Wiggles, the Children's Python

[Homebody]

When I checked on Wiggles this morning, I saw feces in his terrarium and I was, curiously, pleased. Wiggles has been hiding in his tub for a week or more. Preparing to shed I guessed. The feces in his terrarium indicated to me that he’s done shedding and he's active again. This was confirmed when I found his shed while cleaning up the feces. I’m so glad he’s back in action. I miss him when he’s in shed.

I had another reason to be pleased. I found the shed draped over his water bowl. The water bowl sits in the middle of his enclosure in full view of my video camera. So, without further ado, Wiggles Shedding (1:42):

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I'd never seen him shed before, so I thought it was cool.

[Bogertophis]

He sure knows what to do with his water bowl. I can't believe this is the first time you've seen him shed. As you can imagine, I've seen a great many snakes shedding over the years- even though many like to shed at night when I wasn't looking. It's interesting to see their various techniques- like the way some leave them tightly rolled up into what looks like a ski hat, while others leave them like a decorative streamer, & others leave them in pieces. And some are very tidy- they defecate in the shed, so it stays wrapped up. Others rely on our room service & leave it right in their water bowl...yuck.

[Homebody]

He sure knows what to do with his water bowl. I can't believe this is the first time you've seen him shed. As you can imagine, I've seen a great many snakes shedding over the years- even though many like to shed at night when I wasn't looking. It's interesting to see their various techniques- like the way some leave them tightly rolled up into what looks like a ski hat, while others leave them like a decorative streamer, & others leave them in pieces. And some are very tidy- they defecate in the shed, so it stays wrapped up. Others rely on our room service & leave it right in their water bowl...yuck.

I've also never seen him soak. I've seen him take a dip, but I've never seen him soak. I also liked seeing that he used the rough stone in the center of the water bowl exactly as I intended. It's uplifting when I correctly anticipate and provide for his needs.

I look forward to learning more about Wiggle's shedding technique. At about 4:15 AM, he deposits a small piece of skin on the part of his ledge that hangs down next to his water bowl. Since snakes start shedding at the head I guess that is what that is. He, then, frantically moves about his cool side hides. I think he's searching for something to rub up against. He finds what he's looking for in his water bowl. After a brief soak, he's able to remove the rest of his skin by rubbing up against the rough stone. His shed complete, he eliminates his solid waste and heads up to his sky hide to rest. The whole process takes him about a hour. Since this is the first time I found the shed in the water bowl, I suppose this was him trying out a new technique. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch future sheds on video to compare and contrast with.

Question: how long should I wait to feed him after a shed? I would normally have fed him six days ago, but didn't because I was anticipating the shed. I don't think I've given it a thought in the past, but I imagine shedding must be taxing to him. I planned to feed him last night. That would have been 15 hours after he shed, but I reconsidered and decided wait a day to let him recover a bit. Is a day enough? Too long?

[Malum Argenteum]

I'll often feed snakes basically immediately after they shed, especially (a) if they happened to shed between when I checked to see if they're ready for food and when I get around to offering the food, or (b) if I've been holding off on food for those species that spend a long time in blue and I have real reason to get food into them (growing hatchlings, trying to get digestion underway in time to ship a snake or take it to an expo, female in pre-breeding conditioning, etc). If there's a higher rate of refusal immediately after shedding I haven't noticed enough that it is obvious, and I've never seen any apparent side effects of offering food right after shed.

That all said, if in doubt about feeding a snake, best to just wait of course. A little fasting would do most of us some good, and the nice thing about snakes is that doesn't seem to bother them a bit.

[Bogertophis]

I wouldn't worry about your snake needing to rest after a shed (maybe when he's a senior citizen?). Most snakes are ready to eat pretty quick afterwards- I usually take a cue from the snake's behavior, & most of the time, they'll be chasing your wiggling fingers (thru the glass) so take the hint.

[Homebody]

I fed him a hopper (8g). Weighed him, as well. 315g. A 7g increase from March 21st.



His next scheduled weigh in is at the end of August.