warm water for 10 minutes a day when they are in shed... shallow water in my bathtub

[Shera]

I've heard that it's not a good idea to soak before a shed, because they produce oils that help with the shed and if you soak them you could wash them away, causing the shed to be more difficult. It's fine to soak once shedding had begun if there are any problems though. Keeping the humidity up during a shed should be enough.

[snakelover91]

Because you mentioned mites, I researched them and just took a good look at my snakes... (I do this 5 days a week, but just being extra careful) and everything seems clear. My snakes both poop once a week, usually the day after I feed them and I spot clean their bedding as needed, and fully clean their cages every 3 months. BUT I am going to triple check and put my snakes on paper towels to make sure no critters are there...

[snakelover91]

I've heard that it's not a good idea to soak before a shed, because they produce oils that help with the shed and if you soak them you could wash them away, causing the shed to be more difficult. It's fine to soak once shedding had begun if there are any problems though. Keeping the humidity up during a shed should be enough.

thank you so much, I will do this next shed I had no idea I was stripping oils away!

[satomi325]

Soaking and bathing can actually ruin a shed. Keeping humidity up is the best thing for a shed.

When being soaked, the essential oils used as lubricant between the old skin and new skin are washed away. When those oils are gone, the snake cannot shed properly and it promotes shedding in pieces rather than one whole piece.

If you can get your humidity around 70%, a shed should go just fine.
Even if humidity is low at all other times, you can just mist when they go blue and turn clear. That's essentially what I do. You can even put a piece of damp moss in a hide for your snake. That way they have a micro humid climate that they can go into if they so choose to without messing with the entire enclosure.

Using a substrate such as cypress mulch or coco husk are great at retaining moisture as well.



EDIT: Shera beat me!

[snakelover91]

I always keep the humidity at 60% MINIMUM, and increase during shed, so that makes me feel better.
So I just sat in the bathroom and had my snakes crawl through paper towels, inspected every inch and I'm happy to say that they are mite free! I did one snake at a time, lol. One of them is getting pink in the belly though... time to NOT OBSESS and just keep the humidity up, fingers crossed!

I used to use moss actually, I should get some more. The bedding I use is Zoo Med... I really like it, it keeps in moisture very well. Also I'd like to add that I was using a cheap, dry bedding when my snake had a bad shed. Also, I use screen top cages on top of everything else... now I almost completely cover the cage tops with a towel, to trap humidity in, but I didn't used to do that. I learned a lot from my mistakes I leave a portion of the screen uncovered of course