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Shedding

dbntina

dbntina

New member
Question. Going on a week and a half now with a new 1 1/2 to 2 year old striped albino.

Fed him Wednesday a hopper apparently that is what he had been feeding on at the place where we got him and they fed him every Wed.

So we waited to handle him until Sunday (3 full days to digest) and when I took him out no bulges at all. But he had been completely inactive for 3 days straight. He still has not pooped and last week he pooped on Sunday and Monday.

When I took him out of the cage Sunday he was totally different. He was puffing his head out constantly and looked like he was agitated. My 2 year old was sitting down 3-4 feet away and stood up and he struck at her (but not even close at all) and just wasn't himself. I held him for awhile because I didn't want to reward him and put him back in his cage but then put him back. He drank some water while I was holding him and then went right back under the Aspen and has been there since.

After reading everything I am wondering if he is shedding and I just missed the signs because I just don't know the look yet because his eyes wont get blue?

So my question is, do I still try to feed him even though he is acting like a recluse and might be shedding? Or should I wait because he is probably in shed? :shrugs:

Thanks for the help

David
 
I feed all my snakes once a week if they are shedding or not. Once in awhile a snake will refuse to eat and a week later I will find a snake skin in the tub and know why the snake missed a meal.

At this stage in the game I do not even begin to worry about any until about 3 or 4 months go by.

So if I were you I would feed him his normal size food and if he did not eat it in his normal amount of time either refreeze it or throw it out.

Love the Fatman
 
I would go ahead and try to feed him. It is possible that he may be about to go into shed, which may explain the behavior, or maybe he's just hungry. Sometimes they get nippy if they're like that.

Just keep in mind that generally you want the food item to be at LEAST the width of the snake at it's widest point, a hopper sounds pretty small for 2 year old. How much does he weigh?
 
Thanks for the replies I will feed tonite and see how it goes.

I don't know how much it weighs...:eek:

Guess I need to get a weigher now also...man I had no idea one snake could cost this much. But it is probably a good idea. I have no idea how old exactly my snake is, whether its a male or female or how much it weighs. So who knows if I am feeding it the correct sized food.

Let's see I need to find a cheap weigher thingy now...hmmm what would I do without the help on this forum...I would probably have more money but an unhappy snake :uhoh:

Thanks for the info

David
 
Maybe try feeding him 2 hoppers instead of 1? My guy is 14 months old & that's what he eats (2) & is content with that. B4 I noticed the same issue. Within 24 hrs or less the bulge was gone & he was roaming around like he was hungry.
 
A scale ;)

You can get them cheap, and i found that just starting off snakes is the expensive part. Once you got everything you need its not too bad. :D

Good luck, and id go with its in shed
 
He's always pooped 3-4 days after eating. I haven't had him not poop yet (knock on wood). If he's in blue, I always wait until he sheds. When he's in blue he doesn't poop until he sheds.
 
Okay, thanks very good to know got the scale at WalMart so I will weigh him to find out what I should be feeding him size and number wise. Thanks for all the help
 
Okay, well I went to take the snake out tonite and I was touching him and he wasn't moving....oh no this isn't good, so I told my son to go into the other room with his mom...I am thinking I can't believe it we only had the snake for a week and a half. I start to pick the snake up and finally he starts moving...:duck:

So I get the little guy out and so calm and mellow such a good snake. I take him to the smaller feeding tub and weigh the hopper and its 14g. I then weighed the snake and it is 126g. So I guess I am okay according to the Munson plan.

I wasn't sure if he would eat because I thought he was getting ready to shed but I guess we will see...he ate fine and I put him back in the cage. This snake is growing on me.

So everything worked out so thanks for the replies and info maybe he is shedding maybe not...I guess time will tell.

But the guy still hasn't pooped...I am not sure if continuing to feed him is a good idea? I hope he isn't getting backed up :eek1:

Thanks again, :cheers:

David
 
David,

You don't have to stop feeding just b/c he hasn't pooped yet! I've read thru sooooooo many of these forums regarding this matter. Some snakes just don't go until nature calls! & I've read thru so many that said their snake hasn't pooped & as soon as they feed them they finally go (they had to make some room)!

Some ppl give their snakes baths to stimulate going to the bathroom, me? I give Dallas a good half hour exercise. Sometimes that even works.

I'm sure he's fine & he'll go when he needs to!
 
If he ate, I'm sure he'll poop soon! When nature calls, you'll see! Mine always poops a few hours after I take him out for exercise. I guess it stimulates him some how. Like today, had him out for an hour, 3 hours later...massive dunpage by the water bowl. If the snake hangs out on the Cool side like mine does (quite often) they become a little more lethargic & move so sloooooow when u pick them up. Maybe he was asleep and u woke him at the time!
 
yeah I've noticed since I have had the UTH he has never gone to that side and I measure the temp with a probe on the glass as well as checked again last night with a temp gun and it was 83 probe reading 84.5. So it is not too hot. He stays on the cool side...been like that for a week and doesn't move much very lethargic and slow metabolism for sure.
 
I started freaking out he never wanted to really go on that side! Everyone on these forums says its normal esp if your temps are between 80-85! It has nothing to do with if he has a favorite hide, I've even switched them. He still would stay on the cooler side of 75. As long as u give ur little guy the option of a cool & warm side. He'll pick whatever he/she wants. Occassionally ill find him on the warm side, occassionally! Haha!
 
Sounds to me like your snake is going to shed. The snakes with red or pinks eyes do not get blue eyes during shed. They turn mostly white and light pink. It's very east to tell when they get that far into the shed. The skin will look dull and the eyes look like they have cataracts. Then a few days before they actually shed their eyes will clear up again and look normal.

Also a snake in shed usually doesn't move around a lot and will stay hidden until it's time to shed. I've notice with mine that if I get them out and then put them back into their tanks they will drink a lot before going to hide. If I mist the tank with water they sometimes stick their heads out of the hide and suck water off the glass or off the hide.
 
ah yessss....the shedding (blue phase)...before and after!

:laugh:;)
 

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Thanks for the info everyone I really hope that is the case. Things will be more smooth once I get all my firsts out of the way and start to get a feel for what is normal with him. Then it will be easier to tell when he is acting "not normal".
 
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