So I've noticed a lot of people post about having an amel and having a hard time being able to tell if their snake is in Blue. So, I thought I would record my little Lady with a before and after photo for the forum.
Before................................................................................................................. After
These are both taken in natural light to show the color variation the best because it CAN be very subtle depending on WHEN in shed you look. I handle my snake every day (except for the day after a feed) so I really notice any changes. The whole of the snake pretty much does what people say to look for in the eyes. What I mean by that is as she first started, her colors got dark and dull. Then duller, and then all of a sudden, she was just.. bubblegum pink (lighter even than the before pictures shows.) Now since I don't have moss, I was creating a damp hide using paper towels, so every morning I had to refresh them. Because of this I was able to really track the changes over the week and a half it took for her to shed fully. After a handful of days (3 or so) the pink color faded and darkened back to her dull red and then a day or so later I found her wandering her cage on her own looking ... exceptional. And finally found her half buried shed.
So.. how to tell if your amel is in shed: well, that's different for every snake really. BUT they do undergo the same coloration changes as any other snake if you have the keen eye to spot it. (about a week or two before shed starts I start noticing more of an iridescence about her scales).
But what I did learn with my little experiment - ATTITUDE. If you want to know if a snake is in shed... pay attention to their attitude. My little Lady is docile as can be and hardly moves over even lifts her head when you go to pull her out normally. But when she was in shed she acted like a cartoon dog on the way to the vet when I tried to get her out. (literally grabbed hold of the edge of anything she could in her cage and held on...) It was.. amusing.. The first time she did it, I thought it was weird. The second time.. I took the hint. (after that I mostly left her alone except when changing the paper towels and even then I didn't touch her, just left her in the hide and replaced the paper towels covering her)
Do you have any pictures of your Amel in Blue? Feel free to share so that others can learn to recognize and see the differences!
Before................................................................................................................. After
These are both taken in natural light to show the color variation the best because it CAN be very subtle depending on WHEN in shed you look. I handle my snake every day (except for the day after a feed) so I really notice any changes. The whole of the snake pretty much does what people say to look for in the eyes. What I mean by that is as she first started, her colors got dark and dull. Then duller, and then all of a sudden, she was just.. bubblegum pink (lighter even than the before pictures shows.) Now since I don't have moss, I was creating a damp hide using paper towels, so every morning I had to refresh them. Because of this I was able to really track the changes over the week and a half it took for her to shed fully. After a handful of days (3 or so) the pink color faded and darkened back to her dull red and then a day or so later I found her wandering her cage on her own looking ... exceptional. And finally found her half buried shed.
So.. how to tell if your amel is in shed: well, that's different for every snake really. BUT they do undergo the same coloration changes as any other snake if you have the keen eye to spot it. (about a week or two before shed starts I start noticing more of an iridescence about her scales).
But what I did learn with my little experiment - ATTITUDE. If you want to know if a snake is in shed... pay attention to their attitude. My little Lady is docile as can be and hardly moves over even lifts her head when you go to pull her out normally. But when she was in shed she acted like a cartoon dog on the way to the vet when I tried to get her out. (literally grabbed hold of the edge of anything she could in her cage and held on...) It was.. amusing.. The first time she did it, I thought it was weird. The second time.. I took the hint. (after that I mostly left her alone except when changing the paper towels and even then I didn't touch her, just left her in the hide and replaced the paper towels covering her)
Do you have any pictures of your Amel in Blue? Feel free to share so that others can learn to recognize and see the differences!
