Wiggles, the Children's Python

[Homebody]

In my experience with more snakes than I can count, sometimes they take longer to shed because unbeknownst to their keeper, they got another meal right when they were about to go into a shed cycle, & before they showed any obvious signs of doing so.

What happens is their body cannot do both at the same time- both digestion & ecdysis require adequate hydration from their body to accomplish. Your snake was still digesting & that took priority, then the snake went into the actual ecdysis, staying "AWOL" for longer than you expected. Fortunately, the shed went fine...sometimes for whatever reason, it doesn't.

Another reason a shed can "take too long" is when a snake is under-fed- good nutrition leads to good ecdysis- but I'm not saying that's the case with Wiggles. Though it might be the 'sausages'??? If the fats therein are more saturated than a snake's natural diet, they'd be more difficult to digest, for example. Or if some nutrients were missing? (I know they're a blend- but might not be the best food for every snake, just saying.)

Good points, but I don't think digestion got in the way. He last ate on May 31st, 13 days before he went into his hide. Even though it was a larger than normal meal (18 g of hoppers), I still think he should have been able to digest it in 13 days. And I don't think he's malnourished. In theory, the Reptilinks that he's fed more closely resemble his natural diet than a diet of only mice would. Besides, he looks great. Actually, I don't think he even took unusually long to shed. What I'm wondering is if Wiggles spends more of his shedding time secluded than other snakes, or does it just feel longer to me because I only have the one snake?

I realize this is a tough question for most people to answer precisely. I had a camera trained on the hide he was secluded in the whole time. Most people don't. I was just wondering if that seemed like an unusually long time or not.

[Homebody]

Below are some charts that I use to keep track of Wiggle's feeding.







The numbers may seem low. Most care guides suggest feeding larger meals and more frequently, but they are based on a diet of mice. I feed primarily Reptilinks. In the Complete Children's Python, they reference a study that says that the closely related Stimson's python can be maintained on a diet of 11 x 20g mice per year. My feeding schedule is based roughly on that, adjusted downward on the assumption that Reptilinks have twice the calories of mice.

So far, this schedule seems to be working. Wiggles is maintaining his weight, looks great, and hasn't refused a meal in over a year. Only time will tell if the schedule works long term. During that time, I'll be sure to keep a close eye on Wiggles's condition and adjust the schedule as necessary.

[EL-Ziggy]

I love your info charts and graphs.

[Homebody]

I love your info charts and graphs.

Thanks. I purposely set up my table and chart to show how much Wiggles ate in the year prior. I did this to help move my emphasis away from the short term results and move it toward longer term results. So, instead of freaking out because my snake missed a meal or two, I just say to myself that I can add a feeding or two over the next couple of months to make up for it. No big deal. I think focusing on the short term can lead to overfeeding in the long term. I think this is particularly true for adult pythons and boas.