Shedding - New Snake

Hi everyone,

I just got my new snake yesterday!!! Fed him a pinkie as soon as I got home but before I put him in his new home (since it had been a week since he was fed at the place I got him). Now I'll leave him alone for at least 5 days to settle in.

I had a question about shedding. He's not in the blue phase, as far as I can tell. But the guy at the store said he was about to shed. I asked how he could tell, and he said since he's been around a lot of snakes, he can tell - he said mine was a little more dull than normal, and the eyes looked different.

My question is, how long is the entire shedding process, from start to finish? When will my snake go into the blue phase, and how long before he's finished. Also, should I feed him again if he's shedding? Or wait until he's done?

Thanks!!

P.S. I will post a pic as soon as I can handle him again. =)

~ Amy

A few days after blue phase the eyes will de-cloud and you should find a nice slinky skin waiting in the viv for you

Some snakes will eat readily whether they are about to undergo a state of undress or not. Others won't eat when they are in the shedding process. You'd have to try it to find out, but you certainly won't harm snakey by waiting until he's finished.

My snake went dull about 7 days ago. About 4 days ago his eyes went into the blue phase. 2 days ago his eyes became a normal color. Today he shed!

This is pretty much the norm for both my snakes. However, both my corns will eat when their eyes go back to their normal color. I just fed my guy today and he shed about 45 mins ago.

When Sienna gets ready to shed she goes blue 3 or 4 days after her belly gets milky and her body goes dull. She stays blue for 3 days and then she sheds 2 or 3 days after her eyes go clear again.

"Jimmy" Shed while I was at work and I'm wondering how long the actual shedding process takes?

Depends on what you mean by "shedding process".

From "blue phase" to actual shed is about 7-10 days. The actual shedding of the dermis begins with the snake rubbing his snout against objects in his viv to "break" the skin...thus if you have something in the viv that's relatively "rough", e.g. a tree bark hide, it'll be easier for the snake to begin the shed. Once the skin is broken, the snake slithers out, turning the shed skin inside-out (the classic analogy is when you peel a sock off your foot). How fast this takes is dependent on how fast the snake slithers. I've seen it done in two minutes, and I've seen it done in ten minutes.

And btw, observing the actual shed is a rare treat.

regards,
jazz

Excellent info...thanks.

How long after the shed can you feed him?

I know that's a pretty general question but is there a rule of thumb?

also, if the blue phase is as long as you say my boy ate during his shed.

Legoless is a piglet, and will eat readily while he's in any shed phase. He's a tiny bit tempermental when he's blue until he gets a good whiff of me, then we're fine.