Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys,

I was just wondering, do any of your snakes that are non "aquatic" "enjoy" being soaked? As soon as I put my snakes in the luke warm water, they dart for the top of the Tupperware (sp) as soon as they hit the water. Any tips or techniques when soaking a snake? Do they prefer warmer water?

Also, it's been very cold this winter in NY, and I can tell it's had a direct correlation to my snakes shedding. They all, except for two have been having trouble shedding, and I've had to soak them, and help the skin off. I usually let them soak in luke warm water, and then help off the skin with my fingers, peeling it back in the direction it's suppposed to come off (head to tail).

I just soaked my JCP for a few minutes, and then helped him out of about a 5 inch strip of skin that was up near his head, and the last two or three inches near his tail.

Currently I've got my male Tangering honduran soaking and he needs it pretty bad. So far he's only broken the skin off of his head and about 2 inches further down, and the skin is not staying in one piece, so I think this is what's causing his difficulty in shedding. Now, this snake is pretty jumpy, it's almost a year old, but it does NOT like to be handled, he musks and or bites me. Any idea on how to help this guy out of the skin, without being bitten 100 times and stressing the snake out alot?

Finally, I bought a hatchling male Western Hognose Snake on August 10th. The snake has NOT shed yet. It has been eating a F/T pinky every week, except for a two-month stretch in November/December where he went on a fast. Is this normal? I spoke to the place where I bought him and they said he should shed soon, but then he went on a fast, he's been eating these past three weeks, and still nothing. He has increased significantly in size though (about 2 inches in length and some girth).

Thanks for your time,
Ralph
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0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu
0.0.1 Baby Aru Green Tree Python R.I.P. 01/26/04
2.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.4 Hatchling Bearded Dragons
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
1.0 Florida Brooksi Kingsnake
1.0 Blood Red Cornsnake
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0 Bull Mastiff

Hognoses barely ever shed. Don't worry about that!

Most snakes freak out in water and I prefer to put a warm terrycloth or paper towel in a rubbermaid with some holes in it and leave the snake in there for 2 or 3 hours. That almost always does it. For the Honduran, you can let him soak for a bit, and then pick him up gently with a warm cloth towel, and apply gentle pressure as he crawls out of it. That should peel his skin off pretty well.

The reason your humidity is low when it's cold is because your
heat is running. It's so low here that my eyeballs hurt and my dog's paws need lotion. Increased misting or humid hides can help snakes with this sort of thing.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

Hey meretseger,

Thanks for the tips!! Okay, so I won't worry about the Hognose, glad to know he's okay. Hehe, I just switched him into a new enclosure actually. It's about 36Lx14Dx10H, with about 1 1/2 - 2 inches of aspen bedding, man..trying to find him in there is like looking for a needle in a hay stack!!

I soaked the Honduran today for a few minutes, until he came up to the rim of the container, and hung out in there. I was able to get a little bit of the skin off, before he started freaking out. I'll soak him tomorrow again using the wet towel technique, I was actually using that method with my GTP, before he died. I think this along with the pressure on the towel, while he crawls out should work really good, Thanks!!

I guess I'll start misting more often, but the snakes are on aspen bedding, is that okay to mist?
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0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu
0.0.1 Baby Aru Green Tree Python R.I.P. 01/26/04
2.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.4 Hatchling Bearded Dragons
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
1.0 Florida Brooksi Kingsnake
1.0 Blood Red Cornsnake
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0 Bull Mastiff

You can mist aspen. It takes a lot to mildew the stuff.

I had a Honduran like that. Now I have some king ratsnakes like that. What luck.

I was sort of thinking... I've had one reptile with a very bad shedding problem despite everything I tried. He was a cat gecko with a really bad eye/sinus infection. Despite his humidity being at like... 90% his skin would just stay on him and I ended up having to pull it off myself. Which was pretty frustrating on an animal with legs like toothpicks. So... well... maybe that GTP had a hidden problem. Or maybe he got dehydrated badly before you even got him, that can kill an animal slowly.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch