Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a rough green snake, and was wondering how long it should take for it to shed (a week, a few days, etc., etc.)? Is there anything I can put into the cage in order to help it shed better, or something else that I can do? Thanks.

Matt

The actual shedding process should take only an hour or less, from when the snake first begins to loosen the old skin from it's head to emergence from the last bit of tail. That's assuming a "clean" shed, all in one piece. To help him get started, be sure you have something rough and sturdy in there (like a rough rock or heavy piece of wood) that he can rub his nose against to get things started, and to catch the old skin on so he can crawl out of it more easily. Moisture also helps; a damp cloth or paper towel will help keep the old skin moist and thus easier to slough (shed).
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MichaelB

As stated above, once the snake actually begins to crawl out of its old skin, the process goes along quite quickly. I could not tell from your post, however, if you were actually asking: "How long will it take from when you first notice signs of going into shed, such as cloudy eyes, duller skin, etc?"
From that point, it CAN take a week or more. The eyes will cloud up. Several days later (usually) the eyes will seem to clear. Then a few days after that, the snake will shed. The whole thing, from cloudy eyes to actual shed, could be several days to more than a week.
The rest of Michael's info was also good: humidity, something to rub against, etc. Good luck. Duffy

Thanks guys. Mine has shed about half way, his head back to the middle of his body is all clean, but the rest still has dead skin on it. It didn't come off in one big piece either. He's slowly been shedding for about a week or so. Should I be concerned? Is there any specific rough object that I could put into his cage? I thought about taking him out and putting him in some warm water like I have seen other people discuss, but then I also read not to do too much with them while they are shedding because they are stressed as is. Plus being a rough green snake, he's feisty and doesn't like being handled. Any more help/tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

Matt

Easy fix, Matt. Put him in a plastic container (Tupperware, Rubbermaid) with a moist towel or wash cloth, or a bunch of moist paper towels. Leave him in there for a few hours or overnight - no longer than that. That should moisten up the old skin enough for it to come off easily. He may be able to slough it off just by crawling through the folds in the cloth, or you may have to give him a little help by gently letting him crawl through your hands so that you can "catch" the old skin and let him crawl out of it.

Rough greens shouldn't be a problem at all as far as being feisty; I don't think I could even coax one into biting. (They're native in the wild here in OK.) He may be stressed a bit because of the shed, but at this point you may have no choice but to help him slough the old skin off through gentle handling. If you have an agressive Rough Green snake, that might be a sign of a bigger problem.
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MichaelB

Thanks, I'll try that. He's not aggressive in the sense that he bites, he never bites. I think he's opened his mouth once and tried to pretend he was going to bite, but then he just slithered away after realizing his bluff failed. I just meant feisty in the sense that he'd rather not be handled.

I live in north TX and caught him in my front yard a year or so ago (in the suburbs!). I've seen several in my yard, and this is the squirmiest of them all. He's the only one I could find once I decided I was going to keep one as a pet though! I kept seeing them in my shrubs, and would catch them and hold them for a little while, letting them move about my hands. I thought they were real cool and read up on them, and decided I would just keep it as a pet.

One more question, I get off work late, would it hurt anything to wait until the weekend? Or will waking him up to stuff him in a bowl stress him more than need be? Do you think he'd go into the bowl on his own if I were to just put it in his cage? He has a hide in his cage, but he doesn't use it so I don't imagine he'd go into the bowl either. He prefers to stay up in the 'trees'.

Again, thanks for the help. I'll let you know how it goes.

Matt

I think it would be best done as soon as possible. Besides, who really knows when their snake is asleep so you may or may not be waking him just like you may or may not wake him when you handle him during the day or make noise outside his cage. If you make some noise outside his cage first before reaching in and grabbing him, it should be enough to alert him to your presence so he isn't too surprised.
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Sue Barnett
1.0 Florida King (Vega)
0.1 Western hognose (Sola)
0.1 Egyptian spiny mouse (Mia)
4.2 mini rex rabbits (Basil, Pippin, Reggie, Hayden, Jackie and Peek-a-boo)
0.1 Plott hound (Molly)
1.0 half Arab (Zarr)
1.0 Betta (Flash)

I think Sue is right, the sooner the better. You nailed it as far as their behavior - a bit more squirmy than most other snakes when it comes to handling. Ribbons and racers also have a reputation for being somewhat jittery; they may try to jump out of the enclosure as soon as the lid is off. And they do like to climb.

But note that you probably won't wake him up by making noise, since they don't have external ear openings and thus can't hear like we do. If he's awake, he'll be prowling around. In any case there's no need to be concerned about waking him up. Just put him in a container with something damp, and let him be for a few hours. Then,if he doesn't slough it himself, you should be able to peel the rest of it off easily.
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MichaelB