Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm posting this here b/c it seems like noone gives many responses on the Milksnake forum.

Ny Albino Nelson is going into his 3rd shed since I've had him. He's still a yearling, 13-14inches in length. The past 2 sheds, this is what he has done. He gets ready to shed. I keep humidity perfect, temp perfect, and leave him alone. He scrubs the old skin off of his eyes (caps) and head...but that's it. I mist him lightly twice a day during shedding time just to make sure his skin has enough moisture. You can look at him and see the old skin almost seperated from the new skin...BUT, he makes no attempt to remove the old skin. After about 10 days...I'm concerned enough that I end up soaking him in warm water (about 84 degrees) to make sure the skin is super moist, and I manually help him shed.

I'm getting afraid we are going to have to do this again. Is there a reason he might not be attempting to shed the rest of his body?

That was my first thought when i saw the beutiful substrate
your using, does he have any ruff surface to rub the old skin
off? like bark? tree branch etc. just food fo' thought

Of course he does. To keep with uniformity, I set up all 3 of my cages exactly the same. He has PLENTY of rough stuff. He uses this rough stuff to shed his eye caps and old skin on his head. My pyro cross and my ALb. King shed with no problems. I have tried and tried to figure out why the ALb. Nelson is not shedding. There is NO other reason I can think of.

yea, i was not trying to patronize you dude , wait till old
herp-dog see's this thread he'll be able to "tell it"
like a mad scientist with the chrisma and dexterity to lend millions, or like sir. william wallace leading scottland to
freedom ,or like gludas maximus leadi....................
, you get the point, he'll
be able to help, mahhhah ha ha ha ha ha

Hmmm...not sure how to take that...

But, here goes:

Some snakes just do that. Not sure why, maybe they're just lazy? I've had otherwise perfectly healthy snakes, kept in optimum conditions that just refused to shed completely. What I usually do is put them in a Sterilite box full of damp paper towels for a few hours and they, almost without fail, finish shedding while they are in the box. That would indicate that they are somewhat dehydrated, but that doesn't really seem to be the case sometimes. One thing that I have found that helps sometimes, too is to make sure that their water bowl is big enough for them to soak in. Sometimes it doesn't help, though...rather than soak in it, they simply poop in it or make a game out of turning it over 6 times a day.

As far as I can tell, sometimes that's just one of those mysteries. Most often, disecdysis (failure to shed) is related to diet or hydration issues, but apparently not always. When I run across one like that, I just go ahead and help them shed when they need it. Sometimes, they just start shedding completely on their own after a while....go figure.

Oldherper,

Thanks for your reply. I am 99.9% positive he has OPTIMAL conditions. I'm very meticulous with my snakes.

I bought my Cal. King first, and I swear she is the most outgoing creature I have ever seen; curious, explorative, never hiding. Extremely intense appetite, and sheds in a few minutes once she starts.

I love my Albino Nelson, he is gorgeous. But, I swear he is afraid of anything that moves, never really explores, jumpy, eats sometimes, and sometimes will go 3 weeks without eating. I love him to death, but he is just quite different than my King.

I guess I kind of expected the same out of the Nelson as I did out of the King. I didn't want to help him shed if he can do it on his own. But, alas, maybe I'll end up having to help him shed everytime for the next couple of years...or maybe forever. I'm going to play around with some sphagnum, water bowls, and a few other things in the cage...but I seriously doubt it is going to help.

Maybe this is just his style...shed his head and then he's just lazy. Oh well...guess snakes have their own personalities. I think I'm more closely related to my Cal King and my wife is more closely related to the Nelson...in the big evolutionary scheme of things.

Thanks
Chris