Snake getting darker

I'm still kinda new to being a snake mom so I still have questions from time to time. We took our baby out today and I noticed he's a lot darker than he was a few weeks ago. Any guesses as to why or if this is just a normal snake thing? We made some changes to his vivarium (new wood chips, added a log hide, and a new heat lamp - we originally just had a pad). He also already shed about a month ago so I don't think it's that.

The pic is the difference. Top is from Aug 30, bottom is today 9/15. Same lighting I might add.

Thanks for the help!

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I would suspect he's getting ready to shed. My snakes will often look darker prior to going blue. They also seem to get really hungry, and therefore extra active right before going blue. Just a couple of other clues to watch for.

I would agree that he is getting ready to go into blue/shed.

albertagirl said:

I would suspect he's getting ready to shed. My snakes will often look darker prior to going blue. They also seem to get really hungry, and therefore extra active right before going blue. Just a couple of other clues to watch for.

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Okay that makes sense. But is it common for them to shed so quickly? Tbh we don't know how old he actually is (or even if he is a he [emoji23] the place we got him never got a chance to check as he was only there a week before we got him). But maybe he's younger than we think and that's why he's shedding again within a month?

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It could be caused by a few different reasons, but I wouldn't worry too much. Could be that he's still growing, and you are feeding him better than wherever you got him from and he's putting on a growth spurt. There are other reasons for quicker sheds, but other than breeding or healing a skin injury, they're not coming to me at the moment. Probably a search of the forum would come up with other reasons.

Hey guys just a follow up here. Turns out he is shedding! But he's been in blue for a few days now. Any tips to help the shedding process for him?

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They generally don't need any help, but you can certainly provide a moist hide if you want. Just put some damp sphagnum moss in a hide. And they do prefer to be left alone during the process.

hypnoctopus said:

They generally don't need any help, but you can certainly provide a moist hide if you want. Just put some damp sphagnum moss in a hide. And they do prefer to be left alone during the process.

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Absolutely! This shed just seems to be taking a little longer than his last is all, which I assume not all sheds are the same. But I'll try the moss idea. I also heard maybe a damp towel over the top of the vivarium could work to help get some moisture in there? [emoji1745] Tbh I'll probably leave him be and try these things for next time. Still just trying to get more tips is all

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My new bloodred just went blue a couple days back. Dullness is usually the first sign, but I've never seen a corn get as dark as yours there. It's actually pretty cool if you ask me, haha.

Always exciting to see what they look like post shed.