shredding??

[cornmad]

hi my corn snake hasn't shred since the begining of november its now january should i be worried?

[Jcapicy]

How old? How Big? How Often do you feed?

[cornmad]

i feed every 7 days she is about 2 ft i don't know how old she is sorry

[TWGarland]

if your snakes around two foot, and its been three months without a shed then that could be reason for concern.

Have you noticed your corn go into blue during this period? Have you seen any signs of a shed at all, ie. darkened colours for a week or so? Does the snake look normal? No loose skin, or flakes of anywhere?

[Jcapicy]

prolly around the 2 year mark depending on feeding intervals. If she seems healthy and active and has no issues feeding and has a water dish she can bathe in she should be fine. Her belly may get a little hue'd and her eyes will go blueish and she'll be shedding in no time!

How long have you had her?

[cornmad]

since october

[cornmad]

i think she is going to shed cause her colour has gone lighter

[TWGarland]

A corn not shedding from October to January sounds a little strange to me. Especially considering your snake is two feet long, thats not an adult or anything. Whenmy snake was around the same size as yours it was shedding like every month and a half or something similar to that...

As long as your husbandry is on the money, and the snake looks and behaves normally then i wouldn't panic yet, it is strange though.

A lightening of colours sounds like you could be describing the 'Blue phase' of a shed. Your corn should next return to its normal colouration for a few days, then it should shed. All in all the process should take about 7-10 days ish.

[Jcapicy]

I agree with TW on this. What kind of setup do you have? What are your temps/humidity levels at?

[cornmad]

there is one thing my corn never comes out but i stay up late to about 12 at night but i never she her but when i wake up she is in the same spot she used to be very active when i first got her in november but she isn't hardly out and the temputures are 80 degrees all the time i have an light in there apparently reptiles can not see it is that a problem

[Jcapicy]

How big is the cage/tank?

Also, do you know the in tank humidity?

[Jcapicy]

Another quick question, what kind of bedding are you using?

[cornmad]

i dunno how big the cage is i guess about 2 and a half foot but the man in the shop said it will last her all her life i dunno about humidity

[cornmad]

the bedding is corn cob

[snakewispera snr]

A corn not shedding from October to January sounds a little strange to me. Especially considering your snake is two feet long, thats not an adult or anything. Whenmy snake was around the same size as yours it was shedding like every month and a half or something similar to that...

As long as your husbandry is on the money, and the snake looks and behaves normally then i wouldn't panic yet, it is strange though.

A lightening of colours sounds like you could be describing the 'Blue phase' of a shed. Your corn should next return to its normal colouration for a few days, then it should shed. All in all the process should take about 7-10 days ish.


It's only a month and a half since november...
It sounds a long time nov-jan but in actual fact it can be aprox just one month . It all depends on when you start and finish counting...
MIKE

[Jcapicy]

2.5 ft could be 1 20 gallon long or a 40 wide. none the less that is sufficient.

Keep in mind that you never want to use Pine bedding with any reptile. Its a good rule of thumb.

And yet again TW is on point. It might not really be than long of a time since her last shed.

[Jcapicy]

my apologies

snakewispera_snr is on point. It might not really be than long of a time since her last shed.

[cornmad]

ok thank you everyone i think she is going in to shed because her colour has got lighter thanks :D

[Jcapicy]

are you able to take pics? Also if her eyes blue over she might become nippy from not being able to see so clearly. If this happens its best to leave her be and just change the water daily until her shed is over.

[MerlinsPop]

A snake sheds for basically 3 reasons:
1) To repair damage (injuries or infestations)
2) The old skin has 'worn out' (adults normally fall in this category)
3) The old skin doesn't fit (growing hatchlings and juveniles)

There are other reasons, sure, that have to do with breeding cycles and other reasons.

It seems to me that it's possible that on a 7 day feeding schedule, it's just not growing all that fast and therefore, doesn't need to shed as often as a snake that is growing faster. How much does your snake weigh? You might try searching for the Munson Plan and adjust your feeding schedule accordingly.

[susang]

i feed every 7 days she is about 2 ft i don't know how old she is sorry

What do you feed her every seven days?

[cornmad]

i feed her fuzzys

[susang]

Well if she's 24 inches, she is probably a yearling at least, fuzzies every 7 days is not enough, my yearlings eat small feeder mice or hoppers.

[Snake Dave]

I agree with Susan, 1 fuzzy every 7 days simply isn't enough I'm afraid. Do a search on the forum search engine for 'Munson Plan', as Janine said. This is a detailed feeding schedule that gives the right size mouse for the snake's weight. I'd have a look at this, weigh your snake and go from there. But I'd give a relatively small hopper, just so her system can adjust to the change in size.

About your heating method, reptiles can see light, but red lights don't bother them as much. Are you using a standard incandescent lightbulb or a red bulb? Because snakes can't see colour, at least not like we can.

[cornmad]

yer but i don't think she will be able to eat a mouse she is not that wide to be on mice she just about gets the fuzzies down but the man in the pet shop said to feed her fuzzies unless i feed her every 5 days ???

[susang]

A corn snake can eat a mouse 1.5 times bigger then the snakes widest point. You would have to go slowly at first like hoppers or rat pups or pinks. But even two fuzzies isn't enough. good luck susang

[cornmad]

thank you susang and the rest i will try her with hoppers i will let you all know

[susang]

thank you susang and the rest i will try her with hoppers i will let you all know

I was thinking back to my first corn snake and how afraid I was to feed him something bigger. They have such small heads when they're young and it doesn't seem like they could eat something that big. Believe me they can, you will be shocked. A few reasons your snake might be eating slow are you feeding live, f/t or stunned? If you're feeding live fuzzies, which I do from time to time, the snake may have to make sure the mouse won't hurt him. If you're feedig f/t they have to be really warm. Stunned should not have a problem, unless he doesn't like the smell at first. If you're feeding live now and you're moving up to hoppers be sure to stun the mouse first. susang

[cornmad]

ok thank you susang and the rest

[susang]

I just noticed this pic in another thread, http://cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61405
Check out the avatar pic, that will give you an idea just how big of an item they can get down.

[cornmad]

thanks susang and the rest you are a good help :D