When should I feed again? Wait until after shedding?

[Dee Dee]

Right so my butter corn 'popcorn' is in deep hiding having recently gone into blue. I don't know when exactly she went into blue but she's been in deep hide, not coming out at all, for about 4 days ish. She's due a feed on Saturday but I doubt she'll be done shedding by then. Would it be best to wait till after she's completely finished shedding before I offer a meal?
I'm also thinking it may be time to upgrade to a larger prey item. She's on 1 pinky every 7days right now (that's what she was on when I got her 3 1/2 weeks ago). There is a bulge after eating but it doesn't last more than 24hrs I dont think (im not 100% as I don't get her out/disturb her after feeding for the recommended 48hrs). Shes 1 1/2feet long approx & about 7months old I think (was told she was a hatchling in late 2010, so that's my estimate). I was thinking next feed I'd offer 2x pinks & see how she handles that, use up the last few pinks I hav left in that way if she manages & then maybe move up to fuzzies. I'll try to measure her round her widest part & weigh her once she's done shedding. May be a silly Q but can I use digital kitchen scales to weigh? Or do I need special weighing scales?
Any thoughts/advice would be, as always, very much appreciated.

[WingedSweetheart]

I'd wait until after she sheds to offer a meal. Some snakes will eat while in shed with no problem. But some will throw up and that is really hard on a snake. So, it's best not to risk it. Snakes can go a long time without eating so she isn't going to starve lol.

You can try giving her two pinks if you think she is ready for it. But after you do you should observe how long she takes to digest it. If she hides away digesting for 3 or more days then you know she ate too much (or if she throws up). You don't have to actually measure her thickest part. Just look at it and look at the size of the prey item. If it's the same size or a little bigger then it's all good.

A digital kitchen scale will work just fine. I use a postal scale to weigh my snakes.

[Rishi]

I use a kitchen scale :) I've attached a photo of what was given to me as the best feeding plan (the munson plan) when I first came to this site. It has worked well for me, and I hope will work for you as well!

http://i.imgur.com/rGgfFl.jpg

[Dee Dee]

That's a big help. Thank you. I'll weigh her once she's finished shedding & feed her accordingly.

[Cassie16]

My snake shed for the first time (since I'd had him) on a Saturday night, and I fed him Sunday evening after work. It went just fine.

Waiting for them to shed is kind of nerve racking. I started questioning if his eyes had really glazed over as I thought. He waited until night (around 12:00am) to do it. It seemed as if he wanted to do it at night when it was quiet. I can't remember if you've had yours sexed or not. If you haven't, try doing a scale count on his tail once he sheds. I don't know how accurate they are, but it's kind of cool to vaguely know what sex they are.

I've heard a few people on here say they use kitchen scales. If it weighs in oz, just make sure to multiply whatever number you get by 28.35 to get it in grams.

Good luck!

[Dee Dee]

My scales weigh in oz & grams. This is my snakes 1st shed with me also :) You're right it is nerve racking! I noticed she was quiet for a few days, fed her on sat & then on mon I took her out & saw her eyes were milky. She's been in her humid hide for 2days now & I'm restraining myself from checking on her.
I say 'her' but actually I haven't had popcorn sexed. I just don't like to call her an 'it' so I've labeled her as a girl. I may do it later tho because I'm thinkin of breeding in the future. It won't be for a good yr or 2 but eventually I'm thinking of setting her/him up with a gold dust, maybe motley or pin stripe.
How do you use the tail scales to determine sex? I realise it's not a definate way of concluding sex but an idea would be nice.

[Dee Dee]

Well unexpectedly when I got up this morning & walked past popcorns enclosure something caught my eye on the warm side of her enclosure. SHE HAS SHED!!! I wasn't expecting this yet as she's only been hiding & in blue for about 5days, to the best of my knoledge. I'm soooo proud :D This is her 1st shed with me & it was a complete shed, from head to tail lol. Got her out of her enclosure to check her over & she looks good to me :) I did want to keep her 1st shed for me but...she pooped in it :( lol. Ah well. I'll keep the next one. I'm just happy she's had a complete shed & she's pooped. I can feed her as normal now. I plan to weigh her tomorrow after I finish work & defrost her din dins accordingly. I'll post some pics of her freshly shed as soon as I can.

[WingedSweetheart]

It'll be even harder when they get bigger. My biggest girl takes nearly 2 weeks to shed :D. The first time she did that I kept checking on her to make sure she hadn't died or something lol.

[Dee Dee]

Dito. Probably why she's a bit wary of me again now. I kept lifting up her humid hide & moving the moss a little to check she was still alive & kicking. Well as much as a creature without legs can 'kick' lol :p

[AlexEarl]

if you snake does not shed in one and needs help getting the rest of, if they have food in their stomach there is a chance they may regurge while your trying to aid them with the shed. fortunately with me i got the shed off ok but it is a lot trickier with a bulge to work with

goodluck :)

[Dee Dee]

Thanks AlexEarl. My baby is just fine. She shed in 1 piece, fed on Saturday (2 pinks) & she pooped when I took her out to handle her yesterday.