Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone remember me? A question here. Snake is an adult female albino. We have had her for a month or 2 now and she has bred many times with Prince our Motley Albino male. Her skin is very dull as if she is ready to shed but has never gone blue and has been like this for about a week now. When holding her her skin feels very very dry, almost like a Rattle Snake and she shows little to no interest in soaking. She dose however hang out in her humid lay box I put in for her with wet Perlite but it doesn’t seem to help her at all. She is showing no signs of ill health or discomfort. Any idea?? Thanks a million.
My research and collection Foot Hill Reptiles

I've seen snakes like that at the shop I help at. I've never seen a fast change from a moister environment. As I do not think snakes "skin" really absorb moisture. But that is a good question in itself. Moisture you helps a shed, but I think it just may be the way the snake is? I had one hognose, and he looked 40 years old. He was 3 and very healthy.

Only logically thing I can think of is diet. But if so, what needs to be added or subtracted?

good luck, you find a good answer emailed it to me.

Diet has also been a problem but not a hugly bad one. She is fed the same as the other snakes right now. One proper size prey item every 7 days. It was sugested to me to start feeding her a whoel lot more since she is activly breeding, Now the breeding has stoped and I am hoping she is gravid but who knows. She will not take prey every 7 days. She will only take one prey item ever 20 days if I am lucky. As I said I have had her a month or 2 and she has only taken prey 2 times so far.
My research and collection Foot Hill Reptiles

I presume being gravid would put a strain on a snakes ability to produce a nice skin. It probably strains almost everything in the snake.

But a domestic mouse is not the same as a wild mouse. I'm sure for one wild mice have less fat, lord knows what else is different. Ad in mice, voles, lizards, other rodents and a captive snakes diet is just different than a WC snake.

That said, most corns seem to adapt to domestic mice pretty well. But line up 100 people keep them on exact diets and you will have various outcomes.

We just try to do the best we can to match up a snake to what he eats in the wild. Well some times. We still feed mice to hognose (me too) and that is not their regular diet. And it really seems to show up in the eastern hognose. IMO.

we all just keep trying to figure out the ever changing puzzle

Jason, if she really is gravid, she should be eating a whole lot more than that up until the end of the pregnancy. My snakes were ravenous up until they shed for pre-lay. How are your temps? Did you take the male out? He could be stressing her out if he is still in there.
Keep us posted
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****Misty****

"Everyone has the right to be stupid, but don't abuse the privilege"

The list keeps getting Smaller!
Not counting Hatchlings, this is what I have.........

1.1.2 bearded dragons
7.17.4 corn snakes
1.1.0 jungle corns
2.5.0 king snakes
1.0.0 Sinaloan milk snake
0.1.0 Tri-Hybrid milk snake
0.1.0 rat snake
1.1.0 Leucistic rat snakes
0.0.1 royal (ball) python
1.1.0 Congo African Grey Parrots
0.1.0 German Shepherd hybrid dog

HEY JASON!! Glad to see you are still hanging around. Your goodbye post got deleted for some reason.

Try putting her in a container with a bit of water at the bottom. I had to do this last night with one of my snakes that refussed to soak. I didn't see this snakes blue phase, but gave it a soeak and it shed. Try that. If it does not work, let us know.

I did notice my females skin was kinda funny looking when they dug in the wet vermiculite. Kinda dull or dry-ish. Maybe she has been digging.
-----
****Misty****

"Everyone has the right to be stupid, but don't abuse the privilege"

The list keeps getting Smaller!
Not counting Hatchlings, this is what I have.........

1.1.2 bearded dragons
7.17.4 corn snakes
1.1.0 jungle corns
2.5.0 king snakes
1.0.0 Sinaloan milk snake
0.1.0 Tri-Hybrid milk snake
0.1.0 rat snake
1.1.0 Leucistic rat snakes
0.0.1 royal (ball) python
1.1.0 Congo African Grey Parrots
0.1.0 German Shepherd hybrid dog

She dose dig in the Perlite. Keeps me up half the night digging LOL Everythign in her enclosure including temps seem good. I will try soaking her.
My research and collection Foot Hill Reptiles

I have found that the pre lay shed can be a bit wacky for some females... Never saw the biting thing though??

As soon as the female starts to go into her pre lay shed i drop in a lay box filled with damp vermiculte... In addition I always put a thin layer of damp vermiculite covering the floor of the entire enclosure...

I started covering the floor with vermiculite a few years ago when one of my female alterna laid her eggs outside the lay box and they stuck to the newspaper and wall of the sweater box... Now if a female lays outside the lay box it is no longer a problem, and it raises the humidity in the enclosure to help the female with her pre lay shed.

Some may disagree, but it works for me!

~ Mike Russo