Shedding question?

[Sarah1228]

This was just a random thought I've had regarding one of my snakes (Albino king). And I've heard the same issue with certain corn keepers as well.

Sometimes I don't know when or if my snake is going in to shed because of her colors. Most of the time I have to tell by her behavior (not eating, going and staying in to hiding, etc).

I have NOT had a problem with humidity or shedding before with any of my snakes. But what if the humidity level is not high enough?

My question is....Do snakes understand as an instinctive behavior to find a water source (such as water bowl) to take a swim or soak to assist with the shedding? I know if it ever turns out to be a bad shed, we sometimes have to assist with removing any left over skin. I was just wondering from experienced keepers do snakes know what to do if there is an issue like this one?

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[bitsy]

Some will soak in the water bowl, others not. It's an individual behaviour. If there's problem, I just pop mine in a humid hide that they can't get out of for an hour and generally that moistens the old stuck shed enough for them to get it off themselves.

 

[Sarah1228]

Some will soak in the water bowl, others not. It's an individual behaviour. If there's problem, I just pop mine in a humid hide that they can't get out of for an hour and generally that moistens the old stuck shed enough for them to get it off themselves.

Awesome!! Thanks for taking the time out to answer my question.

 

[captainjack0000]

It's been my understanding that soaking a snake in water prior to a shed is not a good idea. It only really helps after an attempt to shed. You do want higher humidity though, more like a steam bath and less like swimming pool.

I don't know about albino animals exactly, but it is actually really easy to tell if my ghost corn is in shed because his eyes get super blue (see the 'not just your ordinary shed video' in this forum).

If you think your snake is going to shed, and humidity isn't great, raise the humidity. I've used a wet wash cloth on top of the tank after misting inside with a spray bottle. A humid hide also works well from what I've heard. I've never actually used one myself. If you're using a heat lamp, and have an alternative source of heat available like a UTH, I would use the UTH only as well as it seems heat lamps can lower humidity.

 

[Sarah1228]

It's been my understanding that soaking a snake in water prior to a shed is not a good idea. It only really helps after an attempt to shed. You do want higher humidity though, more like a steam bath and less like swimming pool.

I don't know about albino animals exactly, but it is actually really easy to tell if my ghost corn is in shed because his eyes get super blue (see the 'not just your ordinary shed video' in this forum).

If you think your snake is going to shed, and humidity isn't great, raise the humidity. I've used a wet wash cloth on top of the tank after misting inside with a spray bottle. A humid hide also works well from what I've heard. I've never actually used one myself. If you're using a heat lamp, and have an alternative source of heat available like a UTH, I would use the UTH only as well as it seems heat lamps can lower humidity.

I haven't had an issue with humidity yet, and both of my snakes have shed just fine. When my creamsicle goes in to blue, the orange dulls a lot and his eyes get really cloudy. Now my king, she's already a pink and yellow and her colors really don't get dull nor does her eyes get cloudy. I have noticed a puffiness in her cheeks, and she hides more. That's really only when I can tell. Last time she shed it was a surprise. Haha!

I only asked as a random thought, if they knew they needed assistance would they use their water bowl as a source? Just a random thought & question I had.

 

[captainjack0000]

Yeah, my point was that if generally speaking soaking a snake prior to shed was a bad idea, I suspected that the snake on its own would not seek out water to soak in prior to shed. I don't know if the snake would seek water out if it had a bad shed. at least at the pre-shed stage the snake would seek out a humid environment. I'm pretty confident about that one.

I'm not sure what the natural behavior of the snake is. It might have something to do with the species. Corn snakes from the SE United States might have different behaviors than say a Cal King or even a milksnake from central america.

My guess is that it would primarily be stimulus-response (as opposed to other ways of initiating behavior). That is, if during the shed cycle, the snake detects lower humidity, it would seek out a humid environment (provided it was warm and felt safe). There is a hierarchy of needs. If, after a bad shed, I bet it would simply try to work off the loose pieces and I doubt it would seek water knowing that it helps with such issues. Dry loose skin probably catches on stiff debris in the wild better than wet soggy skin, and snakes like corns and kings are not generally aquatic. They do need water, and can swim, but don't normally seek out pools of water. If they knew to seek out water, then in drought conditions one might expect snakes to congregate around remaining bodies of water to help slough off their skins. I've not heard of any reports of that. it also would have to do with how much the skin pieces irritate the snake. I've seen snakes in the wild cruising around with patches of old shed on them, and they don't seem bothered by it. So the snake would only try to remove it if it was an actual problem.

I'm not sure if this was more of the sort of answer you were looking for.

 

[Sarah1228]

Yes that was very well put. I understand all snakes are different and we don't know their way of thinking as well. I just asked experience keepers how their snakes were acting during the shedding cycle. Thank you for your input!

Yeah, my point was that if generally speaking soaking a snake prior to shed was a bad idea, I suspected that the snake on its own would not seek out water to soak in prior to shed. I don't know if the snake would seek water out if it had a bad shed. at least at the pre-shed stage the snake would seek out a humid environment. I'm pretty confident about that one.

I'm not sure what the natural behavior of the snake is. It might have something to do with the species. Corn snakes from the SE United States might have different behaviors than say a Cal King or even a milksnake from central america.

My guess is that it would primarily be stimulus-response (as opposed to other ways of initiating behavior). That is, if during the shed cycle, the snake detects lower humidity, it would seek out a humid environment (provided it was warm and felt safe). There is a hierarchy of needs. If, after a bad shed, I bet it would simply try to work off the loose pieces and I doubt it would seek water knowing that it helps with such issues. Dry loose skin probably catches on stiff debris in the wild better than wet soggy skin, and snakes like corns and kings are not generally aquatic. They do need water, and can swim, but don't normally seek out pools of water. If they knew to seek out water, then in drought conditions one might expect snakes to congregate around remaining bodies of water to help slough off their skins. I've not heard of any reports of that. it also would have to do with how much the skin pieces irritate the snake. I've seen snakes in the wild cruising around with patches of old shed on them, and they don't seem bothered by it. So the snake would only try to remove it if it was an actual problem.

I'm not sure if this was more of the sort of answer you were looking for.