Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey so I have been keeping snakes for about a year and a half and every once and a while one of my snakes gets a bad shed. There is a full water dish there and large enough for him to fit in easily. My question is do wild snakes have bad sheds or have we just over-bred snakes to stupidity. So far I have never seen my snakes soak in their water I realize they mostly come out at night but the reason why I ask this is this: a wild snake could die a lot easier then a captive snake due to bacteria caught between skin layers does this happen regularly or are my snakes just not on the right boat yet?
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

Your snake is not stupid at all! He is just not into soaking in the water bowl and your not offering him the proper humidity that he needs to shed out normally... A full water bowl does not = humidity..

~ Mike Russo

hey, the right humidity has nothing to do with it. The snakes i have require very low humidity (35-50%) which is a little higher then my house but not much. My snakes need to go in their water dish because i do not have a humidity box which i may have to make if they don't use their water.
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

No, humidity has EVERYTHING to do with it. You may have read somewhere that your snakes require low humidity, but if your having shedding issues then somthing is not right with your set up / husbandry. Tell us more about your set up and we can prob. give you some ideas.

And, your snakes do not need to go in their water bowls, (mine hardly EVER do) you need to provide a more humid enviorment during sheds.

~ Mike Russo

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>>hey, the right humidity has nothing to do with it. The snakes i have require very low humidity (35-50%) which is a little higher then my house but not much. My snakes need to go in their water dish because i do not have a humidity box which i may have to make if they don't use their water.
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>>Black Mexican King
>>Florida King
>>Goins King
>>Blizzard Corn

Every snake you have listed in your signature require a humid area for shedding....

I've owned hundreds of colubrids and humidity IS the key to successful sheds...It is also the key to many other things as well....They DO NOT need to go into a water dish....

This can easily be achieved by laying some moist sphagnum moss in a plastic dish large enough for the entire snake to fit into....Set it on the warm side of your enclosure......Keep it damp from time to time...Easy...

You as a keeper should give your snakes choices to choose from...Whether it be heat, cold, wet, dry, humid, dark, light, etc....

Regards,
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John Lassiter

"Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part....."

I understand what you are saying what I ment wasn't that they NEED to go in their water dish just that it would be nice. Lots of my friends have snakes and when they shed they go in their water dish. I used to have a humidity box when they were young but now they are getting big so fast and I already own the moss. Also wouldn't all snakes need humidity to shed? I just got a perfect shed from my Florida the problem I have with her is she likes to go In one place and one place only in her tank. So when I do make a humidity box she doesn't use it. I have now resorted to misting the tank more when she is shedding and it worked. But mo one really answered my main question. Do wild snakes always have perfect sheds because it could lead to death if they didn't right?
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

I would suspect that all wild snakes have successful sheds since they have all the options / choices needed for such....If not they would die....

SO....Giving your captive snake all the options / choices is the best husbandry one can give.....
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John Lassiter

"Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part....."

i see your point but like i said my florida stays in one spot shedding or not i have taken her out at all hours of the day and she is the only snake i have that i don't have to look for. i realize i am not standing over her tank night and day but she is the only snake i have shedding problems with. She is in a 40gal tank with a screen top so there is a lot more room for evaporation so i may have to put something over half the tank. I am going to put a humidity box in there and i hope she goes there for her next shed. Thanks for the replies
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

Covering the top with plastic is a great way to increase the humidity, i used to use large ziplock bags back when I kept snakes in fishtanks... What are you using to heat the tanks?

~ Mike Russo

One 100 watt light bulb and an under the tank heater of course on the opposite side on the water
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

OK, In my opinion the light bulb is causing your shedding problem.. The heat pad does a good job of heating without drying out the air.. The light bulb does throw heat, but it also dries any humidity in the enclosure very quickly. Try leaving the light bulb off and I would bet your shedding issues will go away.

Good Luck!

~ Mike Russo

I understand what your saying but are you suggesting putting a fluorescent to mimic the sun without the heat and using like heat rope or something to heat the tank? The reason I have the heat pad for the most part is in case of the light bulb burning out in the winter. My snakes are in my basement so in the winter it's sometimes hard to keep it at 80-83F. What would you use to heat the tank? Also I live in Canada and our winters are very cold.
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

No, I never said anything about a flourescent light?? I said remove the 100 watt light bulb that you are currently using that is most likely drying out your tank and causing your shedding issues and stick with your heat pad.. There is no need for an over tank light for any of your snakes.. If there are no windows in your basement and you want to simulate a day/night cycle you can put a lamp in the room on a timer.

As far as keeping your snakes warm in the winter, you will need to either move the snakes to a warmer room, heat the room they are currently in, or you can always turn off all your heat sources and hibernate them for the season.

~ Mike Russo

I know you didn't say anything about the light but i do want to simulate night and day thats what i ment by that. And how do i get a tank sitting at 80F with only an under the tank heater? Heating up my basement is out of the question since its almost 100F outside and moving them is also out of the question. This is why i have over the tank lighting i think that my only option to get proper sheds it to make a humidity box...
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

>>I know you didn't say anything about the light but i do want to simulate night and day thats what i ment by that. And how do i get a tank sitting at 80F with only an under the tank heater? Heating up my basement is out of the question since its almost 100F outside and moving them is also out of the question. This is why i have over the tank lighting i think that my only option to get proper sheds it to make a humidity box...

You don't need the entire tank at 80F.....The warm side is above the heating pad you have....The rest of the tank will be cooler the farther away it is from the heating pad...the lowest temp is the room temperature....
This is a temperature gradient.....
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John Lassiter

"Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part....."

Yes I realize this I have a hot side and a cold side but there is no way to get the hot side of my tank to be 80f with just the pad. Thus why the lights come in.
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

Posted by: MikeWise at Sat Aug 1 12:39:18 2009 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by MikeWise ] Share

Yes I realize this I have a hot side and a cold side but there is no way to get the hot side of my tank to be 80f with just the pad. Thus why the lights come in.

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AND GET A BETTER HEAT PAD... No matter what you read or what YOU think. You snake needs more humidity. And do not use a water bowl or "humid box" as a replacement.
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www.Bluerosy.com

""TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AND GET A BETTER HEAT PAD... No matter what you read or what YOU think. You snake needs more humidity. And do not use a water bowl or "humid ""

WELL SAID BR!!

I have never heard of a heat pad that could not get to 85 degrees??? Are you using a heat pad that was made for reptiles? If not, you need to get a better heat pad to properly heat your tanks in the summer and as i mentioned in a previous post, in the winter you will need to move your snakes to a warmer location of the house, heat the room they are in, or you can consider hibernating them for the season... If these options are out of the question for you, then you may want to consider selling your animals to someone that can provide a more suitable environment for them.

~ Mike Russo

My heat pad is fine and it gets hotter then 85F but after it gets through the dirt and everything it isn't 85F anymore. And what is wrong with lights? My snakes need around 50% humidity why would i increase that? My lights are drying out the tank because they are heating up the tank. All my tanks are set up the same and i have only had a problem with one snake shedding. I have tons of friends and all the pet stores in my city have the same set up as me since they are the ones who introduced me to snakes. And i have kept my snakes for over a 18 months and in the winter they are fine i just need to adjust the lighting. And its not just what I think, i have seen tons of snakes soaking before a shed in their water bowl. What is wrong with that? If a snake doesn't want to soak i have to mist his tank or do other things. I know that if you have a large collection of snake you can just get shelves with tubs on them and heat the room as i have seen on such videos like [ban] but i only have 4 snake. All with their own tanks. And please, i am not trying to act like i know everything or more then you i am simply asking a question and telling you about my set up. I have now solved my problem of shedding.
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

I have tons of friends and all the pet stores in my city have the same set up as me since they are the ones who introduced me to snakes

That's your problem right there.

You have people here giving advice to get rid of the lights and they have tons more experience than any of your friends. I myself, I am a breeder for over 40 years. I make my living breeding snakes.
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www.Bluerosy.com

I realize you are much more experianced then them. I may not have the best setup or location for snakes but I love snakes just as much as the next guy I don't understand why I should get rid of my light (I realize it's drying out my tanks). But what I'm getting at is this; if I mist my tanks to get the humidity up during shedding periods and keep my lights and maybe don't expect them to go in their water bowls to soak is that enough?

Also I have a question about your set up. Tell me if I got something wrong here. You have a big room with racks with tubs in them with snakes in the tubs. You heat your room to around 80 f or so and mAke the room humid enough for good sheds? The reason I ask this is when I researched how to take care of snakes it tells me the humidity to keep the snakes at but then I don't get good sheds. I was under the impression that you had to mimic their natural environment that's why I had the humidity low and was talking about a humidity box.

And finally I do respect everyone who posteds I know I am new compaired to you guys and I thank you guys for the advice.
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn

Most people don't heat up their rooms, they are at room temp, no heat. During spring, summer, fall. With tubs, heat tape or heat pads gives a hot side, most don't use lights.Most kings are fossorial animals, live UNDER ground, most of the time, hence, need no light. Use a lamp or overhead light for a light cycle if you need one. I understand you live up north where it gets very cold, do for them what they would do, let them brumate, they can get down to 50 easily, no problem. 80 degrees in the entire cage is not good, imo!
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Todd Hughes

Ah I do see your point I rarely see my snakes during the times when my lights are on. I am planning on hibernating my snakes this winter. Thanks a lot for the post! Also I'm talking about the hot side being 80 and the cold side getting from 65-70.
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Black Mexican King
Florida King
Goins King
Blizzard Corn