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Originally posted by Kellog

Shedding and dealing with shedding problems

Shedding is one of the exciting parts of having a snake, especially if you get to witness it but it can also be a very nervous time for you, the owner, the first time it happens.

It's a natural process that all snakes go through roughly every 3-4 weeks as a growing youngster to every 3-4 months or so as an adult. The best thing is to leave them to it and let nature take its course. If however you are expecting problems (following a previous poor shed) you can use some of the methods below.


Knowing your snake is 'in blue'

You will know that your snake is due to shed as its colours will dull, particularly on the belly to begin with. Then its eyes will go cloudy and its colours even darker, this is what we call a snake going blue. At this point it will hide away as its eyesight is compromised and will feel very vulnerable. With most morphs it is easy to spot when they are going blue, but it is not as easy with amels and a lot harder with snows and blizzards due to their light colouring....you may not even realise it until you find a shed skin in the viv ! The only thing that might alert you to it is a change in your snake's behaviour.

Their eyes remain cloudy for a few days and then they will clear up and their colours will return to normal. This has confused many new owners who have thought their snake must have shed and searched the viv in vain ! But it will actually be 4/5 days after they have returned to normal before they shed, although this differs with every snake and can differ between sheds. One of my snakes took nearly 2 weeks from the point where his eyes cleared up to when he shed !

Signs of shedding

The signs you need to look out for that your snake is beginning to shed is it being a bit more active, rubbing its head along the sides of its viv, hide, any branches, etc. This happens because it is trying to loosen the shed from around its jaw....and once that has loosened then it can happen very quickly! But be warned....I am convinced there is a corn-conspiracy ! They seem to wait until their owners leave the room and then slip out of their old skin and slither round quite happily in their new bright colours showing them off when their owners return to the room....with their old skin lying forlorn in the corner . Seriously though, a lot of corns shed at night and I know a lot of members haven't had the chance to see their corns shed....despite keeping them for a number of years. So I really do hope you get lucky and get to see your corn shed .

What is vital once it has shed is checking the shed skin for the eye caps and tail tip....as if these are retained they can cause problems. If the shed is not a clean one there are ways to deal with it.

Retained Shed

The first thing to do is try not to panic. Dampen some kitchen paper or a small towel with lukewarm water and let your snake wriggle through it, holding firmly so that the skin comes off. Take care to make sure that the tip of the tail also comes off with the shed, after running through it a couple of times the skin should have come off. If so then check the head piece to make sure the eye caps have come off.

Quite often most shed can come off by themselves, another couple of days in the viv could sort it out. You could swap the usual hides for damp ones so the snake HAS to use them, then put the usual hides back in after a few days. You could also change the usual hides for moss hides:

How to make a damp hide

Moss

If the retained shed has been resolved that's great, if not then the few days in the damp hides will have prepared your snake for a good bath. Some snakes don't mind being bathed, with others it stresses them out....so it is only by knowing your snake can you know whether to try this method first or leave it as a last resort. What is most important is that you limit the stress on the snake.

The bath can be done in a RUB, sink, washing bowl or bath, whatever is a good size. Put a digital thermometer in it to make sure that the water is between 27 and 28oC. Put enough water in that it is just deep enough to cover the snake's body. You can put a bit of fairy in too, it will help get the water underneath the skin it has retained. Let it swim in it for a couple of minutes or until the temps drop to around 22oC. You can run your fingers gently down your corn's body when it's having a bath just to make sure that the water is really getting at the retained shed. The water should have helped to loosen and dislodge the skin. It may have no desire to be in the water, and may try to escape as much as possible, so be prepared for a fast snake as well . When you get you snake out get a dry towel and let it wriggle through it but apply a bit of pressure to it - it usually helps to encourage the retained shed come off.

If the retained shed is serious and it looks as though your snake hasn't been able to release the skin from around its jaw, once soaked start from the edge and just peel it off using the towel. If this doesn't work, if you can get the tip of your nail over the lip of their mouth, you can start the shed from where it's meant to start from....but this is something that should only be done by someone experienced.

Retained Tail tip

It is always vital that the tip of the tail comes away each shed as if there is a number of unsuccessful sheds where the tail tip is retained it can act like a belt, creating a tight hold around your snakes tail and cutting off the blood flow.

By following the tips above you will hopefully be able to remove any skin that is retained on the tail tip.

Another method to try if it is only the tail tip retained is to soak the layer of shed off with warmish water and cotton wool, doing it very gently and it is very important that you dont pull at the tail.

If this is a problem that has been there a while, with a number of retained tail tips building up and stopping the blood flow, it may be that there is nothing you can do about it and your snake's tail may end up dying and dropping off. This is a worst case scenario and if it does happen it isn't a major thing, a few forum members have snakes that have slightly stumpy tails and you wouldn't even notice.

Retained eye caps

It can be hard to tell if your snake has retained its eye caps. The best way to be sure it hasn't is to see them on the shed skin. You may not notice them immediately, it can look like holes, but you will feel them. If you cannot find enough of the head of the shed to be sure then examine your snake's head very carefully. If the eye caps have been retained there should be some sign on retained shed immediately around the eyes.

You can let it soak in a container (with a lid with air holes) filled with water (of the right temperature) or give it a damp hide.

It is very easy to damage the eye if you are not 100% certain about what you are doing. If you are still concerned that the eye caps are retained then it is best if you get help from an experienced snake keeper or reptile vet.

Helping a snake prepare to shed

If your snake has had trouble shedding before there are a number of things you can do to help it.

Once you see it go 'blue' you can add an extra water bowl into its viv on top of the heat mat. Don't just move the original water bowl as your snake will not want to be drinking warm water. This will help raise the humidity. As far as I know this will only work in wooden vivs as in faunariums there is too much ventilation so the extra humidity is lost.

You can mist your snake's viv once a day in the morning, nothing more than that as you don't want to cause the humidity to rise too much as this can cause respiratory infections.

Once its eyes have cleared you can add a damp hide which will also help. In a wooden viv you can put the moss in the warm hide but in a faunarium you would need to put it in both hides to help it loosen its skin.

Handling and Feeding while your snake is blue

It is a personal choice about feeding and handling during the period of them going blue and shedding. I am one of those owners who has chosen not to feed or handle. To my thinking they are very vulnerable at this time as their eyesight is compromised, so in the wild they would be hidden away....not out looking for food. I also know that missing one meal isn't going to make any difference. BUT this is my personal choice and I know lots of members do feed their snakes - and some snakes will feed while blue but others won't. I also don't handle during this time, as even once their eyes have cleared they are partially blind and I want to avoid as much stress for them as possible (probably the hardest time for me as I get withdrawal symptoms from not having my snake time !!). Again, as with feeding, some snakes will tolerate handling during this time and others won't. You need to decide what you feel is best for your snake during this time (and your snake may decide for you !), there is no right or wrong.

I hope this has been of some help and also hope other forum members will correct any mistakes I've made and add their own tips to this thread as well (and thank you to the many forum members whose advice I have learnt from to put this thread together!).

xxx

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Originally posted by Peterptr1000@aol.com

Hi,I've had a 10 month old amel corn for 6 weeks and he's still not gone into blue stage yet, should I be worried or will it happen when he's ready? This is my first snake so still learning! Thnx

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