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What's the longest a shed should take? Help!

O

Ooopsy

New member
Okay so Fang will be two in July I believe. We've had her a few weeks now and are completely new to this. On Friday 20 March she appeared definitely cloudier than before, and by the next day it was apparent she was going into her blue phase. She stayed that way I guess for four, five days? I seem to remember thinking that on the Friday, I had thought to myself that perhaps it had actually begun the day before, although it wasn't very obvious at the time, especially since we are total amateurs.

Well, it's now 1 April, making it 12-13 days since she started, and still no shed! Is this normal and okay? We've been checking her every day usually once but sometimes twice, but not handling her. She seems fine, if a little cranky to be disturbed!

Humidity looks to be about 57 but I'm popping out to buy a spray bottle shortly, with the idea of increasing the humidity slightly - good idea?

Oh and also she seems to be favouring mostly hiding under her water bowl instead of being in the warm hide, is that usual?

Anyway, can anybody shed some light on this please? Ooops pardon the pun, lol.

Would appreciate responses asap - thanks!
 
57 is a pretty good humidity :) Only spray if you think she is shedding in peices.

Has she gone back to her normal color yet?? They will go slightly blue, then Really blue, then seem to go 'clear' and then usually within a few days or so they will shed.

That help any??

Cat
 
WOW that was a fast reply!

Well okay I know this might sound silly, but since we had her such a short time before she went blue, I can't be sure if she's back to normal or not colourwise! Certainly her eyes are totally clear, and she did seem to get VERY blue in the time she was like that - in fact I found myself feeling really sorry for her, daft though that may sound - I wondered how on earth she could see anything at all with her eyes like that!

I'd say she's been not looking blue for a week or so now - is that unusual? Or is there such a thing as a phantom shed? I'm not overly worried but obviously want to do the right thing by her, the little cutie.

Thanks Cat!
 
Well, when they are really blue like that, they cant really see at all and that is why some can be more jumpy or even nip when in that phase :)

If her eyes are now clear then she should be shedding soon :)
 
The whole shedding phase can sometimes take three weeks. When I had my very first snake I was very worried, too, because I didn't see her for three weeks. She was hiding in the ground for the whole shedding phase.
I see this milky skin for like 5 days on my snakes and when they are clear again it still takes one or two days till they really shed so I guess your corn will shed in some days.

Was it already in her shedding phase while it moved to its new home? Maybe the stress made her a little confused and she needs some more time to shed. I'd advise to wait some days and see what happens.
 
No, I was very worried that she might have escaped from her terrarium but when I started looking for her I found her burrowed into her ground. I asked the breeder and he told me to wait till the shed is over. So I waited for three long weeks and finally she did a perfect shed and came out of her hiding. I was really relieved.
 
Cat_Eyed_Lady said:
Well, when they are really blue like that, they cant really see at all and that is why some can be more jumpy or even nip when in that phase :)

If her eyes are now clear then she should be shedding soon :)
Click to expand...

Wow, well I knew that they can't see very well when they're like that but really had no idea they can barely see at all - poor little thing, no wonder she looked so freaked every time we checked on her!

Thanks for your help, much appreciated. :)
 
Mrs Snape said:
The whole shedding phase can sometimes take three weeks. When I had my very first snake I was very worried, too, because I didn't see her for three weeks. She was hiding in the ground for the whole shedding phase.
I see this milky skin for like 5 days on my snakes and when they are clear again it still takes one or two days till they really shed so I guess your corn will shed in some days.

Was it already in her shedding phase while it moved to its new home? Maybe the stress made her a little confused and she needs some more time to shed. I'd advise to wait some days and see what happens.
Click to expand...

We had her for 8-9 days before I noticed her changing, and had offered her food a couple of days previously, which she'd refused, so I guess that's why she didn't want it.

Thanks for putting my mind at rest a bit there - now I know somebody else who's had a similar experience and come out okay the other side, I'm a little happier. Much appreciated!

:)
 
Ooopsy said:
Wow, well I knew that they can't see very well when they're like that but really had no idea they can barely see at all - poor little thing, no wonder she looked so freaked every time we checked on her!

Thanks for your help, much appreciated. :)
Click to expand...

One of my very,very docile snakes can turn into a mean little girl when she's in full on "blue". She whips her head around quite a bit if she has to be handled during this time. Basically, they're nearly blind during that phase.

The longest I've had to wait for a shed is 2 weeks. That's from when I noticed the blue phase all the way to the shed itself.
 
Thanks MinLynn - you know what, you can hardly blame them really, I'm sure I'd be somewhat similar in that position!

Sooo, I've got a little while then before I need to worry - it'll be two weeks about tomorrow or Friday for Fang. Cool.

I picked up her water bowl a short time ago to check on her, and whereas she usually pretty quickly hides herself away again, I've just seen her sticking her head into the substrate, and now she's going around the viv again - perhaps she's looking for the best thing to rub against? Quite surprised to see that as I thought she'd disappear again immediately - time will tell I guess!

How long does a shed take on average, a matter of a few hours or what?

Sorry for all the questions - just want to look after the dear little thing as best possible!
 
I've been fortunate enough to watch my big guy shed twice! He's 4'.5" and 600g. Took him a total of 10 minutes both times! It's fascinating to watch if you ever catch it. He's the only one that has ever shed in the middle of the day. The rest of 'em seem to do it after everybody is in bed.
 
OMG OMG I was right - just went to check on her again and she's mid-shed! Woohoo! Almost done, just the tail to go it looks like - WOW it's SO cool!

Woot wooot! So exciting! *bounces around room*

Thanks everyone for all your help - hugs all around!
 
Good for Fang.

I am glad to hear Fang is getting it done. One thing I thought I'd mention, just since no one else has. Do a thorough check and make sure it is a COMPLETE shed. Look at the shed and make sure the eye caps are there, if not there - then where? Check Fangs tail real well and make sure all the shed is off or Fang could lose part of her tail. Etc, etc...

Besides, it is a good time to check out Fang's beautiful brilliant colors since he shed!
 
Wow well our baby is bigger than we thought, I just measured the skin and it's 55 inches = 4ft 7in - that's only about 6.5 inches shorter than I am, and she isn't two years old yet!
 
LOL! Glad you got to catch it. However, you can't judge length by the shed. Sheds are quite a bit stretched out and not a reliable way to tell length.
 
LawDog1 said:
I am glad to hear Fang is getting it done. One thing I thought I'd mention, just since no one else has. Do a thorough check and make sure it is a COMPLETE shed. Look at the shed and make sure the eye caps are there, if not there - then where? Check Fangs tail real well and make sure all the shed is off or Fang could lose part of her tail. Etc, etc...

Besides, it is a good time to check out Fang's beautiful brilliant colors since he shed!
Click to expand...

I've checked the skin and it appears to be perfect, no holes or anything. Haven't bothered Fang yet as she's gone into her warm hide and is probably rather hungry since she hasn't eaten for almost three weeks, but I'll give her a good old going over tomorrow. She certainly did look rather brighter coming out of it - gorgeous!

Just off to get mouse out of freezer so she can have dinner at last tomorrow - thanks LawDog1!
 
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