Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone, as some of you know (from constant blabbering about it and my concern for it), my first and only snake should be shedding here in a few days. It's current substrate is Aspen Shavings. Will this be an okay and relatively easy material for him to slither out of his skin on? He's got a rock (fake, but still rough) that he can rub on to get him started, but is there anything I need to look into doing for it (GOD I hate saying "it", I wish I knew how to probe/pop!)? Thanks in advance.

ok, for one, yes, a rough rock and aspen chips work fine, thats what i have my snake in, and she does well with them. but if you see that not all of the skin is off, or it is having a hard time, you can do this. get a container where she can stretch out in, like tupperware for instance, then get a couple paper towels, put them in the tupperware, then put a little water in, but only about a fourth of her height. then put a top on, which is still breathable but will hold in moisture. this will help any extra pieces to fall off. if this still doesnt work, then you might think about the vet or somthing. but just remember NEVER PULL A SCALE OFF OF ANY REPTILE EVEN IF IT IS JUST BARELY HANGING OFF!!!!instead, try to let the snake do it themselves.
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i have one Brooks Kingsnake, hopefully breeding in the next couple of years! yaaahhhh, only if i can find a male though lol, but im still looking for a male lol

Your snake shouldn't need assistance in shedding. Occasionaly I will have one that needs a little assistance and you can help them out by gently peeling it off them.

Your King will find a way to shed it's skin usually using the side or bottom of the cage or the fake rock you have in there. Your snake should have no problem shedding it's skin if it's healthy. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

I only help them shed after they have tried themselves and the skin is definitely ready to come off. There is nothing worse than peeling live skin off a snake, I have seen someone do that before so let your snake shed on it's own. Give it some time and after it has shed snap some pics and post them here.

Take care-

Brett

Sweet, thanks you guys! I misted his house a little bit today to raise the humidity a little bit for him (it's right around 68percent now, that should be plenty)and I noticed when he was coiled under his hidebox that wherever it's body is bent, there are wrinkles, so he is DEFINITELY almost ready to shed. I can't wait until it happens, this will be a first for me as well as him (he's a baby, as far as I know, it's his first shed). Knowing my luck though, I'll be at work when he does it, I wouldn't be surprised.

I posted some pre-shed pics two or three days ago in my introduction post of it (it's a Hypomelanistic Brooksi), so you can find the "before" pics there. I'll definitely post some "after" shots of him (or her). Stay tuned! Thanks again guys!