Is she getting ready to shed?

Hey

Ruby won't eat, and seems a little more airfares that's normal. I've read that this happens when they're about to shed, as well as turning a full colour and glassy eyes... Is this what is happening to Ruby?

Here's a pic!


Thanks!
Becky


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Agitated... Not "airfares" [emoji23]


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It looks like it to me, but I'm not 100% certain from the picture. She sure is a pretty girl.

Different snakes act in different ways. My snake is usually quite active, and when he gets ready to shed he tends to Hide more. That's how I usually know. His skin will appear dull and off color, especially on the belly. Yes they sometimes refuse to eat as well, although my snake has eaten during sheds he has also refused to eat during sheds. The eyes get a "Glossy Blue" look to them eventually but this usually does not happen in the beginning. When the eyes get "That Look" you know the shed is soon.

Looking at your pic doesn't show much. The eyes look clear to me, but the skin does look dull. So (only a guess here) I'm going to say if your temps are correct, then your snake is probably getting ready to shed, but don't expect it overnight. The entire process can take 10 days to 5 weeks.

My snake actually refused food for almost a month during 1 shed cycle. Don't be alarmed, they can live a very long time with no food.

Thanks for the advice! I just don't want to assume she's going to shed when there's something else wrong that I need to address.
I'll try to feed her again in a few days and see if she'll go for it then.

Thaks


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Based on your pic, she is in a shed cycle.
I would hold off feeding her until after she sheds.

Karl_Mcknight said:

The entire process can take 10 days to 5 weeks.

Click to expand...

5 weeks?! I've never heard of a snake taking that long to go through a shed cycle. The longest I've personally ever seen was about 2 weeks.

To the original poster of this, yes it looks like she may be in early shed stages. The first signs I usually see is a cloudiness to their bellies. Then they slowly start to dull on top. Then, they turn "blue" as we call it. I'd best describe it as an overall chalky or milky look. Then they'll slowly clear up. Once they've cleared up, it's a matter of days until they shed.

As for eating while in shed...a lot of Corns will eat while in shed. However, I choose not to offer food during a cycle. I've had issues with young corns regurging when I feed them early on in the cycle. I've also had issues with feeding late in the cycle and it forcing an early, broken shed. I've literally had a snake eat and bust out of its shed because of it. There were pieces everywhere and I had to help her get the last few. I'm not saying every snake that eats during a shed will do either of these, they are just my reasons for not even worrying about it.

the process I refer to is from the moment the skin starts to dull and the snake starts to hiding and acting differently until the time the skin actually comes off. I've seen it take several months, but usually it's only a few weeks

Still. I don't think I've ever seen one take longer than 2 weeks or so. 2.5 weeks at most.

Unless there is a health or environmental issue most colubrids will shed in an average of 2 weeks.
I've seen some large Boa's and Python's take 3 or 4 weeks though....

Karl_Mcknight said:

The eyes get a "Glossy Blue" look to them eventually but this usually does not happen in the beginning. When the eyes get "That Look" you know the shed is soon.

Click to expand...

I'm fairly certain she'll shed soon now! Her eyes are super blue.


Thanks for all your advice and knowledge! [emoji4]


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Oh yeah, no doubt about that picture!

yup, beautiful blue eyes. They will clear up in a few days, and then she will shed sometime after they clear up.

Just thought I'd share a little update [emoji85]Back to her usual beautiful colours!





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Beautiful. Thanks for the update!