Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I have a Ruthveni King and he's shedding for the first time. This is my first snake so I have a few questions about this. 1. Am I supposed to not touch him during shedding? 2. Once he's totally done shedding, can I handle him right away or is his skin still delicate? 3. Does the tank need to have a specific temperature during shedding? ( Temp is usually 83F on the warm side and 75F on the cold) 4. Does he need any kind of substrate or bark of some sort in there to rub against in order to help him remove the skin? (I'm using desert blend substrate, there's a rocky water disk and a rocky burrowing cave in the tank) All suggestions would be much appreciated, thanks!!

Hello...

1. It's best to leave him alone during the shedding process. He'll want to be hidden away during most of the shed cycle anyway. Also, you could damage his new skin if some of the old skin comes off prematurely during handling.

2. You can handle him again after he sheds. He'll look like a million bucks too.

3. Keep the temps the same.

4. Some kings will soak most of their cycle and others won't. Those rock dishes might not be the best for him if he DOES want to soak during hs shed cycle. You can add a humid hide if you want to.

A humid hide can be as simple as cutting a hole in a margarine container and putting a wad of damp paper towels in it. Place in the worm side of his enclosure. If he doesn't have adequate humidity, his shed might not go a smoothly as it should...
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So far his head is shed, and his skin on the top of his head looks like the hood of a black porsche right out of the show room lol. Thanks for the info!

Craig

Basicly he has all he needs to shed. Do not touch him and he should be fine. After he is finished check the head part of the shed to make sure his eye caps came off, then the tail to make sure the very end shed as well (Very Important). After he is done it is completely safe to handle him.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Rearfang...............why is that last little bit of tail shed important ?? My kings last shed was difficult and the last 1-2mm of his tail stayed on. She is in blue again now. Will I see problems with this one coming off ?? Whats the deal ??

Thanks,
Zoso

Question, How long does it usually take for all the skin to come off? Because so far it's been two days and just the head skin has come off.