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Kisatchie shed/dry house in winter advice?

EddieF

EddieF

New member
You might be able to see in this picture, a while back I noticed my Kisatchie, Butchie, had a scale missing on the top of his head right in the middle. Well he finally shed yesterday and you could never tell, he looks perfect again!

It seemed to take him a long time to shed between when he first turned blue and actually shed. I've been trying to spray a little water on the inside walls of his tank every day since blue. It's very dry in our house now, less than 40% humidity. Yesterday morning I picked him up and the skin on his belly was very rough and dry, so I held him over the sink and sprayed him really good. He seemed to like it, and I guess he did because he shed about a half hour later in just two pieces.

So that worked out fine, but I know I need to get the humidity up in general. How do you do that without getting too much moisture in the substrate? Neither one of my snakes seem to like the moist moss hide when I make one for them.

Thanks.

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You might try using a different substrate in the moist hide and make sure it is over the heat source so it is warm enough. If that still doesn't work, you can try soaking the snakes in warm water a couple of times after you first notice them going blue.

Another idea, if you are using a screen lid on a glass tank, use a towel or a board and cover up about 1/2 of the lid and then you will have less moisture escaping after you mist the tanks.

Jenn
 
Thanks. One quick question, do you provide a hide on the warm side in addition to the moist one, so they have a choice and can still stay warm if they don't like the moist one? I might have trouble fitting two hides on the warm side, but if he doesn't like the moist one I don't want him to have to settle for a cooler temperature just to hide. Thanks.
 
You can use a bigger water bowl. Put in fake vines and mist them. Put plastic wrap over most of the screen top and even mist the under side of that. I would only do those things when the snake is blue.

Nanci
 
I'd just replace the warm side hide during sheds. He may find another spot to hang out, but the evaporation from the hide will help raise the humidity a bit anyway.

Using a bigger bowl as Nanci suggested would work too - you could always place it half on the heat source so you get a higher rate of evaporation too. Just be sure to check/change the water more often so he doesn't end up with a dry dish.

Jenn
 
So even if the humidity in the house is between 35 and 38 most of the time, I shouldn't be concerned about that until they get ready to shed?

Thanks Bluebird! He's really cool. He used to HATE being handled, but he's really warmed up to it and is much more manageable, even enjoyable to be around. He was a bit older when we got him and I think had never really interacted with people at the beginning.
 
I noticed it took Niblet a long time to shed this last time too, but we ran the heat for the first time this year and that always drys out the house. I got him out to feed and there was a small tear in his shed (he hadn't shed yet) So I soaked him a bit in "warm" water. His tail shed came off. Through the night he had soaked in his fresh water, defecated and finished his shed.
 
Something that works for me is I put a couple wet paper towels in a plastic bowl with lid. Cut a "doorway" and put on warm side after "blue". Works everytime. But it is harder to do that with my big snake. The bowl is too big!:spinner:
 
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