| T O P I C R E V I E W |
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Posted - 29/05/2010 : 13:45:58
Right, so I've had a look through several threads on the subject of shedding, but I'm still not quite 100%. On Tuesday (25 May), I was ready to handle her for the first time as she'd been home for a week, but I haven't done so because her eyes looked a bit cloudy. They looked the same on Wednesday, clear on Thursday, but they looked cloudy again yesterday. I haven't seen her yet today as she didn't come out when I changed her water.
I'm wondering how easy it is to tell with red-eyed snakes, that is, do they go as blue/grey and cloudy as the rest? Her eyes looked a bit cloudy earlier in the week, but now I'm starting to think that it may have just been the light reflecting off them in a different way. At first, I was dead sure she's due a shed soon because I caught her trying to go into her hide...but missing the door by about an inch and a half, haha! It took her a few attempts to finally find it, which led me to believe that her vision is obstructed by eye caps. Her skin hasn't gone particularly pale or anything and I find it difficult to tell if she's rubbing her head against the side of the viv to loosen the skin or if she's just ineffectively trying to escape- looks like it could be either of them :P
She came with a 'sort of' feeding/shedding schedule, but as I mentioned in a different post, there seem to be lots of gaps. The recorded sheds are all near the end of the month, which is why I was expecting it to happen around now. I had no idea waiting for the first shed would be so stressful!  |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kellog |
Posted - 01/06/2010 : 14:09:41
quote:
Originally posted by ladyevil
......I wiggled it around in front of her instead of just leaving it. We've fed her three times now and she only takes the mouse if we make it dance, haha!
The Pinkie Prance  ....such a well known dance move and used by many  !!
xxx
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| n/a |
Posted - 31/05/2010 : 10:10:14
quote:
Originally posted by Kellog
I am sure it was a relief to you after she had refused the feed a few hours before....I wonder what made the difference?
I think it was entirely down to the fact that I wiggled it around in front of her instead of just leaving it. We've fed her three times now and she only takes the mouse if we make it dance, haha! |
| Kellog |
Posted - 31/05/2010 : 03:11:50
quote:
Originally posted by ladyevil
........She fed brilliantly about an hour ago, I'd even go so far as to say it was a very enthusiastic feed as she struck and coiled almost straight away (gave me one helluva start, ha!) and then went straight into the warm hide, curled up and stuck her head out the front as usual :) I'll post another update as soon as I have a little skin waiting for me :D
That is great to hear, and I am sure it was a relief to you after she had refused the feed a few hours before....I wonder what made the difference?
It is now just a case of leave her be (which you should do anyway after a feed for 48hrs) and hopefully she will present you with a shed skin and will pose for some beautiful pics for you to show us !
xxx
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| n/a |
Posted - 30/05/2010 : 20:13:37
Ahh, cool! Ruby has yet to be properly handled, but seems to be settled in nicely- just a bit uncomfortable due to shed. She fed brilliantly about an hour ago, I'd even go so far as to say it was a very enthusiastic feed as she struck and coiled almost straight away (gave me one helluva start, ha!) and then went straight into the warm hide, curled up and stuck her head out the front as usual :) I'll post another update as soon as I have a little skin waiting for me :D |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 30/05/2010 : 18:15:08
I just carry on as normal with our Sids. Mind you he's so gentle and laid back nothing seems to upset him. He's still happy to come out and be handled and fed while in shed. I think it's just a case of do whatever you normally would and be guided by your snake.
Let us know how it goes.  |
| n/a |
Posted - 30/05/2010 : 17:44:17
I seriously cannot wait for her to get on with it, I think we'll both feel much better after she's shed, haha. Tried feeding just now (I was advised by a long-time snake-keeping friend back home to cover the substrate with newspaper/kitchen roll and feed her on top of that, rather than taking her out to feed her in a RUB, so as not to overstress her by too much handling. It's also worth noting that, while he's been keeping snakes forever, he IS a bit of a nitwit, so I'm not taking his method as gospel by any means :P). I'm sure she's hungry as she showed lots of interest in the mouse, but I think she prefers it when she thinks it's alive. I gave it a little heat with a hair dryer and brained it, but she still just crawls over it and pokes her nose into it :P Not sure if I should try getting her out or waiting until tomorrow. |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 30/05/2010 : 15:53:24
That's snake ownership for you!!!!!  All will be ok I'm sure. Try not to worry. Just leave her to it and before long you'll have a shiney, bright snake!!  |
| n/a |
Posted - 30/05/2010 : 15:33:40
Aww, thanks y'all! No skin this morning, but she's just waking up, so I'll see how she feeds in a couple of hours. Thanks again for being so lovely and helpful, I would be double-stressed without you guys, haha! :D |
| elament |
Posted - 30/05/2010 : 14:16:20
LOL I remember the first time i went to get Colin out(he's an amel) and he had gone pink (normally orange and red) and I was so shocked i nearly fell over. I didnt have the luxury of this group then and was straight on the phone to the rep dealer I got him from. Boy did I feel like a plank when I was told he was going into shed. I am quite lucky with my two the both go very washed out and with colin I can tell weeks in advance as if there is any chance of a shed he will go off his food. Dont worry about panicking its normal and we all go through it. What I would do tho is keep a record of your snakes sheds in with your feeding record and that way you will see a pattern form. My two are virtually like clockwork every six weeks so I know when its coming and can prepare for it. My Xena shed last night just like normal on the second day after she went clear again. |
| Kellog |
Posted - 30/05/2010 : 05:11:03
Dont apologise for 'ever-so-slightly freaking out' Rachel, you are dealing with something you have never dealt with before so everything is new and difficult to understand.
I dont have amels so cant comment on what it is like when they shed, but I do think it is a case of wait and see with Ruby. As long as you are happy that her temps are correct (double check the placing of the stat and thermometer probes to reassure yourself), then just see if she feeds today.
Her behaviour may be that she is getting ready to shed, so you may wake up any minute (or in a few hours....it has just gone 5am on a Sunday morning) and find a shed skin and a lovely bright Ruby!
If not then feed her and see if she takes it. Are you planning on feeding her in her viv? If you werent then you would have the excuse to gently lift her out into a RUB to feed her and you can often tell just from the feel of your snake's skin whether they are coming up to a shed or not. With my 2 I can feel their scales begin to rough up about a week before their eyes actually go cloudy, so I know it is coming.
You are allowed to panic and post that panic as much as you want - that is what the forum is for. Let us know what happens today, whether she feeds and how she is behaving....and again, dont worry about worrying, we all do it!
xxx
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| n/a |
Posted - 29/05/2010 : 19:58:03
Haven't offered up food this week, so not sure whether she's gone off it or not. Tomorrow is feeding day, so we'll see how it goes.
I've been watching her closely for about 20 minutes because she's being far more active than I've ever seen before. She's been in and out for the past four or so hours, but about half an hour ago, she started cruising around a lot- almost like she's pacing- as well as creeping up the walls on the cool side and nosing at the sides of the viv. Temps are normal, so I don't *think* it's over-activity due to being too warm (I read this can happen, please do correct me if I'm wrong). Does this sound like typical pre-shed behaviour? Sorry I'm ever-so-slightly freaking out :P |
| HannahB |
Posted - 29/05/2010 : 16:32:36
you do tend to notice the underside more sometimes in amels, we definately do with our Lucien, we dont handle ours every day so we often miss the cloudy eyes and can only tell by the underside or by a really slight silver/greyish tinge to his body colouring and he sometimes goes off his food but not always,
you may find that she goes off her food leading up to shedding |
| Sammysnake |
Posted - 29/05/2010 : 16:29:04
With Twilight it's really obvious as his eyes go really blue but I've never noticed a difference in Saracen's eyes (he's a Carolina/Normal). He tends to hide away for 14 days before a shed and this time I noticed that his belly checkers were dull and almost bluish - the rest of him looked the same colour as normal. |
| n/a |
Posted - 29/05/2010 : 16:22:23
Thank you so much, that puts me at ease a bit :) When I noticed her eyes, I ordered some sphagnum moss because it's quite dry in our flat. I was hoping it would turn up today, but apparently, will be here on Monday. She came out a bit earlier this afternoon when I had the hoover going (she comes out every time I hoover, it's a bit weird haha) and her eyes are looking dull again. Not noticing much difference in her colouring, but she's gone a bit pink on the underside the last 2-3 days. I shall definitely let you know how she goes, thanks again! :D |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 29/05/2010 : 16:06:45
It can be quite difficult to tell with a red eyed snake. Our Sidney has red eyes and I completely missed all the ques for the first shed he had after we got him.
This time I can see there is a slight difference in his eyes, they look just a little cloudy and he looks a bit dull in colour. He's an amel and just looks a tad pinkish. I would imagine that's probably how your Ruby will go. The eyes normally clear about a couple of days before the skin comes off. Shedding can vary from snake to snake on how long it takes from start to finish but I'd say a rough average is about a week.
Try not to worry too much. You'll wake up one morning to find a shiny 'new' bright snake in the viv!! 
Some people put a bit of slightly damp moss in the hides to aid shedding but others just wait and see how things go. It's all down to personal preference.
Gosh, I'm waffling......
Hope that helped but do ask more if you need to.... |
