Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just curious as to if it is normal for snakes to not shed when preparing to and or are brumating. It just dawned on me that my black rats haven't shed in about 3 months. The male is now brumating but the female is not. I do not recall them stopping last season.
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.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
.1 MO Locale Black Ratsnake "Molly" (Flogging Molly)

"You saved my life! I'm gonna get you so many lizards!"

i don't know about others, but I had to wait to brumate one of my snakes because it went into shed. Another of my snakes shed about two weeks after the initial cool down.
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"Time flies when you can't remember what you did yesterday!"

Too Many Snakes to count or List!

I would agree that 3 months seems a little long. But, in the years i have been keeping snakes i really never let shedding change my hibernation routine. Sometimes they shed while hibernating sometimes they don't.. I guess it cant hurt to wait, but i figure if they were wild the winter cool off would not wait for all the snakes to shed.

Regardless, i feel that if your snake is healthy, unfed for a couple of weeks, and put down gradually you should not have a problem.

and before you know it.....

I did not wait to brumate. I wasn't ever planning to wait either. The female is not brumating because she needs to gain some size if I even have a slight chance of breeding her this spring. I was just curious as to if it is normal....
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.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
.1 MO Locale Black Ratsnake "Molly" (Flogging Molly)

"You saved my life! I'm gonna get you so many lizards!"