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False Shed???

Pal-O-Mine

Pal-O-Mine

New member
I ran into something that has me confused with my lovely Fran. A couple weeks ago Fran refused her mouse. I figured no big deal. She must be getting ready to shed. That's the only reason she refuses a meal. Sure enough, she went blue the next few days and then cleared up. Well, last time she shed, it was in pieces so I decided to do things differently this time. I made up for her a "snakey sauna". It consisted of a take-out salad bowl from the local fast food place with air holes punched in it. I didn't have any spagum sp ( ? ) moss because I have to do everything on the cheap side so I used paper towels wet down in warm water and wrung out so it wasn't sopping wet. I put this set-up over her heat source and underneath her heat lamp. When I offered her this, she liked it so much she wouldn't leave, even though she had a mouse/snake hole in it to do so. I lifted the lid off it to check on her and she was drinking the condensation off of the inside of the lid! ( Seeing that I took her out and put her in front of her water bowl so she could get a proper drink! ) So I tried this for a couple days off and on. ( I did NOT leave her in her sauna round the clock! ) Her skin looked really good this time, not gummy like before. But the next Wed. rolled around ( her dinner day ) and she still hadn't shed. Hmmmmm. So I decided to offer her a fuzzy instead of a full mouse to see if she was hungry. Well she snatched the fuzzy out of my hand before I had time to put her down in her "snake cafeteria" and started constricting my fingers! I managed to wiggle her free and put her down so she could finish her meal. Everything with the feeding went normal other than her voracious feeding response which I've never seen out of her.

But she still hasn't shed. Is she going to??? Have I done anything wrong???

Devon
 
Hmmm, either she hasn't shed yet, or, if you have aspen, sometimes they can shed underground and you miss it.
 
I have aspen chips which I've been sifting through pretty regularly. Nada. Again she's acting perfectly normal. ( Why do I bother worrying at all?)

Devon
 
mine goes wierd from when hes getting ready for a shed. seems in blue then seems normal. i think yours is fine. dont worry. i guess it will shed this week.

cheers
fish
 
I've been worried as well with mine. Occasionally there has been a span of as long as 10 days or so after they clear up before they shed.

I'd give it a couple more days, but if he's acting normal otherwise then it's probably fine.

Oh, and as for the sphagnum moss, have you checked Home Depot? I get bags of sphagnum moss for just under $4 there and it's 3 times the size of the $15 bag at PetCo. I leave a moist hide in with all my snakes all the time and let them go in and out of it as they please. This makes for perfect sheds every time. They know when they need more moisture and when they don't. I figure it's the same concept as having a UTH on one side of the tank to create a temperature gradient. They'll choose where they're most comfortable.
 
My Kushy did that this week. He ate, after he refused his pinks twice, and I suppose eating that one pink instead of the two he usually devours helps them to stretch the skin for the shed. I'd be patient and wait a day or so to see....

With the spagnum moss, I use it for my dart frogs, and paper towels will work, i want to say the only difference is spagnum moss, when wet creates acidity. that's the only thing you'll be lacking with plain paper towels. i wouldn't worry. When i use spagnum for my lep geckos i notice it dries out in their humidity chamber very fast, paper towels may actually be more efficient? just a guess.

Your humidity chamber (fast food dish with paper towels) will help out, and the fact your corny is kicking it in there means they know whats up and is probably just fine. let us know how it turns out!
 
I'll tell you something. A couple of months ago, we gave our girl Pinky a moist hide to help out with her shed. Worked great other than one tiny thing. She refused to leave the dang thing! She loved it so much that that's where she stayed even after she had shed. I had to remove it even though I had planned on leaving it in since our house is so very dry winter. I didn't want her getting scale rot simply because she loved that hide so much. Now I just spritz her a couple times a day when she's in shed. I still keep a bag of sphagnum moss for moist hides for our little ones. They do what they are supposed to do with 'em! And like Jadie said, we got our bag at Lowe's for $3 and it's a pretty big bag. Just check to make sure it's not treated.
 
I just had a similar problem with my rat snake... Although he did eat with his blue eyes that were around for 2 days he ended up shedding the next day after I put a moist hide in the viv, used a 16oz plastic cup and a moist paper towel. Got worried because I saw the shed but not the snake so I took everything out; hides, branches, water dish and the carpet and still no snake... looked inside the cup and there he was just chillin out lol

Is there a set cycle on how long from the blue eyed period before the shed?
 
Is there a set cycle on how long from the blue eyed period before the shed?
Click to expand...

No hard and fast rules I'm afraid. It can be a couple of days to a couple of weeks and it also seems to differ between individuals. If you keep records, you might notice a pattern to the way yours goes through the process. But you can bet your boots that if there is, once in a while it'll do something different just to scare the wotsits out of you!
 
It seems to vary from snake to snake...

Kinda like: Compare how fast your fingernails grow to your friends. Some take FOREVER to grow them out, others feel like they're clipping them every day.

Shedding is a very "individualistic" topic...

^_^
 
bitsy said:
No hard and fast rules I'm afraid. It can be a couple of days to a couple of weeks and it also seems to differ between individuals. If you keep records, you might notice a pattern to the way yours goes through the process. But you can bet your boots that if there is, once in a while it'll do something different just to scare the wotsits out of you!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've been keeping records of almost everything I do; cage cleaning, feeding, weight, shedding, baths, and length. Wonder if I'll observe a common pattern... lol

Jadie.Glitch said:
It seems to vary from snake to snake...

Kinda like: Compare how fast your fingernails grow to your friends. Some take FOREVER to grow them out, others feel like they're clipping them every day.

Shedding is a very "individualistic" topic...

^_^
Click to expand...

nice comparison :D
 
Thanks for all your advice! I tried the "snakey sauna" idea because swimming a sand boa seemed kinda not right for a desert species although she tolerated it well enough. She's not giving me any indication that anything is wrong so I guess I'll just file it away for future reference.

Don't you just love the questions a first time "snake mom" comes up with?

Devon
 
A Sand Boa?? Yikes!

Apologies, but all the advice I've given was based on the assumption that you were talking about a Corn Snake - you're in the Corn Snake section.

It might be an idea to mention species in future, otherwise we could cause some harm.
 
I bet the snake sheds very soon! This happens all the time with my snakes, i see them in blue, then they clear, maybe eat once if at all and then about a week later, Shed! Dont worry, it will happen soon, just make sure she still has a sauna if she wants it.
 
Whoa, sand-boa? Is this the one you've been talking about this whole time? I have no clue what to say about those o_0.
 
Sorry gang! But this is the ONLY snake I have any personal experience with. I haven't graduated to a corn snake yet although all the pics of different morphs IS tempting. I'd like to have more than one snake right now but cash is tight. Doesn't stop my dreams from getting bigger though. SIGH!

I didn't mean to lead you guys on. Wait! That sounds like a song.

Devon
 
I think non-Corn questions go in the General Chit-Chat section?

All of the specific sections like Husbandry etc. assume that you're posting about Corn Snakes. Pretty sure the descriptions on the front page say that.
 
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