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My adult male CRB has been on a regular ~6 week shedding cycle for the 3 years I've had him. His sheds are always preceded by 7-10 days in the opaque or blue phase. This morning I walked in to see him in the process of (very bad) shedding. The strange part was that not only was it early (4 weeks), but he also never went through the pre-shed opaque phase. It caught me completely by surprise, and it's no wonder he's having problems because I haven't been misting him. I've got him in his damp hide box now under moist towels, and I'll try massaging the remaing skin off later after he's soaked for awhile. I'm most worried about why this is happening, and if it's a sign of health problems. Has anyone had this happen before? Is it a symptom of disease? Could it be stimulated by something environmental (changing seasons, etc.)? His last shed was perfect. Any and all input is appreciated. Thanks!

Matt

Matt,
...I think this does indicate a health or husbandry problem. First look for anything in the environement inside the cage which may have irritated the snake's skin. Insecticides and/or cleaning supplies perhaps? No water in the waterbowl could have caused the snake's kidneys to shut down. A very dirty cage or substrate that has been urinated on and has become very acidic could cause the problem. A thermostat or heater failure could have burned the snake. Not misting should not have caused an early shed cycle like this. I don't mist any of my BRBs but I do provide high humidity in the cages so that they shed easily. If you can find nothing in the husbandry issues a visit to a good vet may be necessary.
Good luck,
Jeff

>My adult male CRB has been on a regular ~6 week shedding cycle for the 3 years I've had him. His sheds are always preceded by 7-10 days in the opaque or blue phase. This morning I walked in to see him in the process of (very bad) shedding. The strange part was that not only was it early (4 weeks), but he also never went through the pre-shed opaque phase. It caught me completely by surprise, and it's no wonder he's having problems because I haven't been misting him. I've got him in his damp hide box now under moist towels, and I'll try massaging the remaing skin off later after he's soaked for awhile. I'm most worried about why this is happening, and if it's a sign of health problems. Has anyone had this happen before? Is it a symptom of disease? Could it be stimulated by something environmental (changing seasons, etc.)? His last shed was perfect. Any and all input is appreciated. Thanks!
>>
>>
>>Matt

Jeff,
Thanks for the tips. It's late in the day here, so I'll get him to the vet early next week, unless you think it's urgent. None of the things you mentioned seem to be a problem. No irritants like cleaning products, etc. He had plenty of water. He's on newspaper, and it was clean. Heat and humidity has been stable. He has a moist hide box available all the time (damp sphagnum moss). I can't see any burns, cuts, or abrasions on his skin, but I'm also not getting a great look since I don't want to handle him while his skin is fresh (he's done shedding now).

One thing I am wondering about is whether changing daylength can stimulate an abrupt shed like this. Up until this summer, he was in a windowless room (over cage lights on 12 h light/dark). Sometime in July he was moved to a room with north facing windows. He has had 1-2 normal sheds since then, but now the days are getting quite short. He still has his over cage lights on a 12 h cycle, but I wonder if the shorter daylight from the windows could affect him. What do you think?

Matt

>>Matt,
>>...I think this does indicate a health or husbandry problem. First look for anything in the environement inside the cage which may have irritated the snake's skin. Insecticides and/or cleaning supplies perhaps? No water in the waterbowl could have caused the snake's kidneys to shut down. A very dirty cage or substrate that has been urinated on and has become very acidic could cause the problem. A thermostat or heater failure could have burned the snake. Not misting should not have caused an early shed cycle like this. I don't mist any of my BRBs but I do provide high humidity in the cages so that they shed easily. If you can find nothing in the husbandry issues a visit to a good vet may be necessary.
>>Good luck,
>>Jeff
>>

Matt,
...The change in day length should not cause a quick shed. The shorter days and/or the cooler temperatures this time of year will cause males to become anxious but mine eat less and actually shed less for several months starting this time of year. Overhead lights? 12 hours a day? Does the snake have a dark tight hiding spot to get away from all that light? What is the temperature with the lights on and also with them off? Other than the quick shed has the snake shown any other symptoms or last any weight?
Jeff

>>Jeff,
>>Thanks for the tips. It's late in the day here, so I'll get him to the vet early next week, unless you think it's urgent. None of the things you mentioned seem to be a problem. No irritants like cleaning products, etc. He had plenty of water. He's on newspaper, and it was clean. Heat and humidity has been stable. He has a moist hide box available all the time (damp sphagnum moss). I can't see any burns, cuts, or abrasions on his skin, but I'm also not getting a great look since I don't want to handle him while his skin is fresh (he's done shedding now).
>>
>>One thing I am wondering about is whether changing daylength can stimulate an abrupt shed like this. Up until this summer, he was in a windowless room (over cage lights on 12 h light/dark). Sometime in July he was moved to a room with north facing windows. He has had 1-2 normal sheds since then, but now the days are getting quite short. He still has his over cage lights on a 12 h cycle, but I wonder if the shorter daylight from the windows could affect him. What do you think?
>>
>>
>>Matt
>>
>>>>Matt,
>>>>...I think this does indicate a health or husbandry problem. First look for anything in the environement inside the cage which may have irritated the snake's skin. Insecticides and/or cleaning supplies perhaps? No water in the waterbowl could have caused the snake's kidneys to shut down. A very dirty cage or substrate that has been urinated on and has become very acidic could cause the problem. A thermostat or heater failure could have burned the snake. Not misting should not have caused an early shed cycle like this. I don't mist any of my BRBs but I do provide high humidity in the cages so that they shed easily. If you can find nothing in the husbandry issues a visit to a good vet may be necessary.
>>>>Good luck,
>>>>Jeff
>>>>

>>Matt,
>>...The change in day length should not cause a quick shed. The shorter days and/or the cooler temperatures this time of year will cause males to become anxious but mine eat less and actually shed less for several months starting this time of year. Overhead lights? 12 hours a day? Does the snake have a dark tight hiding spot to get away from all that light? What is the temperature with the lights on and also with them off? Other than the quick shed has the snake shown any other symptoms or last any weight?
>>Jeff
>>
>>>>Jeff,
>>>>Thanks for the tips. It's late in the day here, so I'll get him to the vet early next week, unless you think it's urgent. None of the things you mentioned seem to be a problem. No irritants like cleaning products, etc. He had plenty of water. He's on newspaper, and it was clean. Heat and humidity has been stable. He has a moist hide box available all the time (damp sphagnum moss). I can't see any burns, cuts, or abrasions on his skin, but I'm also not getting a great look since I don't want to handle him while his skin is fresh (he's done shedding now).
>>>>
>>>>One thing I am wondering about is whether changing daylength can stimulate an abrupt shed like this. Up until this summer, he was in a windowless room (over cage lights on 12 h light/dark). Sometime in July he was moved to a room with north facing windows. He has had 1-2 normal sheds since then, but now the days are getting quite short. He still has his over cage lights on a 12 h cycle, but I wonder if the shorter daylight from the windows could affect him. What do you think?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Matt
>>>>
>>>>>>Matt,
>>>>>>...I think this does indicate a health or husbandry problem. First look for anything in the environement inside the cage which may have irritated the snake's skin. Insecticides and/or cleaning supplies perhaps? No water in the waterbowl could have caused the snake's kidneys to shut down. A very dirty cage or substrate that has been urinated on and has become very acidic could cause the problem. A thermostat or heater failure could have burned the snake. Not misting should not have caused an early shed cycle like this. I don't mist any of my BRBs but I do provide high humidity in the cages so that they shed easily. If you can find nothing in the husbandry issues a visit to a good vet may be necessary.
>>>>>>Good luck,
>>>>>>Jeff
>>>>>>

Jeff,
I haven't noticed any changes over the seasons before. The room temperature fluctuates, obviously, but I can make adjustments to the cage environment to keep it pretty much the same year round. His main lighting is two lights on the roof of the cage. I switched to compact fluorescents over the summer because they give off less heat (and use less energy). The lights in the room itself can be on during the day, but only when his lights are on. There are also the windows I mentioned. I was recommended a 12 h light/dark cycle to approximate tropical conditions. Do you use less light?

His cage temperature goes from about 72-5 F at night up to about 80 F during the day. That's measured from the middle of the cage. The 'hot' side gets up to 85 or so on the basking shelf, and the 'cool' side stays in the upper 70's. He has 3 places to hide: a high humidity box in the middle of the cage, and 2 of the Zoo Med large hollowed logs, one on each end of the cage. Relative humidity changes with the temperature, of course, but always stays in the range of 60-80%. These are the conditions I've been using for almost 3 years now.

I have seen no other symptoms aside from this strange shed. His eating and other behaviors seem normal. It's not just the shortness of the interval that bothers me, but also that he didn't go through his usual opaque phase first. Have any of your snakes ever done this before? Thanks for all the help.

Matt

>>Matt,
>>...The change in day length should not cause a quick shed. The shorter days and/or the cooler temperatures this time of year will cause males to become anxious but mine eat less and actually shed less for several months starting this time of year. Overhead lights? 12 hours a day? Does the snake have a dark tight hiding spot to get away from all that light? What is the temperature with the lights on and also with them off? Other than the quick shed has the snake shown any other symptoms or last any weight?
>>Jeff
>>

..I would suggest you don't worry about it very much. I am more pattern orientated than event orientated. (I would probably would anyway just because I can't let things go so easily) Watch for a pattern to determine if something is wrong. One incident may be an aberration and nothing to get too concerned about. If it happens again next shed you will need to re-evaluate all your practices and environmental situations including the health of the snake. You seem to know what's going on precisely and if you continue to use such observations you will likely find the problem through careful self-examination of the situation. I would think the problem (if there is one) would be either with the last shed or shortly after it. If it normally takes 6 weeks to cycle through a shed in your situation then I would look at what happened at the time of the last cycle. I would also think reduced light day would cause a slower shed pattern not an increased one.

I'm not certain what you mean by "perfect shed" though. Could it be that what you consider to be perfect is not so perfect by another's standards? Or that simple relocation of the enclosure has caused a humidity change?

Linda

>>I'm not certain what you mean by "perfect shed" though. Could it be that what you consider to be perfect is not so perfect by another's standards? Or that simple relocation of the enclosure has caused a humidity change?
>>
>>Linda
>>

True enough. What I meant by a "perfect" shed was that the skin came off in one long piece. I have had problems with dry sheds in the past (well, not me, but the snake), where the skin comes off in little bits or he is still trying to shed in the morning when I check on him. His shed prior to this incident was not like this at all, rather it was about as good as it gets. Going back 2 sheds it's similarly good. I keep a daily log of his temp and humidity for the morning and afternoon; I'll check back and see if there's been a change to go along with his relocation. Thanks for your thoughts and perspective.

Matt

Hmm... the only thing I have to add is that when snakes shed, they get cloudy because of a layer of fluid that develops as old skin pulls away from the new. This fluid may also help the skin to come off easier as the snake begins to shed. Since you didn't see any cloudiness, maybe, this fluid layer did not develop properly and maybe this is why the old skin came off so patchy.

As for the untimely nature of the shed, if it were my snake, I wouldn't worry so much as long as everything else was normal and healthy. It could be that since the days are getting shorter and cooler, the animal may be entering a reproductive cycle. Maybe a hormonal change within the animal caused an early shed.

How's that for "I don't know"?

Mike