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A few newbie questions about shedding

bumble Jul 23, 2005 12:58 PM

I'm pretty new to snake keeping, and my little girl Serrano is going into her first shedding while I have owned her. She has been particularly moody the last 2 or 3 days going to strike at me when I put my hand in her viv. From what I've read this could be due to the opaque quality the eyes get during shedding resulting in a temporary loss of vision, so she might be mistaking me for food. Is that the case, or do corns (or snakes in general) just get particularly mooddy during shedding?

I've just changed her water dish, to a much bigger one, as I don't think she could fit her entire body in the previous bowl. Will that help her to shedd her skin?

Are there any other things I can do to aid her during the shedding process? I'm assuming I should not handle her until the process is complete?

How long is the shedding likely to take to complete? I'm asking because she is so young, and I'm still in the process of bonding with her, so I'm worrying that due to a lack of handling she might become nervous again like she was when I first got her.
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gav, owned by:
1 Beardie (Lujan)
1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Serrano)
2 Fire-bellied Toads (Bill & Ben)
1 African Clawed Frog (Xenopus)
1 Giant Land Snail (Bert)
1 Turkish Gecko (Gordon)
2 Madigascan Hissing Cockroaches (Rosie & Jim)
15 Rats (too numerous to name)
1 Mastomys Rodent
3 Cats (Felix, Sami, & Willow)
14 assorted fish

Replies (6)

duffy Jul 23, 2005 01:11 PM

She'll be fine. It's normal for snakes to be a little jumpy when in shed...Especially a fairly new snake. The larger water bowl that she could crawl in could help. Moisture/humidity helps them in the process and if a snake has a "bad" or incomplete shed, a wad of wet paper towels in a plastic dish can help.

Your snake's eyes will cloud up, as you said. Then they will appear to clear and new snake owners wonder where the shed is. But your snake will shed a few days after that. Sometimes the whole process can take a week or more, so be patient. When the snake actually starts to crawl out of her skin, that takes hardly any time at all. Getting to that point may require some patience on your part. All will be OK, And you'll have plenty of time later to bond with your snake. Duffy

bumble Jul 23, 2005 02:04 PM

Thankyou, you have put my mind at rest
Should I continue feeding as usuall?
-----
gav, owned by:
1 Beardie (Lujan)
1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Serrano)
2 Fire-bellied Toads (Bill & Ben)
1 African Clawed Frog (Xenopus)
1 Giant Land Snail (Bert)
1 Turkish Gecko (Gordon)
2 Madigascan Hissing Cockroaches (Rosie & Jim)
15 Rats (too numerous to name)
1 Mastomys Rodent
3 Cats (Felix, Sami, & Willow)
14 assorted fish

raisnok Jul 23, 2005 02:22 PM

i would wait til the snake sheds, usually snakes wont eat while they are in the process of shedding.

janome Jul 23, 2005 05:15 PM

well, some will eat some won't. my adult ghost male won't but my baby female did.

raisnok Jul 23, 2005 05:51 PM

yeah i think all depends on the snake.

bumble Jul 24, 2005 05:48 PM

Well, i tried her with a pinky yesterday, and she took it happily. But I'm gonna leave it now till Thursday/Friday, and see how she is then.
-----
gav, owned by:
1 Beardie (Lujan)
1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Serrano)
2 Fire-bellied Toads (Bill & Ben)
1 African Clawed Frog (Xenopus)
1 Giant Land Snail (Bert)
1 Turkish Gecko (Gordon)
2 Madigascan Hissing Cockroaches (Rosie & Jim)
15 Rats (too numerous to name)
1 Mastomys Rodent
3 Cats (Felix, Sami, & Willow)
14 assorted fish

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