adamant365

Hello All,

Been lurking awhile reading some great information here and elsewhere, but now I have a question.

First, a little background. I am the proud parent of a beautiful (almost) 6 month old male "Extreme" Okeetee from SMR. He has been doing very well since I received him in late February: feeding every 5 days, pooping, active, receptive to handling (no less than 60 hours post feed), etc. I gave him a full week to settle in before handling/feeding.

I last fed him on 3/14 and about a day later I noticed the tell-tale signs of pre-shed. Much less active, dull colors, etc. He spent the entirety of the shed in his cool hide (70-74F probe thermometer). Last night he successfully shed in one full piece including eye caps and tail (yay!), had a good poo, and then returned to his warm hide (83-85F via UTH - probe thermometer).

This morning I took him out to ogle his fresh beauty, and noticed he still has a bit of a post-feed belly. Now, this is 10.5 days post feed. It isn't an "I just ate a pinky" bulge, but it's definitely noticeable by feel and visually.

Should I be concerned? I don't know why he decided to spend the entire shed in the cool hide, but I didn't disturb him nor try to coax him to the warm side. Should I wait to feed him until the bulge disappears? Is a 10 day old undigested meal likely to cause issues? He seems completely healthy otherwise.

Although this is my first reptile of any kind, I'm very meticulous. I try not to worry over every little thing because snakes have been around much longer than us and know what to do, but I do have a slight concern over this length of digestion.

Thanks!