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Amel shedding

N

newamelowner

New member
Im new to snake rasing and have a question about Amels and shedding. Since there eyes are red due to there "albino" trair do their eyes still turn that cloudy blue as much as other snakes?
 
No. They look more like, dusty. Like they crawled through a bag of flour. Or like your TV looks when you haven't dusted it in a long while. At least that's what they look like to me. Here's a pic.
 

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Weird.... Mine went blue.... I might of seen somthing weird but i will remeber to look again once she sheds.



:sidestep:
 
ok thanks. I think mine is beginng to shed im not sure it hasnt in 2 weeks atleast and hes only 3 months old. I have some other questions also about well first handling them. Im probably just neing a baby but this is my first snake and i was wondering if it hurts when they bite. I tried to hold mine for a little bit today and he kept snapping so i had to get gloves lol. And one other question is what kind of hide they need to have. Mine has a cave but all he does is spend his time in there so i was wondering what i could do to keep him active or atleast use something to where i can see him like some gnarled wood set next to each toher or something.

Thanks for the help so far.
 
My amel used to look rather purple when he was in blue. It's easy to miss when they are small though. As for the hides, it's normal for them to stay in them most of the time. I suspect he comes out when the lights go out and he feels safe.
 
im trying to put up some pictures of my snake but i cant find out how ive clicked the icon above on the toolbar but it just brings up a window with http:// in it? Help Please!
 
newamelowner said:
ok thanks. I think mine is beginng to shed im not sure it hasnt in 2 weeks atleast and hes only 3 months old. I have some other questions also about well first handling them. Im probably just neing a baby but this is my first snake and i was wondering if it hurts when they bite. I tried to hold mine for a little bit today and he kept snapping so i had to get gloves lol. And one other question is what kind of hide they need to have. Mine has a cave but all he does is spend his time in there so i was wondering what i could do to keep him active or atleast use something to where i can see him like some gnarled wood set next to each toher or something.

Thanks for the help so far.
Click to expand...

When I got my snake (3 weeks ago), the breeder told me to cover them completely inside your two hands. After a minute or two, they will feel more comfortable (dark and warm) and may not snap at you(plus, it feels prety cool when they try to shove their head through any cracks or openings they can find). What I have read is that you really just have to handle the snake in order to "tame" them. As for bites, its probably not gonna hurt that bad. Its more the anticipation than anything. Other, more knowledgable members may be of more help on that topic though.

Welcome to the world of cornsnakes. :)
 
newamelowner said:
im trying to put up some pictures of my snake but i cant find out how ive clicked the icon above on the toolbar but it just brings up a window with http:// in it? Help Please!
Click to expand...
In order to use that you have to have a hosting site like picturetrail or something like that. If you have a photo on a hosting site, you just open the photo, right click on it, click on properties and copy and paste the properties into the box. If you want to upload from your computer files you need to make sure your pictures are samller than 150,000 pixels. Then you click on the box below this box when you click on reply to thread that says "manage attachments". When you click on that, you get a browse button. You can browse your computer for the photo you want, click on it and it will upload it when you ask it to.
 
DreaminR6 said:
Originally Posted by newamelowner
ok thanks. I think mine is beginng to shed im not sure it hasnt in 2 weeks atleast and hes only 3 months old. I have some other questions also about well first handling them. Im probably just neing a baby but this is my first snake and i was wondering if it hurts when they bite. I tried to hold mine for a little bit today and he kept snapping so i had to get gloves lol. And one other question is what kind of hide they need to have. Mine has a cave but all he does is spend his time in there so i was wondering what i could do to keep him active or atleast use something to where i can see him like some gnarled wood set next to each toher or something.

Thanks for the help so far.
Click to expand...
When I got my snake (3 weeks ago), the breeder told me to cover them completely inside your two hands. After a minute or two, they will feel more comfortable (dark and warm) and may not snap at you(plus, it feels prety cool when they try to shove their head through any cracks or openings they can find). What I have read is that you really just have to handle the snake in order to "tame" them. As for bites, its probably not gonna hurt that bad. Its more the anticipation than anything. Other, more knowledgable members may be of more help on that topic though.

Welcome to the world of cornsnakes. :)
Click to expand...
The smaller the snake the more they feel threatened by your size, so they will bite, hiss, tail rattle, musk, and snap in order to get you to leave them alone. Eventually, providing you hold them regularly/often enough, they will out grow this behavior - unless you reienforce it. I.E. Don't put the snake back if it bites you or musks on you, hold it for a few minutes longer until it has clamed down and then put it back. That way you are not teaching it: If I bite I will be put back.

Also, so be hesitant when you go to pick up the snake out of it's enclosure - if you feel more comfortable using gloves to do so, by all means use the gloves. Eventually you won't have to as the snake gets older.

As for the pain, no it doesn't really hurt at all when they are smaller. They may draw blood, but it would be like getting pricked by a pin if you felt it at all. As they get older, it hurt a bit more, but I'd still rather be biten by my 3yr adult female snow then I would by any of our mice or rats. IMO, a cat scratch or even a playful bite from a puppy hurts worse then any snake bite I've had from any one of our corns or kings (and I've been bite by several of them.) That includes our evil rootbeer that tried to eat the side of my hand.

The first bite to me is the worst, and once you are past that point it's no big deal. I say that because the first one is usually completely unexpected and dreaded due to our own natural instincts.

Good luck with your little critter though, and welcome to the addiction!

Jenn
 
well it looks like my pictures are to large so ill have to find a different way. But i appreciate all the help you have given me. I held him again yesterday and though i was still afraid he calmed down a lot once i was holding him though right as i was going to put him back he musked me. Im still not sure if hes shedding or not and im not sure but isnt it a bad idea to hold them while there shedding?
 
You can e-mail me the pictures if you want and I'll size them down for you if you don't have a photo program that will do it for you. You should have something like photoshop or whatever that will allow you to edit the pictures and resize them. But if not, shoot them my way and I'll do that for you.
 
pictures

ok heres pictures that fit i got some of the eys and his body but the last ones i have a question about the black spots right after his head i just noticed um and im not sure what mites are but im wondering if thats what they are?
 

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It's hard to tell, but it very well could be. They usually look like black pieces of pepper and can be found partially under the scales, often around the eyes, chin and near the cloaca. If you have them, you're going to need to do a thorough cleaning of the cage and accesories and take out all the substrate. Use only paper towel. I've had people soak the snake in water with a drop of soap to help break the surface tension which causes the mites to drown. Prevent a mite is quite safe for snakes although it's not recommended to use until after shed as they tend to absorb the pesticide more readily when they are in blue. If this is your only animal, there is no need to quarentine from the rest of your collection.
 
yes this is the only one. I odnt know how he got them i haver no other animals in my apartment. Dont they have to come from somewhere? Can you tell if hes about to shed also?
 
It could have come from wherever you got him from. Was he from a breeder or a petstore? I can't tell from the pictures is he's about to shed. Babies are hard to tell when they are amels. As you have more of them, it gets easier to tell. Once they are past the blue stage, they clear and will shed within the week. This one could be past the initial blue stage. I'd clean out the cage in the meantime, soak in the water with soap (just a drop or two in there) and if you want, you can coat the snake afterwards with olive oil or something non-toxic like that. It's supposed to smother them. If you use the search function it will probably tell you all you need to know. Just type in mites and you should get a lot of hits. Some people also put vaseline around the base of the tank to catch any crawling around. You'll probably have to treat a couple of times to catch any that hatch out and be diligent in watching for them until you're sure they are gone. Caught early they are more of a nuisance than anything else. A heavy infestation can kill a young snake though so you want to make sure you get them right away.
 
Looking at the picture, I'd say yes it's a tick. It doesn't appear to be a dark scale anyway.
 
the dots now moved tot he inside of his eye so im going to get that dust today and ill have to try it out and do all the tank stuff so thanks for all your support and information.

hope everything works out!
 
The provent a mite is a spray if I recall although it might also come in a dust. Are you talking about the Sevin dust? Make sure he's not in blue or about to shed though. You don't want to kill him. Soaking in soaped water and oil is perfectly safe if you're not sure, and then spray or dust the tank or around the tank for now.
 
I'm kinda new to snake-owning, so I can't really give you any advice; I just posted to say that your snake looked realllllly cute and I hope that you get rid of the mites. I read somewhere that you can soak the snake for half an hour, but other people know a lot more than me... good luck
 
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