Snake starting to shed without milky eyes?

[thefridge71]

Hey Guys,

Sorry to bother people or waste any time if my question is silly. I have had my Bredli for nearly two weeks now. Today whilst I was handling it, I felt that its underbody was quite scaly and dry. It felt like scales on a fish almost. The snake is looking a little bit dull in colouring compared to what it looked like when I bought it. Through extensive reading that I have done on python keeping I am under the impression that before shedding a snake will have milky eyes. When I look at my Bredli it does not have this in any way whatsoever. Whilst handling it he seemed very content this evening, being quite explorative and friendly. This doesnt seem consistent with a snake that has milky eyes and is going into a shed cycle.

I am wondering if a snakes skin will start to feel a little scaly before going into shed, and before their eyes go milky?

Thankyou in anticipation of your responses.

Regards,

Tom

 

[Khagan]

You most likely just missed the milky eyes stage, it can come and go quickly and they usually stay hidden in this stage so it's easy to miss.

 

[thefridge71]

EDIT: I don't think I would have missed the milky eyes. I handled him on Tuesday night. Wasn't home on Wednesday and saw him tonight. Could his eyes have been milky and gone back to normal in that time frame??

Thanks Khagan for the quick reply, you just beat me to saying that I saw him last on Tuesday night. Saw him tonight and they were completely clear. IS that the usual timeframe for milky eyes?

 

[Khagan]

Yes it is quite possible for it to have come and gone in that time frame.

 

[thefridge71]

Well that answers my question I would say. Further to that, does the skin start to feel a little different when coming into a shed, especially on the underside?

 

[Khagan]

It can. You may also notice it seeming to look a little bit baggy or wrinkly around areas.

 

[thefridge71]

Thats definitely the case. Thanks again Khagan.

 

[thefridge71]

He still hasn't shed yet His skin still feels a little weird in some places. In some areas of his underbelly it feels like a scale or two is coming off like a fish does. Very weird.

 

[AM Pythons]

give him a mist with water or up your humidity by placing the water bowl closer to the heat source..

 

[thefridge71]

Thanks for your advice AM. I have put the water bowl right under the heat lamp and closed off half of the ventilation at the back of the enclosure to try and increase humidity. I also mist the enclosure every day and have moisturised the snakes skin with Reptimist from the Reptile store. I still can't get it above about 40% on the hygrometer. Is there anything else I can do to increase it?

Perhaps he is just not ready for a slough, or the low humidity is preventing it?

 

[Banjo]

Bredli naturaly live in an arid area of the country so I would be too concerned with the humidity, 99% of the time snakes will shed with no problems, just let nature run its course.
I take it that it is the first time you have gone through this, just take some notes and learn from the experiance, everything will be fine, I reckon just about everybody when they start this hobby go through the same concerns.

 

[thefridge71]

Bredli naturaly live in an arid area of the country so I would be too concerned with the humidity, 99% of the time snakes will shed with no problems, just let nature run its course.
I take it that it is the first time you have gone through this, just take some notes and learn from the experiance, everything will be fine, I reckon just about everybody when they start this hobby go through the same concerns.

Correct on the first time thing. Still getting my head around it. It just worried me a little that his ventral scales have felt like that for quite a while and he hasn't shed yet. I will try to put it out of my head for now and relax a little. If the humidity is too low will he fail to shed completely, or will he try and fail in which case I will need to try and help him a bit.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[Banjo]

Just keep an eye on him, and when he sheds and if he has problems help out then, when the shed comes off check for that both eye scales and that the tail skin has come completely off with the shed, also make sure that there is something reasonable rough in the encloser for him use when shedding.

 

[thefridge71]

Thanks, I have read up a fair bit on shedding and understand about the spectacles etc. I have marine carpet as a substrate, which is quite rough so he should be able to rub against it. I also have a quite rough branch and a rock that he can rub against. Do all these sound appropriate enough. Thanks for the advice. Sorry about the silly questions just want to make sure the snakes enclosure is appropriate.

 

[Banjo]

Sounds like enough for your bredli to use when shedding, and I'm sure must people don't mind answering questions, considering it sounds like you have done your research, a bit of reasurance helps when doing something for the first time.
You will look back in a couple of years and wonder what he fuss was about.

 

[thefridge71]

Thanks a lot Banjo. Your time is much appreciated.

 

[Bluetongue1]

A lot of people make the mistake of assuming that because a snake comes from an arid area, it does not need high humidity. Snakes spend the majority of their time in nature secreted away in small spaces where the humidity builds and stays up. You really want to aim at about 60% humidity. 40% is rather low and it makes me wonder what is drying out the air. Your moving the water towards the heat and reducing the ventilation will help.

Is the water bowl large enough for the snake to soak in? And deep enough so when it does enter the water bowl, it won’t spill water everywhere? Increasing the surface area of the water bowl will increase the evaporation rate and therefore the humidity. You can place a wet hide in the enclosure lined with damp sphagnum moss or damp towelling. A suitable sized black plastic container with an entry/exit hole cut in is ideal for this.

Is it in a room that is air-conditioned as these dramatically dry out the air?

It sounds to me more like a problem of low humidity that pre-slough. What you have been able to feel is the skin drying out and lacking moisture. You can give your python a tepid bath and let it soak for up to an hour on a daily basis and se if that helps. Secondly, try changing the drinking water completely every day. Snakes will often only drink if it is fresh and won’t touch it the next day onwards.

Blue

 

[killimike]

My childrens shed after three weeks of looking 'in-shed', I checked him every day during that period and never caught the milky eyes.

 

[thefridge71]

A lot of people make the mistake of assuming that because a snake comes from an arid area, it does not need high humidity. Snakes spend the majority of their time in nature secreted away in small spaces where the humidity build sand stays up. You really want to aim at about 60% humidity. 40% is rather low and it makes me wonder what is drying out the air. Your moving the water towards the heat and reducing the ventilation will help.

Is the water bowl large enough for the snake to soak in? And deep enough so when it does enter the water bowl, it won’t spill water everywhere? Increasing the surface area of the water bowl will increase the evaporation rate and therefore the humidity. You can place a wet hide in the enclosure lined with damp sphagnum moss or damp towelling. A suitable sized black plastic container with an entry/exit hole cut in is ideal for this.

Is it in a room that is air-conditioned as these dramatically dry out the air?

It sounds to me more like a problem of low humidity that pre-slough. What you have been able to feel is the skin drying out and lacking moisture. You can give your python a tepid bath and let it soak for up to an hour on a daily basis and se if that helps. Secondly, try changing the drinking water completely every day. Snakes will often only drink if it is fresh and won’t touch it the next day onwards.

Blue

Thanks Blue. I have taken an ice cream container and cut holes in each end and put some rubber around them so the snake can slide in and out without hurting himself. I put paper towelling in the bottom of it and I have wet it with some Repti-mist. I have also handled the snake the last three times with reptimist on my hands which seems to have helped a bit. He doesn't seem as scaly anymore. Not sure if he has used his ice cream container yet as I only oganised it two days ago for him. The enclosure is in the shed out the back so not sure why it is so dry. The only reason I can come up with is there is a few small cracks in the back of the enclosure (way too small for the snake to get out of). These could be providing too much ventillation so I will try and block them up with some silicon in the next day or two and see how that improves things. I will also invest in a much larger water bowl for him, or perhaps make one as I am looking at making a new enclosure with rock wall etc. so it would be good practise for me.

Thanks a lot for the advice.

Regards,

Tom

 

[Bluetongue1]

Thanks Tom.

I was a bit weary when I posted the other night. Just a few added points to make or clarify.

A single hole in the moist hide container would be better to build up the humidity. I suggested black plastic as snakes generally prefer their hides to be dark. Lining the hole was an excellent idea. I would tend to melt the hole out and then burn my fingers smoothing it whilst it is still pliable.

Low humidity sounds like the major issue but that does not mean it is not coming up to a shed. The use of material towelling, although not critical, can assist if this is the case – a minor point really. It is important to rehydrate the snake internally. That’s why the fresh drinking water daily. A dry atmosphere means it is loosing more water than it should through breathing. You can try adding water to its food items via syringe – 10 to 20 mL depending on their size.

Good thinking - reducing the ventilation will help. Also minimising how frequently and how long the enclosure is open. And with hinged door enclosures, there is often an air gap which really reduced the need for large vents if not sealed. Keep up thr misting and the external rehydrating like you are doing.


Keep up the good work,
Blue