Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi folks,

I just received this 2010 male Knoblochi a month ago and it is his first shed with me. He was opaque but it cleared up 3 to 4 days ago which means he will be shedding anytime soon right? Well, I am concerned because he seems to just sit in one spot and it seems like he is not trying to remove his old skin. I humidified the cage to make it easier for him. I have had tons of snakes before and this type of situation raises a flag for me.

His skin looks wrinkled and I tried touching it and a little piece came off. I placed a wood log in there so he has something to help remove his skin. I would take a picture of his status if I had a camera but I do not.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated! I would like to jump into doing something to assist him but I do not know if I should at the moment. Maybe wait a day more? This is the same Megaband Knob I posted a picture of about 2 or 3 weeks ago. This is another picture of him. He is too beautiful to lose!!!

Tony

-----
You can never have only one snake!

Give him a nice, long soak in some water for about an hour or more. If you have some, throw some long fibered sphagnum into the soaking container. The moss offers some traction for the snake so it will feel a bit more secure then just floating in some water.
I have had shedding problems on some of my snakes before and I can tell ya not to fret. You seemed to have caught it early.
Just soak and if you feel the need to, let the snake run through your fingers while applying a tiny bit of pressure-this will allow for the snake to get out of its old skin.

Your snake was probably not moving too much due to being constricted in its old skin? Is the heat at the right temp?

Yes the temp is at 78 degrees. I just placed him in a soaking container and he is enjoying it for some reason. I also placed some moss in there as well. We will see the result pretty soon.

Tony
-----
You can never have only one snake!

Tony, Switch whatever substrate your using over to damp (Not wet) paper towels and he will shed out in a few days..

~ Mike Russo

Mike,
For babies I always use paper towels until they are about half a year old. This is a very unusual situation as this has never happened to me before. The temp is around 78 degrees and I mist the cage a little bit too. He seems a little listless but as Zach said it is probably because of the constriction of the old skin.

I will also dampened the paper towel as you have instructed. That is a good idea. I will moistened his skin a little bit as well to make it easier for him to remove skin. Hopefully he will remove the old skin. We will find out pretty soon.

Tony
-----
You can never have only one snake!

Tony, do you routinely provide moist sphagnum moss hides for all your snakes?

A baby pyro in pint cottage cheese container.

A trio of young adult pyros in Glad container. I also nest the water bowl in a pan of dry moss as the snakes (especially the bulls! LOL!) tend to slop the water into the substrate, and the moss pan keeps the substrate dry.

The bulls.
These hides are standard features in my habitats, along with the water dish and substrate, etc. In a pinch you can use shredded paper towels in lieu of moss. Use long fibered, or orchid moss, available at garden centers in the orchid supply section.

How is your little knob today? He came from Jonel, didn't he? A splendid animal!

My first snake not counting the baby rattlesnake Ringtone was a California king, who had trouble shedding until I began providing him with the moss hide. Entrance hole is on side, then I realized I could simply cut out the round thing in the lid! D'OH!

-----
Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

LOL, I really appreciate the nice pics! I am using them as a reference. This is a great idea! I usually provide the moss with water in a container when the snake turns blue. I should probably just leave it in there before the time.

This is the 13th day and he still has not shed. I got him from Jonel. This morning he looked really grim so I manually removed the old skin. The whole skin was there and he didn't try to shed any of it. I used my finger with some water and rubbed it off and eventually I got all of it off making sure I did not miss leftovers. The skin was stuck on him pretty hard until I kept rubbing it. I hope he will try to remove his next shed but I would be happy to remove it myself. It is just not a good thing if he doesn't try himself =(.

He is now real active and his red is even brighter than before! After I give him some time to relax from the stress I will try to feed him a small f/t pinkie. He is a live pinkie eater right now but maybe since he is done with the shed he will be hungry enough to even strike at a f/t.

A real beautiful Knob, I would hate to lose him! I wonder if his born shed or second shed was this problematic? The temps were at 78 degrees and I moistened the cage as well! Maybe he is just lazy LOL!

Tony
-----
You can never have only one snake!

You are welcome. I am glad to be able to help.

A pair of my Pacifics.
The benefit of leaving a permanent moist moss hide in the cage is the snake can choose dry or moist as well as warm or cool. You can put two moss hides if you like, one at either end of the cage. In the wild the snakes could avail themselves of humid spots, but in our dry houses are stuck with what we give them.
-----
Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

Probably just a bit too dry. Glad you were able to remove the old skin. For my pyros, zonata, and even my annulatas I always keep a moist clump of long fibered sphagnum in the tank, usually under a hide or near the water bowl. I used to use aspen as a bedding, but found that kings and milks seem to enjoy a substrate that is somewhat moist, not damp or wet, but something that increases the humidity a tad bit. After switching my snakes into natural looking setups with cork hides and coco-fiber mixed with cypress mulch bedding, I have noticed that they look much healthier/better-possibly more hydrated and well, just maybe easier on the eyes then on artificial looking setups (personal opinion).
One method of keeping lampropeltis that was posted on this forum (don't remember who but thanks!) was to soak your kings/milks occasionally in some luke warm water. I have adopted this-I soak my snakes about twice a month (not now as they are in brumation) and found that they seem brighter, a bit plumper, and hungrier ha! Hydration, man!

One method of keeping lampropeltis that was posted on this forum (don't remember who but thanks!) was to soak your kings/milks occasionally in some luke warm water. I have adopted this-I soak my snakes about twice a month (not now as they are in brumation) and found that they seem brighter, a bit plumper, and hungrier ha! Hydration, man!

All my snakes (colubrid) do enjoy a swim. so I give them big bowls.
Oh if only I could have a nice warm swim in Kealakekua Bay right now instead of shoveling the @&*%$#! snow again ....
-----
Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire