Quote Originally Posted by Shedevil
just wanted to thank who ever made the shedding faq stage by stage with pictures.... your awesome!!!!


should her water be warm cold or cool?
Are we talking about drinking water or soaking water? Drinking water can just be room temp. Soaking water in a separate soaking tub needs to be about the same temp as the snake's enclosure. Around 80 - 90 degrees F. Soak her in an inch or so of water for about a half hour. You may see her drink at this time. Her regular water bowl (in her cage) does not need to be big enough for her to get into. But you need to ensure that humidity is kept at 50% - 60% at all times, and bumped up to 60% - 70% during a shed cycle.

Quote Originally Posted by Shedevil
I'm a new snake mom have only had snakes for 4 days and we are going through or first shed!
I knew what was happening but until you personally go through it you panic
she is very dry almost cracking after reading the site I realize my so far mistakes yeah I handled her today because I was told to put her in a container with wet paper towel because I'm yet to see her go near water and is looking a little dehydrated ok a lot.
If you put her into a container with wet paper towel, don't leave her in there long term! This should be like I described for soaking in water above. If left long term, you may end up with scale rot problems! If you have fresh water in the cage, don't worry about not seeing her drink, they don't drink often, and usually after a meal.

Quote Originally Posted by Shedevil
so I did talk to her and slowly pick her up put her in and then put her back without her trying to strike maybe because only one eye is grayish blue and I made sure to slowly go toward the good eye. going to let her just do her thing now.
The one or two week "alone time" before handling is a guideline for not taking her out and just messing with her. Taking her out to soak, or clean the cage, or.... is not a problem. Only one eye is blue??? That sounds more like a retained eyecap than shed cycle. Is it silvery or dull blue?

If her skin is dry and almost cracking, but not actually coming off yet, its most likely the beginnings of a bad shed. Maybe by the time you read this, it'll start coming off. An ideal shed should come off in one piece and be moist. A bad shed will come off dry and in small pieces. This is where soaking comes in. It will help to loosen the retained shed, and then it can be gently rubbed off.

If you determine that she has a retained eyecap, don't worry about it until the next shed!!! I've seen awful advice given to new snake owners about how to remove retained eyecaps that could lead to a blind snake! Just leave it alone, make sure you get your temps and humidity up to par, and it will come off with the next shed! These snakes have amazing senses of smell, and an even more amazing ability to sense heat, and don't rely on sight the way we do!

Hope this helps!
Steve