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couple of shedding questions

itzchaboiwesley

itzchaboiwesley

New member
ok im new at this and not sure how the whole shedding process works. not sure when she shed but just want to be prepare for when she does. so if she gets all blue and have no shed yet in say 3-5 days or so am i able to soak her in lukewarm water or is it already to late. am i suppose to do it before she turn blue? also say she is shedding but need some help are we able to help them shed it off and if so how would i go about doing that. and one more question is if say her shed is incomplete like she shed but she still has some of the old skin on her that didnt shed. what would i do with that? anyone has some answers to that or suggestions? thanks!
 
First, your snake will be in blue for several days, then have a "clear" period. It will look like it shed but didn't. This can be 2-4 days before the actual shed.

Next, you really only need to soak her if she has an incomplete shed. Otherwise, you can mist her viv or add a humid hide for her. If she does have a bad shed go here:

Bad Shed Cure

That is from Nanci. She is great with advice and taking pics to help. Make sure the water is around room temp. What is warm to you could be danderous for your snake.

If you need more help, just ask.
 
Most people just add a moist hide for their snakes to go into when they notice the snake in blue. I did that for Flash and the night before he shed he finally went into the moist moss hide I had put in there for him and by the next night there was a nice, one complete piece of shed skin lying next to the moist hide.

I was worried about him not having a good shed since he took so long to go into the moist hide, I thought he never would, so I also misted the fake plants I have in Flash's viv, kept a water bowl on the warm side, and covered the warm half of the viv with plastic wrap to keep some humidity in.

Hope that helps, good luck! :)
 
Interesting so once he goes blue have some moist moss is there any other things I can do to make a moist hide out? Just wondering. My humity is already kind of high it varies from 50 to 60 but no more then 60 n no less then 50 n that is on the cool side. So I think humity should be good for me just worried bout an imcomplete shed for some odd reason. But yea thanks for the sugguestions!
 
itzchaboiwesley said:
Interesting so once he goes blue have some moist moss is there any other things I can do to make a moist hide out? Just wondering. My humity is already kind of high it varies from 50 to 60 but no more then 60 n no less then 50 n that is on the cool side. So I think humity should be good for me just worried bout an imcomplete shed for some odd reason. But yea thanks for the sugguestions!
Click to expand...

Sounds like your humidity level should be okay for a good shed, if memory serves me right. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong).

A lot of people make moist hides out of plastic or tupperware type containers. They cut a small hole in the container so that the snake can go in then they fill the container with moist sphagnum moss. If you don't have moss you can also use moist paper towels. I think the snakes tend to use the moss hides better though cause they are drawn to the moss. I used some moss I bought at Petsmart.
 
oh another question that poped into about shedding well kind of but say my pet snake gizelle is due to be fed but she is blue or she is in her clear stage process. am i still able to fed her during those time or would i have to wait until fully sheds?
 
Yes to which question? That u can feed them durinng the shedin process or yes to u have to feed em after they fully shed? Cuz I figure shedin takes a wek of so n if they are already due to be fed n if I hold out on that it will take like 2 weeks without feedin n I don't wanna strave her? So am i able to feed her during the shedding process?
 
itzchaboiwesley said:
Yes to which question? That u can feed them durinng the shedin process or yes to u have to feed em after they fully shed? Cuz I figure shedin takes a wek of so n if they are already due to be fed n if I hold out on that it will take like 2 weeks without feedin n I don't wanna strave her? So am i able to feed her during the shedding process?
Click to expand...

Can I offer a friendly suggestion? I think you should buy Don Soderberg's book, Corn Snakes in Captivity. http://www.cornsnakes.net It would answer all these questions that you have. It's not expensive, $8.95 I believe, and I think it is excellent. It is a short enough book that you can finish it in one day but it leaves nothing out, it tells you all the pertinent info you need to know. Anyway, that said, I will tell you what Don says in his book:

"During this time (shedding that is), the snake's vision is impaired and its general instinct is to distrust anything that moves. I recommend that you not only avoid handling corns during this time, but that you also forego feeding until the shedding process is complete. Some corns will have an appetite during the shedding cycle, but many will simply not eat during this time. Regurgitation sometimes results when a corn voluntarily eats during a shed so not offering food during this cycle is the safest action. A bulge in the snake during shedding can also complicate the removal of dead skin. If food is completely digested near the end of a shedding cycle, your corn will likely not defecate until the skin comes off."

Now you will read on here that many people who post here do indeed feed their corns during their shedding cycles and have no problems, so basically, it is a risk you take if you decide to do so. I personally decided not to take that risk and I didn't feed Flash until he had completely shed. Your snake won't starve, don't worry about that. ;)
 
I really went poor mans on the wet hide! I took one of those cheap sponges from wal mart and gave it a really good cleaning. I made it moist and keep it moist by spraying (moist not wet). I placed it under his rough wood hide and he has been in there since. This has kept my moister at 50% and stuck extra thermometer in sponge and it's a steady 84 degrees.
I will let you know how it works out.
 
time between shedding

How long should it be between the shedding times. the last time houdini shed was on 3/3/08, is it about time for another shed?
 
montanatburg said:
How long should it be between the shedding times. the last time houdini shed was on 3/3/08, is it about time for another shed?
Click to expand...

Shedding frequencies depend on the size of the snake. If the snake is still growing, the shedding is more frequent. If the snake is full grown, they won't shed as often.

If your snake is grown, there's no need to worry. Or if Houdini hasn't eaten in awhile, it may be awhile before you see a shed.
 
freetv-5 said:
I really went poor mans on the wet hide! I took one of those cheap sponges from wal mart and gave it a really good cleaning. I made it moist and keep it moist by spraying (moist not wet). I placed it under his rough wood hide and he has been in there since. This has kept my moister at 50% and stuck extra thermometer in sponge and it's a steady 84 degrees.
I will let you know how it works out.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use a sponge, as I notice that a lot of sponges nowadays have soap built right into the sponge, and that definetly can't be good for your corn.
 
Everyone is talking about moist hides (I call it a shed box) and whatnot, so here are my instructions for making one (copied from another of my posts on shedding):

1. Find a suitable container, with a lid. The size should be just like hide. It should be not to large for your corn, but not too small. Making it too large will make it feel less "safe" to a corn, and making it too small will be uncomfortable or hard for the corn to use. I would suggest using a translucent or opaque container to make the snake fell secure. If you have a perfect clear container, then I would suggest covering it up with substrate to block some light. Also, using any material like cardboard, paper or anything of the like will absorb water and is not much of a good idea. I don't see paper like material being bad if you need something disposable for the week that your corn is shedding, but I like to keep the shed box and re-use it. The lid is necessary to hold in the humidity. If you find the perfect container, but don't have a lid, you can probably make one.

2. Find a suitable interior "substrate" for use in the shed box. I use cut-to-fit (not shredded) paper towels, as they are cheap, and i always have them, but I have heard of spaghnum moss being useful as well. Using a substrate like aspen isn't going to do you any good, it will lock in the moisture you give it, but will not let it out in any useful way.

3. Cut a hole in the side of the shed box big enough to easily allow the corn to enter and exit, yet not too big, as it will let out excess humidity. Also, if you are working with plasic, beware of sharp edges from the cuts.

4. Fill the shed box with your substrate of choice, and put the lid on.

Congrats, you have a shed box. I would suggest making two, placing one on the warm side and one on the cold side of you tank. The first shed I had with my corn was horrible. The shed was not anywhere near complete, and had to be manually removed in some places. The next shed I put two shed boxes in and what do you know, my corn had his first perfect shed.

Hope I helped,
-Patm1313 :dgrin:
 
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