Do you feed right after Blue or after shed?

I was curious to know. Both my guys are in blue & the last they ate was 6 days ago. I was going to feed them last night but noticed they both are in blue. So do I wait til they come out or do I wait til they shed. As I have heard some posters say their snakes will have a bad shed if they have eaten prior.

TIA

Will make this a poll so I can get a % feel free to give me tons of advice, since these guys are my first & I am SO new at this.

I'll sometimes feed if they're in blue. If they've cleared up from the blue and are within a day or two of shedding, I don't feed. Mostly I wait until they've finished shedding. My snakes invariably refuse food during a shed anyway.

It kind of depends on the snake, but mostly I feed on schedule. My BP gets very nervous when she can't see, and since she gets live prey, I don't feed until after she's shed. I don't feel comfortable giving her live when she can't see. On the other hand, my corn gets F/T and will happily eat without being able to see crap. In short, if I don't think the snake will eat while in blue, I won't bother until they shed.

I'm very new in this but my flake is blue for the second time with me, I will feed imediatly after he sheds because he, till today, always turns blue in the feeding day, so he gets real hungry by the time he sheds...

I stick with the schedule. If I know the snake is blue on feeding day, I don't feed. If I've already thawed out dinner, and surprise! the snake is blue, I'll offer it. Some eat, some don't. After they shed, they wait until the next scheduled day. Even though I only have seven, it would be too confusing to feed each on its own schedule. I just have a group of seven dayers, and a group of five dayers.

Sort of related: when the males are on springtime hunger strike I offer food on the scheduled day but have a back up snake ready to eat if the male is still refusing.

Nanci

my son's anery eats whether he's blue or not He's a little oinker, and he's never refused food, even when blue. I simply offer food on the regular day of feeding. If I suspected he was actually going to shed on feeding day, then I would try to postpone the feed by a day.

I attempt to feed on schedule. I offer Eddy a fuzzy even when he's in blue...he's only refused once. If he doesn't take the food at that time, I wait until he's completely done shedding to try again.

I pretty much stick to schedule.

Tootse and Duckey will eat whatever is put in front of them, whenever I put it in front of them. That includes pre-blue, blue, clear-before-shed, and post-shed.

Bech however, will not eat at all once she goes blue. She'll refuse food until after she's shed, so she'll typically miss 1-2 feedings.

It's pretty much all up to your snake(s) and I've found that both Tootse and Duckey shed better than Bech (I'm led to believe it's because they DO eat during blue, but I could be wrong).

I feed on schedule regardless of whether Roxanne is in blue or not.

Fortunately for me she has even eaten when she is the bluest of blue.

Regards,
Steve

Just last night by amel female (who was in blue and then cleared) ate. she ate 2 large pinkies and then ate the 2nd pinkie that was refused ny my Anery (I can never get her to eat more than one in a feeding) which made 3 for the Amel.
Woke up this morning to a complete perfect shed.

Ill tell you what she is an eating shedding machine

Too bad there's not a "depends on the snake" to vote on. That would've been my vote.

regards,
jazz

My snakes have yet to refuse in shed, so I always stick to the schedule.

jazzgeek said:

Too bad there's not a "depends on the snake" to vote on. That would've been my vote.

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Yeah, me too. I voted that I keep to schedule, and this is true for most of my snakes, but I don't bother to offer for some of my snakes if they're in blue. My Keys het Cinders, Bairdis, and one of my MBKs won't eat when they're anywhere near shed, so I don't bother.

From my observations, very young hatchling will sometimes regurge if they eat between going into blue and full blue. After they've cleared, even before the shed, they're fine.

jazzgeek said:

Too bad there's not a "depends on the snake" to vote on. That would've been my vote.

regards,
jazz

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Here, Here!

I voted "None of the above" because I let my snakes tell me. Some will eat regardless of the stage of blue and some refuse during different phases.

My Floridana doesn't let anything stop her from eating. Blue, deepest of the blues, clear, and immedately after shed...she doesn't let anything stop her. She does, however, occasionally have a rought shed. I won't attribute it to eating while blue, but I can't figure out why, for the life of me. Her temps and humidity are identical to every other king and corn in my collection, she has a water bowl big enough for swimming in, she has a rough surface item for aid in shedding, and she has multiple hides, but...she just has a hard time occasionally...not every shed, but a few.

My MBK and my Cali king won't eat during even the faintest early stages of going blue. Even before the eyes go cloudy, when there is a very faint "shimmer" over the skin, they'll refuse. However, the eat immediately following a shed, if food is offered, because they typically miss 2 feedings during the process. And I mean immediately, I have seen Luna(MBK) pull her tail tip free in the same motion as a strike at her prey. Quite funny, actually...

My boa doesn't care, my BP refuses if blue. My female anery motley doesn't care, my male anery motley refuses if blue, but not if clear-pre-shed, and always has a great shed...BOTH of them do.

So really...who knows? :shrugs:

I've said it before, and I'll say it again..."Let your snake be your guide"...

tyflier said:

My Floridana doesn't let anything stop her from eating. Blue, deepest of the blues, clear, and immedately after shed...she doesn't let anything stop her. She does, however, occasionally have a rought shed. I won't attribute it to eating while blue, but I can't figure out why, for the life of me. Her temps and humidity are identical to every other king and corn in my collection, she has a water bowl big enough for swimming in, she has a rough surface item for aid in shedding, and she has multiple hides, but...she just has a hard time occasionally...not every shed, but a few.

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This is interesting to me because my Florida is the same way. She'd probably eat a cheeseburger if I let her-- she's an absolute garbage disposal. But she often sheds in pieces despite her conditions being proper. She always gets it all off herself, right down to the tail-tip, but I don't get many complete sheds from her. I don't worry about it much.

I voted feed on schedule. I offer no matter what stage if he refuses, which so far he never has even during blue, I would wait until next scheduled feeding and offer prey.

Roy Munson said:

This is interesting to me because my Florida is the same way. She'd probably eat a cheeseburger if I let her-- she's an absolute garbage disposal. But she often sheds in pieces despite her conditions being proper. She always gets it all off herself, right down to the tail-tip, but I don't get many complete sheds from her. I don't worry about it much.

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I don't worry about it. I occasionally will have to help with a moistened washcloth, but hse usually gets it all herself...just in pieces. It does make me glad to know I am not the only one which has this "problem" with my floridana...even though it isn't really a problem. Heck, if it's the biggest problem we have together...we'll be just fine....

I have to agree with the "Depends on the snake" comments. I usually stick to my schedule, and every once in awhile I get a fresh shed the next day with the belly slit like that's where it gave way from the lump. Some will just refuse until they shed, which is no problem as I have plenty of garbage disposals up for an extra meal, and then I have a couple that will regurge if fed in blue, so I don't even offer to them...

i went with keep on schedual. Even if they are blue i still offer food, if they don't eat it no big deal. Just try again next schedual feeding. If the same one refuses every time its in blue then i wouldn't bother even trying. my amel appears to be one that won't eat during her blue stage, so not even gonna bother her next time.

so it's really a combination of knowing your snake and keeping on schedual.

I usualy feed a couple of hours after the shed because he refuses to eat while in blue.