Shed Questions

[kidsnakedad]

Looks like my BP is starting his first shed under my care. Here are my questions:

1) Do BPs tend to go off feed during shed?
2) How long does a shed usually take, start to finish?
3) If it looks like he needs a soaking, how do I do that (how long, what water temp, etc.)?
4) What do I not know enough to ask?

Thank you.

[rex322]

1. some do eat, although i dont feed during shed. i think its better to wait until they shed.
2.from blue eys 2 shed, about a wk or a little longer
3. about a 1/2 hr is good. soak in tepid (room temp) water, shouldnt have to soak unless you dont have good humidity.

make sure you have the humidity bumped to at least 70%. you can achieve this by misting the cage. ddo not handle. feeding is up to you, alothough i wouldnt do it. leave your BP alone till it sheds.

[mlededee]

a lot of people don't offer food at all during a shed in order to reduce the chance of stress on the snake. it is normal for them to refuse food during this time if offered as well. it usually takes about 4-7 days start to finish for the shed. that is from the time that their eyes turn cloudy and blue until the time they actually shed. for the soak you can put him in your clean bathtub filled so that it just covers his body with warm water. put a towel or something in the tub with him so that he has something to rest on and make sure to add water warm water as neccesary so that it doesn't get cold. you can also put him in a rubbermaid or other container and fill that to the same level with warm water. put a heating pad under the container to keep the water warm and again put something in with him to rest on. he can stay in there for 20-30 minutes, although i usually end up taking my snake out before that because she gets irritated with being in the water. some snakes just don't like it. as for anything else, just make sure that you don't handle him too much right now and make sure to raise the humidity levels in his enclosure to between 70-80%. if he seems snippy or angry with you it is just because he cant see well. you can expect the shed to happen pretty much within 24-48 hours after his eyes clear up from being cloudy.

[Cody]

1)Yep. When they're in shed, it's veryyyy uncomfortable for them. I've heard people compare it to a bad sunburn. So that, plus the bad vision they'd have with the caps and stuff...they usually don't eat during shed. Some people do successfully feed though when they're in shed. Most don't though.

2)Once the eyes go blue, you know they're gonna shed. Then when the eyes clear up, you can expect a shed within the next 48 hours. Give or take some.

3)If you want to soak him, just put him in a shallow bowl of room temp water. It can be for however long he wants to take it, lol. Some soak for an hour. Others 10 minutes or so. It's all up to you and the snakey I guess.

4)Just remember they don't like to be held when in shed, since they feel really vulnerable during this stressful time. Remember to try and up your humidity to the 70%ish range to ensure an easy shed. Also remember to have something rough in the cage for him to rub against when he's gonna shed.

Hope that helps.


Edit: Ha. When I was about to post, I thought "I bet 10 bucks someones already responded". I take too long to post.

[Freakie_frog]

1)some feed some don't you can try offering him food if it has been a while or it's his normal feed day.
2) it can take a good week for them to completely shed.
3) you can soak them for as long a needed and luke warm water is best to keep them from getting cold.
4) unless he needs to be touched try to avoid it as during parts of this time they can't see and may stress out our snap at you. How ever it depends on your snakes temperment. Get the humidity up to like 75 to 80% to help aide him shedding and you shouldn't have to soak him.

[Marla]

Wow ... synchronized posting. Good job guys!

[mlededee]

also because this is the first shed that the snake has had since you got him, don't be surprised or feel bad if it is a not a good one. the first shed mostly reflects the husbandry that the snake had while with its previous owner. after a few sheds they will reflect more on your own husbandry. if it looks like he is having a bad shed or the skin is coming off in pieces instead of all at once there are plenty of tips people here can offer for it.

[Cody]

Synchronized posting, huh? Do we get the gold medal? GO TEAM!

[mlededee]

ha ha! i love how everyone on this site is so eager to help. you guys are great. :mrgreen:

[Freakie_frog]

Great minds think alike