I'm worried about my snake

[Jicin]

If you can recall, last week i posted a topic of my 6 week old corn snake regurgitating. As advised i gave him half a pinky. The head. After 15 minutes she still hasn't swallowed it. She has it in her mouth halfway now.

My other snake had it down in a fraction of a second. This is my second feed and the first defrosted. I held the tail of the second half (Well, i wasn't going to throw it away.) of the pinkie. Thinking 'Now i must wiggle it in front of her to simulate... *WHACK*' Scared the absolute hell out of me :D Darn what i strike power that little one has. I'd knew snakes were strong but the unexpected visiousness just took me by suprise.

But anyway. The puker is taking her time. Are there any extra thinks to take in account to make sure she won't regurgitate again? Besides keeping the viv warm enough and putting a towel over the viv? I'm really worries about her since she's already significantly smaller then the other one. (When can i expect a shed anyway? I thought soon after eating. The other one took 2 last feeding)

Thanks

[Jicin]

Pfff. Finally she completely swallowed it. I let her crawl back in the viv from the feeding bin herself. I really hope she'll keep it inside this time

[MegF.]

They shed maybe once a month except when they're really you hatchlings, and then they'll shed more. Had your snake gone into blue phase? If it has, then it will probably shed in a few days.

[Jicin]

I i don't think they have. My snakes are about 7 weeks old now. I have them for 2 and a half week. So i guess i should expect them to shed in a week or so.

Can they grow between sheds? I mean, look at how big they are after eating a pinkie. The skin obviously can stretch a lot. But they do need to shed. I wonder now if it's in order to grow or just get a fresh skin to get rid of parasites and such. I think she's a bit bigger then when i bought her, but it may just be my mind playing tricks on me. What did she do with the 2 pinkies if she hasn't used it for growth?

[MegF.]

I think shedding is in response to growth, and to get fresh healthy skin. People shed parts of their skin cells every day, but snakes don't. They eventually have to get rid of skin that has becomed damaged and old, even if they are past their growth point. Adults still shed, just not as often as youngsters. My snakes are shedding about every 30-45 days. In a snake that isn't thriving, the pinkies are probably being used to keep things going, instead of into growth as others would. I think once your snake gets to fuzzies, you'll see real growth as they seem to have a little more nutritional value to them.