Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all
I own a Desert King among others and something very strange just happened. I observed her eyes becoming cloudy after the past couple of days, which told me she was going to shed. She had been hiding alot and each day her eyes got progressively whiter. Then all of a sudden today I go and pick her up and her eyes are back to normal, but there is no shed skin in the tank. I can tell she did not shed because she got herself caught up in some duct tape a few weeks ago and thee glue is still on her remaining skales showing that they did not come off during the shedding process. Also she is not any brighter than she was a few days ago.

Any ideas?

Thank you,
Ralph
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Ralph

1.0 Bearded Dragon
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Bullmastiff

I bet she sheds within the next 48 hours. Wouldn't hurt to mist her either, may bring on the shed. Let us know if she does. Tom

I will mist her and let you know how it goes.
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Ralph

1.0 Bearded Dragon
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Bullmastiff

All of my snakes clear up for a few days before they shed. The skin is a little looser though and if they don't have enough moisture, can start to look a little wrinkly.
Lora

She probally just shed her eye caps because they didnt come off last time she had a shed. Just an idea. ,chris

Ya I'm with Tom. Snakes always shed after their eyes clear up.

It has been over 24 hours and still no shed...will be awaiting the next 24 hours...Thanks again for the interest and replys
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Ralph

1.0 Bearded Dragon
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Bull Mastiff

After about 28 hours of shedding her eye caps she shed! She looks better than ever! Thanks again!
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Ralph

1.0 Bearded Dragon
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Bull Mastiff

Cool, I figured it was just gonna shed. I had an odd experience with a Corn in brumation this year and she looked like she was going to shed and took almost a month before she finally did. Really screwed up the timing of her breeding but she did produce 2 clutches of eggs for me. c ya Tom

Are you saying that she actually shed her eyecaps before the rest of her skin. Are you sure? Did you check the shed skin for eyecaps. If they are not there I would bet that she retained them. The blue clearing up does not mean that the eyecaps were shed. It means that the entire skin will be shed in a few days. Usually 3-4. This is all very normal and follows the regular steps of shedding:
1. A milky liquid is formed beneath the skin causing it to appear dull and/or blue. This is most obvious in the eyes. This seperates the skin from the scales. This stage should last a few days.
2. The liquid is absorbed into the skin causing it to soften and expand. The milky color disappears. This signals that shedding will occur within a few days.
3. The skin is shed off.

In short, this is what you are going to see every time one of your snakes sheds. If it is not, then something is wrong.
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