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shedding

C

clear-as-mud

New member
Hi, i have just bought a baby candy corn snake from my local reptile shop. the problem is that, my snake's colour is fading and going pale also in the eyes they are going cloud, he is also hiding in the cave and not coming out, are these signs of that he is going to shed soon?

It would be very helpful if anybody could help please.
 
Yes, those are classic signs of a shed.

In a few days his colours will go back to normal and he'll shed shortly after that. He's best left completely alone duringthe process. As they shed the scales over their eyes, their vision is impaired and they're particularly nervous.
 
thankyou for that, but i have ben told they dont eat whilst shedding, but its feeding day is coming up tomorrow so shall i try and still feed him as it is his first shed with me?
 
I would hold off for now. Missing a single feed isn't going to do your snake any harm at all. Some snakes will regurgitate their meals if they are fed while in blue, so it's better to just wait.
 
Megan is right, wait to feed. I had one in blue and I didn't know, it fed on the 4th, regurged on the 5th, shed on the 7th, and still hasn't eaten yet. I'm trying again tomorrow. The 4th was his first feeding from me, as I had gotten him earlier that week.

I've already lost one to not eating, so I'm concerned.

If they are in blue, hold off on the feeding till they've shed. Some will eat with no problems, but it is better to not risk it, especially with a small snake.
 
"Blue" is the term used for the cloudy phase that you're currently seeing, where the usual colours go a bit dull.
 
thank you for that bitsy, i checked on my snake this morning and some of his colour has returned, also what bedding would you advise for the snake wood chips or aspen ?
 
If I recall correctly, there's an issue with the way they are treated causing problems with snakes. You can also use paper towels, its not as pretty, but its easy to clean
 
okay, i was doing some research on shedding and i have heard that it can take up to 3weeks for the snake to shed is this true as i have also herd it is a 1week process?
 
I'll have to leave that to someone else, my snake hasn't shed yet (much to my annoyance) after being here almost a month. But I do believe its fairly quick, around a week. Having a humid hide helps the process, a nice moist place with moss in it so they can get their skin hydrated enough to rub against the moss and slide it off easily.
 
okay thankyou cause my snake had started to turn pale on monday and now regained its colour, but where would be the best place to put the moss box over the heat mat?
 
If you're going to use a substrate like that, only use aspen! Wood chips aren't good for them.
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I'd have to disagree with that. I've been using wood chips without incident for 21 years. The main issues with wood chips are a) that they shouldn't be from soft resinous woods like pine, as the sap can cause respiratory irritation and b) that they shouldn't have been treated with fungicides, pesticides etc. As long as you buy them from a reputable pet store/supplier and don't buy them from a garden centre (where they're more likely to have been chemically treated), then wood chips are absolutely fine.

Aspen is the norm in the US as it's easy to get hold of. Until recently here in the UK it was difficult to source, as it's a non-native wood. We're used to a range of harmless alternatives. Aspen is most certainly not the only option.
 
They'll be absolutely fine from that type of source.

It's best to put the humid hide on the cool side. It will still give raised humidity and won't force the snake into a space where it may overheat (which is more dangerous for a Corn than being too cool).
 
clear-as-mud said:
thankyou, i bought my wood chips from my reptile shop so they should be fine then ?
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I'd expect they'd be beech chips, which are what the majority of reptile shops here in the UK sell. Personally I use hemp horse bedding, aubiose, because it's more absorbant. (But then I'm in the feed store quite often and have enough snakes that getting a big bale of bedding makes sense for me!)
 
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