Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This may be a silly question but I'm a new snake mommy and think of things to ask periodically!! LOL LOL Since my 8 month old king is such a pig, eating anywhere from every other day to every 3 days (our preferred goal), how often should I expect him to shed? He's shed once since we got him on March 12.

Thanks! Becki

Well first off you shouldn't be feeding every other day! Give the snake time to digest. You should feed a baby about once every 5 days an appropriate sized meal. You are technicaly "power feeding" which is usually bad for snakes.

There is no set length of time for when a snake sheds, they shed when their old skin gets to tight.
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 1.0 western hognose

I agree. Power feeding is not great for snakes although many handle it just fine. Every 5 days is a good timetable in which to feed. Even then, with good sized meals, about every 5-7 weeks smaller snakes will shed. I have several small snakes that shed pretty much every 6 weeks.

We have cut back to every 3 to 4 days in feeding Nitro... hubby insisted on feeding him more and I told him to knock it off!! Nitro has no problem digesting his meals, nor expelling them either. Thanks again

>>This may be a silly question but I'm a new snake mommy and think of things to ask periodically!! LOL LOL Since my 8 month old king is such a pig, eating anywhere from every other day to every 3 days (our preferred goal), how often should I expect him to shed? He's shed once since we got him on March 12.
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>>Thanks! Becki

How big are his meals? I am thinking that I have snakes that go through growth spurts and seem always hungry....especially this time of year. But you want to give them time to empty out too. I would go with every 4 or 5 days at the closest. Possibly bigger prey...eeeek it up a bit.

As for sheds. If they grow they shed seems the most logical. I have young snakes shed once a month for a few months then back off to less often. That said I got two western hognose babies last August and one ate steadily and one started reluctantly. The steady eater finally shed for the first time last week even though he is bigger now than the other. The reluctant eater kicked into eating and growing and has shed several times.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron