Reptile & Amphibian Forums

is it normal for him to be kind of lethargic at this time? He stays on the warm side, curled up the majority of this week, since I noticed him blue. Should I soak him? I misted him once, should I do it again? The humidity is at 60.

(Paranoid new snake mom)
DeAnne

I set a wet paper towel on their UTH were they lay. This insures a "clean" shed.

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That is perfectly normal behavior. In the wild, they would more vulnerable in this condition, and so would be expected to remain holed up in one location until they shed. So leave him alone. If he doesn’t shed in mostly one piece, you’ll know that next time he is opaque you might want to provide more moisture.

>>is it normal for him to be kind of lethargic at this time? He stays on the warm side, curled up the majority of this week, since I noticed him blue. Should I soak him? I misted him once, should I do it again? The humidity is at 60.
>>
>>(Paranoid new snake mom)
>>DeAnne

A couple of days before my girl's most recent shed, she was miserable. She was a horrible color, and her eyes were very cloudy. He body felt strange to the touch, and she moved poorly. I had been out of town and didn't mess with her at first. The next day, I soaked her in warm water for about twenty minutes. She seemed to feel a little better, and I held her for a few minutes. She still wasn't happy. I may have soaked her again the following day, but she shed either that day or the following day. Once she'd shed, she was a couple of inches longer. I guess if my skin were three inches too short for my body, I'd be miserable as well. I'd be particularly miserable if three inches were almost 20% of my lenght.

If you're feeding your guy more regularly than the previous owner was, he may have gained weight and needs a bigger skin to accomodate his greater bulk. If so, he'd likely be miserable and lethargic as well. I'm sure he'll feel better after he's shed.

I don't know enough to know whether soaking is really a good idea, but I'd soak mine. I also spray my snakes with Vita-Spray and may try some Shed-Ease in the future. Again, I don't know what most keepers think about these products. I suspect that many people here have too many snakes to give each of them a massage every couple of days.

Bill

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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

This morning I checked on him before I left for work, and low and behold, there was a big ol snake skin in the middle of his tank! He looks much happier today (do snakes look happy? lol) Much better shed than his last one, no flaky chunks, just a nice big piece. I did put the wet paper towels in there last night, and will do it again next time, but sooner!

Oh yeah, he did a big poop too!!

DeAnne

Congrats on getting the good shed and the bowel movement. Having our animals show these signs of good health is gratifying. If you can get him to eat, you'll have the hat trick!

Now would be a good time to weigh him. Sheds are major events, so knowing the after-shed weight should be a good way to compare "apples to apples" in snake weight. (Maybe one of the more experienced people will say otherwise.) I'd weigh before feeding just to get the "after-shed, after-defecation" baseline.

All the best,

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.