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first shed in my ownership... advice needed

L

loki1980

New member
ok yogi is showing signs of shedding, hes gone very pale and his eyes were slightly blue last night when he came out. hes also become very clingy, when im holding him hes wanting to smell my face and lips all the time and go around my neck and just sit there. when hes put back he wont go and climb up his branch like usual, he will sit looking out the glass until the main light in the room goes out. this morning i had a check on him and hes laying in the open on the cold side of the viv, which is so out of character for him. hes now toltally "blind". what do i do to help him? what if it doesnt come off in one go? and what are the stages of shedding? and am i ok to still handle him during this process?
many thanks.
mags.:)
 
I've been told here to give them something humid to hide in. A container with some damp moss in it. It'll help moisten and loosen up the skin for him to shed it all cleanly.

I didn't catch my girl go into blue so I didn't get to do that for her the first time and she definitely had a little bit of trouble shedding. It came off in 3 pieces and I had to help her get a little of the rest of it off by putting her in a container with a damp washcloth to move around in for a bit.

Give him a container with some damp moss to go in if he wants to. When he sheds, examine the shed skin and make sure the eye caps both came off intact and the tail came off cleanly. Make sure there isn't any left on the tail because it can cut off circulation if the end doesn't come off completely.
 
Typically you do NOT want to handle him once they go blue. He will clear after 24-48 hours. Typically, for me anyway, it takes 4-5 days after going blue for the snake to shed. A damp or moist hide for him to use is a good idea, but only if you think he'll have trouble shedding. Something to rub against can help them shed quite a bit. Some rocks or sticks work fine.

If he does have trouble shedding you can try misting or soaking the snake to help loosen the skin. You can also find some shedding sprays at you local store. But I would only use that if nothing else helps.

my 3 cents :)
 
I don't give my snakes moist hides because they act like cats when it comes to water. I just mist them every couple of days with room temp water. I spray some around the cage too and let it evaporate which only takes around an hour at my house.

Also you shouldn't really handle them while getting ready to shed. They can't see well and some get really grumpy. Mine just seem to act more scared.

After he sheds you can tell if the eye caps came off by looking at the shed skin. But the tail tip can be a little trickier and you should also look at the snake to make sure the skin came off. If it's just the very tip then on the shed skin you might not notice it.
 
ok ill keep a close eye on him, had a look this afternoon and he looked brighter so i had a look around his home but found nothing, i went back about an hour ago and he was dull again and his eyes were very very misty, didnt seem bothered i was in his home, let him have a sniff at my hand but i didnt seem interseted at all so ive left him in piece. dont like seeing him like this hes normally such a character :(
 
They do appear to brighten up, or clear up, for a few days before the shedding actually begins. So very often you might think they have shed and the skin has vanished, but they haven't done it yet.

Never fear he is absolutely fine and wanting to be left alone at this time is very normal and instinctive. You should disturb him as little as possible, he will be back to his normal self in no time :)
 
Tracee is absolutely correct. This is probably one of the "normalist" things they do. No need to panic and no need to worry. Just give them time and space. You can give them a humid hide if the humidity is low in the viv. If your using a tub, you should be fine.

If you catch them in the act, snap a couple pics. Listen too, because you can actually hear the clicking as it peals off from the individual scales.

Wayne
 
Handle him as you like unless he seems stressed. Both my corns seem to enjoy handling a bit more during their shed and will find a warm place to curl up.

As for helping, you can try a humid hide, but the ones I tried all molded very fast. Spray his tank and put a towel on the top to hold humidity in, or you can soak him in room temp or 80F water before or when he sheds if it's bad. I have soaked both of mine 1-2 times a day for 30-45 minutes every day before they shed as soon as they get dull and have had excellent sheds every time.
 
to assist them with shedding, would changing the substrate to new damp substrate help with raising the humidity?
 
AlexEarl said:
to assist them with shedding, would changing the substrate to new damp substrate help with raising the humidity?
Click to expand...

I would avoid dampening the substrate. That just makes it smell more. If you want to assist, try a humid hide or give her a bath in water that is around 80-80F. To make a humid hide just put some damp sphagnum moss or damp paper towels inside a hide on the warm side.

Wayne
 
If your humid hide is molding, it is TOO wet and/or your tank doesn't have enough air circulation.

By the way, you'd be surprised how LITTLE they need to rub on to get their skin off. My snakes all live in tubs with nothing but a sheet of newspaper and a water bowl. Never a problem with sheds. :D Because I use tubs my snakes naturally have a good amount of humidity in their homes.
 
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