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First Blue Phase!

ArvadaLanee

ArvadaLanee

New member
Our sweet boy, Nightmare, has been hiding quite a bit lately, and refused his last meal. I thought that it could be due to the cold and dark of our awful WI weather, since we don't jack the heat in our room, where his viv is. Still, when I didn't see him out and about for 3 days, I was in a panicked state, and just had to find him to know if he was okay. The viv may be small, but we have made so many hiding places, it took me quite a while to find him. He was deep in his aspen shavings on the warm side, and I lifted him out to inspect him. Just looking at him, I could not be sure, so I took a picture. My new theory was right! He is in his first (since I have owned him) blue phase!
So how long until I feed him again? I should not handle him at all during this period, correct? It is okay to have a small Tupperware filled with damp moss, as his shedding spot? Is there anything else I need to know?

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You have a nice boy, and indeed he is in blue :) I remember being so nervous when my baby shed for the first time.

Regarding the questions.
1. I don't feed mine until he sheds, but some people do. Depends on the snake whether he will take it or not, but it is said it's not that good to feed them because of digestive issues that may come. It's OK if eats a bit later than due.
2. I don't handle him either. His skin is itchy and he also feels insecure because he can't see. I would just give him a rest (I know it's difficult), and he will eventually come out and start rubbing energically to shed.
3. It's OK to have a Tupperware filled with damp moss or damp paper towel, it will help him avoid bad sheds.
4. Just control he doesn't have a bad shed. He shouldn't retain any skin pieces and the skin should come out complete. The eye caps and tail tip should come off, as well, so check these when he sheds (I check these both on snake and shed skin).
As the first shed with you, sometimes due to the stress of changing the environment and shipment you may have a "difficult" shed, also because you may be adapting the viv conditions on the go.

I hope you are lucky and will see him come out of the skin. Some owners have never seen it, as I have read on some forums. Mine just does it in front of me every time.
 
Thank you. It sounds like everything I am doing is alright. Hopefully, Nightmare will not be stressed, because he has actually been with us since late January. I don't know how long snakes take to adjust, but we gave him lots of time before handling. I actually wish we could hold him more often, but he seems to be a slow digester, and every week when I feed him, it takes 3 - 4 days before the lump in his belly is completely gone. I am still wondering if he may instinctively know it's winter, and perhaps that slows him down a bit. When he first arrived here, he was very active, but lately he has been hiding more, and I don't see a lot of him. I don't think he is afraid of us anymore. He still doesn't like it when he is first picked up, but he is a lot less flighty than he used to be. I'm not too nervous about him shedding, but if he does retain any pieces of skin, especially eye caps, I will be really nervous about trying to help him get them off. My plan is that if any skin is sticking, I will first try the thing where you let them wiggle around in a damp towel, and if that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to use tweezers very carefully. Hopefully it won't come to that, because he is still so small. He is 6 months old, and to us, he is just a precious little baby. My kids and I just love him. He is such an interesting little creature. :)
 
Mine will be 6 months around next week, as well, (picked him when he was around 2) and usually by the 3rd day no lump is noticeable. I let him rest for a minimum of 36h and then handle him. Sometimes a very very small lumpy thing is still barely noticeable. IDK, every snake is different. Maybe check your temps?
As of shyness, now it's that time of the year... (though I think they are still too young). I don't know if even at this short age they have the effects of it, but mine is very active. Maybe it was just the shed cycle, or some mental stage he has gone through.
Mine doesn't like to be picked up from the viv either, but I managed to "train" him to come out by himself. I just open the lid very slowly so he doesn't get scared of me and he comes out. When he is wandering over the viv I put my hand in front of him and he comes over me with no stress at all. Of course I have to be extra careful with this. If I forget the lid he will escape :p
I thought shedding would be a lot worse by reading some posts in here, but it has all gone OK. Don't worry :)
 
Is this the time of year that mating would occur? I didn't even consider that. I live in WI, where February is usually the coldest month of the year, and even though I have a UTH, I thought perhaps Nightmare could still feel that it was winter, maybe even just from the short light cycles, and maybe that was why he had been less active, and hiding more. It has finally started to warm up a bit this week. Yay, we are out of the temps in the teens! I guess we could still hold Nightmare when his lump is almost gone, instead of waiting for it to be completely gone, but I worry about getting pooped on. Lol. Maybe I'll just use a towel. I do think we need to start handling him more. I think I worry too much because the first snake I bought died after a month of owning her, and she was already 6 months when I got her. Actually, now that I think of it, I was wrong. Nightmare is only 4 months old! (Duh!) He is still such a baby, I kind of coddle him. After he sheds I am going to start handling him a lot more. I think he is fine with it. He doesn't seem stressed when we hold him or anything. I'm just a weirdo.
 
Everyone gets pooped on at some time. I have been twice or three times already. Moving around stimulates his guts and he eventually poops if I take him out for a long time. If it's a shorter time, when I put him back in his viv he poops soon in there.
If he completely stops for a while while roaming and it's some days after eating, probably expect a poop. It usually leaves a stain, so be careful of clothes and furniture. Or if it's too late just lift him off you and let him poop on the floor to avoid poops on you. Better clean the floor than yourself, it really smells bad!
 
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