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Question about shedding

JeffDenver

JeffDenver

New member
Whats the worst that can happen if you have a bad shed? I mean is it something that is life threatening or will it just stress/annoy the snake?

Mine had his first shed a few days ago and I was stressing about this because I fed him right before (I'd never seen a snake shed before, so I didn't recognize the signs and took the risk). It didn't seem to affect anything. Is it possible that the snake cant shed if his stomach is too fat or will it cause the skin to tear or something?
 
Hello Jeff,

The first step is to stop and BREATH! lol

Ok, my experience is fairly limited but I have done a ton of research over the last month on this forum and others.

The worst thing I have seen from a bad shed is when an owner either isn't attentive or doesn't realize that a portion of the shed is still attached. In all the cases I have seen its usually near the end of the tail. In these instances the shed gets tighter and tighter as the snake continues to grow and the end result is typically a partial loss from the shed down. Could this happen in a more serious way that may result in the death of a snake? I'm not sure, but I would guess that its possible.

This is fixed easily by paying attention to the signs of shed, and if your corn has a bad shed, know and follow the regular procedure to assist. You may find it interested to know that when a snake sheds and has stuck eye caps, many people will simply leave them in place until the next shed pushes them off rather than risk damaging the eye by removing themselves.

Feeding is not linked to difficulty with shedding as far as I know other than an increased risk of a regurge. Its commonly accepted that you not feed a snake when its showing signs of shedding. Its a better safe than sorry scenario.

Hope this helps!

BTW: That shed looked fantastic! Much better than my milk snakes last shed!
 
Strangles is one lucky snake...with a really nice home (Viv) and caring owner! :D

Lots of people feed their snakes even when they're in blue stages. Many others prefer to wait until the shed is over. My guess is that there's more of a regurge concern with babies, than with snakes older than one year. Maybe others will chime in.

As for your question...a bad shed (including bits of retained shed) could potentially cause problems...infections and as much as permanent damage. THIS thread can lead you to many more bits of info on bad sheds. Example from Kathy Love:
Q: My snake shed, but there is a piece of shed skin still stuck on the tail. Do I need to get this off, or can I just wait until after the next shed?
A: No, you need to get that off. Shed skin becomes tight and constricts where it is left after a shed. If the very tip of the tail does not shed properly and is not removed, it will constrict the flow of blood and kill the tip of the tail.
 
Don't worry about having fed your snake during a shed- in the future, if you wish to avoid it, you will now know the signs. People avoid feeding around shed time because A) Snakes tend to refuse the meal, then you have wasted a mouse or
B) There is a possibility of a regurge from the stress involved with shedding.

I fed my first 5 babies every feeding day, no matter what. I had never heard that they might regurge. None of them ever did.

Now that they are adults, some of them refuse during the "blue" period, so I have stopped offering to any of my snakes when they are going to shed in order to not waste mice. With the amount of snakes I have, refused mice start to add up.
With one snake, it probably doesn't matter either way.

Also, I've found that more sensitive, picky eaters tend to have more problems eating around shedding time, while my more aggressive confident snakes seem to be fine (the ones who always constrict the mice and always chow down immediately and like to be held by me). Of course, that is my personal experience.
 
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Is it possible that the snake cant shed if his stomach is too fat or will it cause the skin to tear or something?
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This has happened to me where I've completely missed the signs (easier in the lighter coloured Corns). The snake ate, and actually started to shed in the feeding tank. The shed reached the mouse bulge and just stopped. As I'd caught it as it was happening, the shed was still damp. All I did was tear the old shed that was already loose, so that it could split over the mouse bulge. I popped the snake back in her usual tank and she continued to shed perfectly without a care in the world. No regurge.

So that scenario can happen, but in this case, was no problem at all.

With a bad shed that leaves small patches of the old skin behind, it's usually not a drama as long as you catch it and deal with it promptly. The most likely bit to be left behind is the tip of the tail. If you do miss it, then the tail tip can be constricted by the old sheds (which build up if the owner is being really unobservant), the blood supply will be cut off and it will die. Usually the loss of a small bit of tail tip isn't anything more than a cosmetic issue - it's probably one of the hazards of life in the wild. Putting some antiseptic on it and keeping it clean until it heals will ward off further problems.

However, a lost tail tip does have the potential to leave an open wound behind which can get infected, cause septicaemia and ultimately death. So although the chances are very remote indeed, I've certainly heard of this kind of shed problem causing a snake's death on more than one occasion. In those instances however, the affected part of the tail was quite large and the owners really hadn't been paying attention up until the crisis point.

I can assure you that this is absolutely never going to happen to your Corn, which looks to have landed with a very conscientious and caring owner!
 
The worst thing I have seen from a bad shed is when an owner either isn't attentive or doesn't realize that a portion of the shed is still attached.
Click to expand...

If I take this off manually will it hurt him?


As for your question...a bad shed (including bits of retained shed) could potentially cause problems...infections and as much as permanent damage.
Click to expand...

Yeah, thats the kind of thing I was afraid of.


This has happened to me where I've completely missed the signs (easier in the lighter coloured Corns). The snake ate, and actually started to shed in the feeding tank. The shed reached the mouse bulge and just stopped.
Click to expand...

And this even moreso.

Fortunately the pinks I have been feeding him are so small they barely create a bulge at all.

Snakes tend to refuse the meal, then you have wasted a mouse
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I dont think that is going to be a problem with this snake. I am beginning to think I didnt get a snake at all, but instead got a long thin pig. He is very motivated to eat. As soon as he see's a mouse he immediately starts in. No tasting, no pause, no constricting.

I got a video of his last feeding and put it online because it is a lot better quality than my last one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-50KgIRiRts -
 
JeffDenver said:
If I take this off manually will it hurt him?
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Not if its ready to come off. There is a sticky around one of these forum areas that tells you how to treat a stuck shed. Its actually very ingenious!

If its only a small amount of stuck shed I would recommend just letting your little fella run his way through a damp wash cloth in your hands. Tends to work like a charm.

Thanks for the vids btw, can never get enough! :crazy02:
 
I thought after I put him back in the viv tonight he would go hide to digest...but instead he started roaming all over the tank. He is finally using those vines I bought. He covered all the vines and circled the top...he was at it for an hour or so. This is right after eating two pinks (He ate a second one right after I took that video).
 
Thanks for the vids! They are great!

I wouldn't worry too much about the tail-tip thing. It happens. I have a snake who lost the tip of her tail somehow when she was in brumation. It turned black and fell off. About an inch. I just kept it clean and it is almost all healed up.

Like any wound, there is a chance of infection and ultimately death. The important thing is to be attentive and deal with the problem as it arises. Treat the stuck shed. If you miss that, treat the injured tail.

Like Bitsy said, the fact that you are so conscious of what is going on with your snake means that your snake is going to be fine in the shed department.
 
If I take this off manually will it hurt him?
Click to expand...
As has been said, as long as you catch it when it's damp and ready to come off, then no. However, if you try and remove it after it's dried out, and you haven't soaked/bathed the snake first to prepare it, then it can hurt and can also tear off the new scales underneath.

I thought after I put him back in the viv tonight he would go hide to digest...but instead he started roaming all over the tank.
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It's an instinct for some of them to go into "hunting" mode immediately after eating. In the wild, if they found a baby mouse, they'd expect to find a nest-full. They'd eat as many as they could because in the wild, they don't know when they'll next get a meal.

When they eat in captivity, some of them still click into this habit of looking for more afterwards, even though they won't need them because we're going to feed them again in a few days.

So you should find this behaviour wears off reasonably fast, after they've convinced themselves that you've not hidden more food around the tank! Then they'll settle to digest.
 
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