Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an small 5 year old alterna that was kept warm over the winter, and ate a small sized meal about once every month to six weeks for the last 4 months or so. He has never been a good eater (that is why he is small). He has not grown this winter. The strange thing is he sheds once month. He basically sheds once for every small meal he eats, and once he shed twice before taking food again. He sheds just as much as my yearlings that are growing like weeds.

Here are some of my questions:

How often do your adult kings shed? Mature Adults?

What are the factors that determine when a snake sheds? Growth? And...?

Why would a snake shed if it is not growing?

Have any of you observed similar behavior?

Is this a symptom of a larger problem?

Thanks in advance for your help on this subject.
Tom Anderson

i cant really help, im a beginner myself, just wanted to say wonderful looking alterna!

If its healthy it does everything normally and you dont notice things.When its not you may look too hard at one thing and overlook another.WHY is the snake not a good feeder?What does it eat?Size?quantity?Frequency?Live/dead?All these factors could help in determining what is wrong.To fix them,why didnt you earlier?? No vet visit in 5 years for a problem feeder?I would suggest minimally a fecal exam to check for parasitation.Check the temps and humidity...it could be a healthy snake you arent keeping well too.A more likely factor is that whatever you are feeding it either it doesnt like or hasnt been forced to do without.If this was a month ago I would tell you to place it in a dark,cold spot and monitor its semi-brumating state for a month or 2...but you cant even do that now!I would suggest the exam and varying the diet to include multiple smaller meals instead of what is likely one large one.Yes its more time and $$,but you should be thankful that its still here to begin with.Let us know what the vet says,Jeff

Thanks for your response and your concern, but you have not addressed my questions at all. Without posting my snakes entire vet records, I can just say that the vet bills for this snake alone are greater than my other 20 some odd kingsnakes, 10 lizards, and two dogs combined. He was a "runt" to say the least and requires much more care than an average grayband. It took two and a half years to get him off of lizards. In most peoples care, he would have starved a long time ago.

Other than a re-occuring RI, he has no outward signs of illness. None of the herp vets I have taken him to offer any explanation other than possible genetic weakness.

I do not plan to breed him - that goes without saying.

I was only curious about frequent shedding? And that question led to another question - what factors determine when snakes shed? Growth and... Seasonal Changes? Obviously breeding contributes to the shedding of female kings. Are there any other factors that any of you have observed??

I brought this question to the forum because my girlfriend and I got into a discussion about the reasons snakes shed. I have read a a fair amount about snakes and don't recall running across any studies that suggest anything other than growth. I have been keeping snakes for a decade of so, and have not had a snake shed twice in a month without eating before. I have always thought of shedding as a part of the growth cycle (like an spider or a shrimp molting).

Having been a senior keeper at St Augustine's Alligator Farm for years, my girlfriend has much more practical experience with reptiles. She thinks that there may be many factors that determine when snakes shed; she just doesn't know what they may be. She thinks that they shed when there body tells them they need a new skin (laymen's terms). For example, maybe there as the skin ages, an enzyme is produced that triggers the shedding process. Maybe when a snake is young, it ages faster relative to when it is an adult.

I was curious about what you guys thought since you also have experience keeping kingsnakes.

thank you,
Tom Anderson

First and most importantly is the fact that their skin is the MOST vital organ on their body...its my opinion that its even more important than their primative heart.All kinds of infections and potential other problems(improper humidity for example)could occur as well.There is no "right"amount of time between sheds particularly for adult snakes.I have had most snakes shed either in brumation or just after coming out without eating.....during egg production for sure.....and of course big meals.But their individual regulation of food into growth varies.I have also had individuals that DIDNT shed but 1 time/yr....and ALL its intake went into fat/egg production and she through over 100 eggs/yr!I would also be very concerned about that diet and your inability(sorry)in converting this problem feeder to rodents.I have never had to take more than a year to convert anything.....then again maybe just keeping it alive is a balancing factor;I tend to make it more of a sink or swim system,lol.That is a nice snake,but you are doing the right thing by NOT breeding it....a point lost on many other breeders,Jeff