Shedding question

[broken_20_2]

Naga is ready to shed, that's appearent even to a layman like myself. He has been ready for atleast a week, I'd say. Our other corn shed last Saturday, and tehy went into blue phase within a day of eachother. We soak naga in the bathtub about 15-20 minutes everyday (for the past few days) to see if it would help him, but he still hasn't shed. Should I create a moist hide for him? The problem is that lately he has been avoiding his hide. How can I raise the humidity in the viv for him if he won't hang out in the hide. I'm sure he is uncomfortable in that old skin, plus today is feeding day, and I don't know if he'll eat. Thanks in advance.

 

[broken_20_2]

Sorry, forgot to tell you the layout. Naga is in a 10 gallon viv, with a 50 watt light.

 

[Dminor9]

All I do for my corn when he is blue is mist the viv once a day. He has shed perfect one piece sheds every time since I have had him. Just my 2 cents. :cheers:

 

[Roy Munson]

I never, ever bathe the snakes, I never mist, and I don't use humid hides. I maintain humidity levels in the 70s in their tubs, and all sheds are perfect right down to the tail tips. I haven't assisted in a shed in many years.

 

[Tracee]

It sounds as though you're under the impression they go 'blue' then shed straight away to get their horrible old skin off! Don't try and rush the process, it always takes a week or more.

Your snake isn't uncomfortable as such, but he might be secretive or even grumpy. Hence it's unlikely (possible, though) that he enjoys his daily baths. Just leave him alone until he's done, and only bathe him in future if something goes wrong - you don't want to stress him out for no reason and I have a niggling worry that prolonged, forced exposure to/soaking in water won't be all that good for them.

Also, he'll pick the hide he wants to be in, so don't worry about that. You've done your bit well, so just sit back and wait IF something goes wrong, THEN think about creating a moist hide and so on.

 

[ozone]

I have found that when my corn is blue for more than 4 or 5 days, I can easily help him out by placing a sturdy bowl of water on the warm side of the viv, and then covering the viv's screen top with some paper towels (to reduce the amount of moist air escaping). In my viv, this quickly brings the humidity level from 50% to 70%. Ziggy then sheds cleanly within 12-24 hours. This is easier and more comprehensive than maintaining a moist hide.

and don't worry about feeding the snake while blue. Just wait until he sheds...they don't have to eat on a schedule.

Do you have a gauge in the viv to measure humidity?

 

[Anazazia]

I recently moved my girl up to a new food size. Her shed cycle went from what's usually about 6 days to an 11 day cycle. So if you made a feeding change that could affect it. Also, just like humans have phsyical changes when the cold weather sets in, so do animals. The weather is changing and your snake may just be taking it's time. Like the others said, I wouldn't mist or soak your snake until it has shed. Then, if it does not come off easily, try soaking. Also, has your snake shed for you before? If so, do they always shed at the same time, how long is the shed cycle usually? If you don't do so already, I would keep track of these things. Your snake could be taking the normal amount of time it always does, but because the two shed at the same time it just seems longer. In the end I wouldn't stress to much, the skin will come off when the snake is ready.

 

[Lennycorn]

I never, ever bathe the snakes, I never mist, and I don't use humid hides. I maintain humidity levels in the 70s in their tubs, and all sheds are perfect right down to the tail tips. I haven't assisted in a shed in many years.

How to you maintain humidity level ?. That information would be useful. My vary but it doesn't seem to affect my snake shedding now. I use an old aquarium which might make a difference.

After it did have a few bad sheds I did give him a quick bath then switch to humid hide but I haven't done that for long while.

 

[ultimuttone]

I don't know if this is the difference, but-
When I had snakes in the past I used glass vivs and had a lot of problems with humidity. They were more tropical species, however I live in a fairly arid climate and so was concerned about having humidity problems even with the corns. I am now using plastic tubs for my snakes. I started out with a minimum number of air holes and added more until I got a good humidity level(just until there was not a noticeable amount of condensation). So far it has worked out great and I have had zero bad sheds using no humid hides or soaking. They will usually take a little dip in their water bowl just before shedding but that is it.
Anyone else notice a difference between the two ?(glass vs plastic)

 

[Lennycorn]

Thanks for the reply, just saw you location and that and adding more air hole might be the answer I was looking for.

Thanks
Lennycorn

A Raider fan Ha! Ha!

 

[ultimuttone]

You said you are using an aquarium, are your levels too high or too low?
I have a few in Reptile Ranch type cages that I need to have a larger water dish for because it evaporates more quickly with the added ventilation. Probably along the same lines as the aquarium screen cover. The increased airflow from the screen cover lets out a lot of humidity. Others have posted about covering part of the aquarium lid to help raise levels.

BTW-Sorry about the Raider problem:grin01:

 

[Lennycorn]

You said you are using an aquarium, are your levels too high or too low?
I have a few in Reptile Ranch type cages that I need to have a larger water dish for because it evaporates more quickly with the added ventilation. Probably along the same lines as the aquarium screen cover. The increased airflow from the screen cover lets out a lot of humidity. Others have posted about covering part of the aquarium lid to help raise levels.

BTW-Sorry about the Raider problem:grin01:

No, real problem yet, snake still sheding fine. I just wanted to try to "fine tune" my up a little. I do use a large water bowl. I was just seeking more hints. Covering up part of the tank is a good ideal.
thanks again.

Only Bronco has a problem with the Raiders. :twoguns:

 

[zwyatt]

Anyone else notice a difference between the two ?(glass vs plastic)

I did seem to notice that humidity levels are generally lower in my 20gal long than my plastic tubs. But I think it can probably be attributed to few things. Imagine the potential volume differences. Plastic tubs may be the same floor space, but are generally shorter. Therefore, there is less total volume but the same amount of evaporation from your water bowl is going into the air. The other thing is think about is the number of holes you have drilled in the plastic tubs. If you add the surface area up of all those little holes, does it come anywhere close to the surface area left open if using a screen top on a glass viv? I haven't done any calculations, but at a glance I don't think mine would even be close.

Just some possibilities maybe... :shrugs:

 

[ultimuttone]

I did seem to notice that humidity levels are generally lower in my 20gal long than my plastic tubs. But I think it can probably be attributed to few things. Imagine the potential volume differences. Plastic tubs may be the same floor space, but are generally shorter. Therefore, there is less total volume but the same amount of evaporation from your water bowl is going into the air. The other thing is think about is the number of holes you have drilled in the plastic tubs. If you add the surface area up of all those little holes, does it come anywhere close to the surface area left open if using a screen top on a glass viv? I haven't done any calculations, but at a glance I don't think mine would even be close.

Just some possibilities maybe... :shrugs:

That was my point. that the glass vivs allow more evaporation. I hadn't thought about the volume difference though. although with the prefab reptile critter keepers, the volume is pretty close to the tubs, but the amount of ventilation holes/slits is considerably more than what I put in the tubs. And with the tubs I am able to control the humidity in part by the amount of holes I put in. I don't worry about the air being too stale inside from the lesser amount of air flow since I open all the tubs pretty much on a daily basis to check water and such.