Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I noticed that Abby is starting to shed. Her eyes are getting a little cloudy, her scales are starting feel rough against my hands, and she is also getting very grumpy.

So my first question is. I know that its a good idea to soak them in some water. Should it be warm or cold to the touch? Or just tepid water? And about how deep should the water be? And I know that to get them to curl up your supposed to put your hands over them. Well obviously Abby missed that part and everytime I put my hands over her she finds some way to get out. Is there another way to keep her still? Uhg... I had another question but I just completely lost it.

And I'm going to guess that its ok to feed her tomorrow like normal? I highly doubt a pinkie mouse can do all that much. Right?
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Proud Momma of:
8 month old Male Sun Conure "Tye Dye"
Year old male Double Yellow Headed Amazon "Paco"
12 year old male Parakeet "Dudley"
6 year old male Jack Russel/Rat Terrier "Racer"

Proud New Momma of:
2 Black Emperor Scorpions "Sleepy" and "Kamakazi"
2 1 month old Greenbottle Blue Tarantula's "Teedle-Dee" and "Teedle-Dum"
3/4 Month old female Jungle Carpet Python "Abbigal"

well, its recommended to not feed while they are in shedding mode. some snakes will eat and some won't. it won't hurt her to miss a meal while in shedding mode. i've had a couple of mine go months without eating but they are adults. still it won't hurt her to miss a meal.

as far as soaking. i never do. but i do mist my snakes and their tanks when they are going to shed. just take a spray bottle with water, i used bottled as it doesn't leave as much water deposits, and mist the tanks for more humidity. like once a day when they are cloudy. when they clear up i mist them more and even mist the snake themselves. they always have a good shed. always. i only had one bad shed with a corn baby and i think it was cause i didn't mist her as much. the next time she shed i misted her more and she had a perfect shed.

hope it goes well with yours. this is just what I do. oh, it take anywhere from 10 days for my corns to shed to a good 2 weeks from start to finish for my 7 foot jungle to shed.

Well she ate today with out any problem. I don't know how close she is to shedding. But I will try misting her. That seems like a good idea. In fact I do that with all my birds when their molting. It help allieviate the itchiness of the pinfeathers. And I have her tank at her perfect humidity. She's active at night and sleeps VERY well during the day. lol. We got the pinkie a little early today since I wasn't feeling so good, and it bumped into her. I think the second we left the room she ate the little thing. lol. She's such an adorable little girl. Her eyes aren't totally clouded yet, so I think I might be able to get another couple of feedings in before anything really starts happening.

Oh but when we were at the store I fell in love with a 6ft albino burmese python. Such a beautiful baby. And its "friend" was a red tail boa, obviously not in the same cage but they seem to like each other. They were both raised together. Unfortunately we're not ready for a snake that is all ready that big. I think my Abby willl be just big enough when she's older. And we might get one of the boa's too. Not sure which one yet but we're thinking. ^__^
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Proud Momma of:
8 month old Male Sun Conure "Tye Dye"
Year old male Double Yellow Headed Amazon "Paco"
12 year old male Parakeet "Dudley"
6 year old male Jack Russel/Rat Terrier "Racer"

Proud New Momma of:
2 Black Emperor Scorpions "Sleepy" and "Kamakazi"
2 1 month old Greenbottle Blue Tarantula's "Teedle-Dee" and "Teedle-Dum"
3/4 Month old female Jungle Carpet Python "Abbigal"

hey that sounds great she ate. are you feeding frozen/thawed (f/t)? its much safer when they get older and the meal wants to fight back if feeding live. most everyone will recommend feeding f/t.
you have a female? so she will get close to if not @8 foot but JCP's are slimmer so they are easier to handle. my 7 foot male is great with handling. i got him when he was like 3 foot.
i mist my snakes sometimes for no reason. just for a change of pase but JCP's do like higher humidity.
another thing before i go is you will want to get your Abby on rats asap. some will not take to rats when they get older and trying to feed a 8 foot snake mice takes $$$. i've read a couple posts on here that have to do that as their JCP will not take a rat. i guess i'm one of the lucky ones in that mine eats rats. just my 2 cents. i'm not an expert...

yeah we're feeding her live babies. We haven't tried f/t (not to sure if she'll like that too much, nor have we tried her on rats. Isn't she still a little tiny to be getting on rats? she's only a foot and a half long. ... my sweet little girl. Yeah I can't wait till she gets all big ^__^ go walk around with her on my shoulders.... should be fun ^_^
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Proud Momma of:
8 month old Male Sun Conure "Tye Dye"
Year old male Double Yellow Headed Amazon "Paco"
12 year old male Parakeet "Dudley"
6 year old male Jack Russel/Rat Terrier "Racer"

Proud New Momma of:
2 Black Emperor Scorpions "Sleepy" and "Kamakazi"
2 1 month old Greenbottle Blue Tarantula's "Teedle-Dee" and "Teedle-Dum"
3/4 Month old female Jungle Carpet Python "Abbigal"

no now is the time to feed f/t. babies take to them pretty good. you will be surprised. also its amazing what snakes can swallow. if you can get them try rat pinkies/pups. i have never feed baby rats to mine. just the bigger rats since i got my JCP when he was like a year old. my other snakes, (corns & milk), eat f/t mice. you can try it next time. just wiggle it alittle if she doesn't seem interested, use tongs or tweezers to give it to her. that usually get their attention. just make sure its completely thawed before feeding. i just thaw mine at room temp for a while. my 7 snakes all take to them without hesitation.

ok we'll try that..... do you just set them out to thaw or do you put them in some water and let them thaw that way?
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Proud Momma of:
8 month old Male Sun Conure "Tye Dye"
Year old male Double Yellow Headed Amazon "Paco"
12 year old male Parakeet "Dudley"
6 year old male Jack Russel/Rat Terrier "Racer"

Proud New Momma of:
2 Black Emperor Scorpions "Sleepy" and "Kamakazi"
2 1 month old Greenbottle Blue Tarantula's "Teedle-Dee" and "Teedle-Dum"
3/4 Month old female Jungle Carpet Python "Abbigal"

Silver rose, hatchling carpets are plenty large enough to start feeding on rat pinkies or hopper mice. It's amazing what they can swallow compared to colubrids. It's much more.

Just try thawing a rat pink in warm water for an hour and offer it the same way you offer the mice. If it refuses then you might want to try scenting the rat pink with mouse urine on the next try. Thawing a rat and a mouse together in the same water will often entice them to eat rats.....good luck.

No one seems to listen to this advice but it is sooo helpful! Try feeding your JCP rat pinkies/ pups NOW. It can be so hard, if not impossible, to switch them later! I have to feed mine 5 to 7 mice at time. It’s time consuming and expensive. It just plane sucks! I switched y brothers JCP at about the same age as yours and he is growing fast and doing great!

As far as misting, I use distilled water so it doesn’t leave water spots.

Good luck!