snappy when due to shed??

[snakekid666]

hey i have a 6 month old diamond python it is due to shed any day now and i got it out for its usual handle time and it was very snappy. are snakes usually a bit more agresive when its time for them to shed or what.

thanks
jake

 

[gozz]

um some are

 

[snakekid666]

anyone else ??

 

[twinny]

Mine is actually at her nicest just prior to a shed.

 

[Khagan]

My usually very placid snake turns into a psycho when shedding =p he will hiss and headbutt and slither around like crazy.

They do feel very vulnerable while shedding, due to not being able to see properly and such, which is why some get agro.

 

[snakekid666]

oh ok yeah mines really placid and i got her out on tuesday and she was a little bit snappy and then tonight i got her out again and she was really snappy. and also how do you increase the humidity in the enclosure becauce mines really low and i can tell it will be a bad shed because of the humidity

 

[diprotodon]

from the time they are opaque till about 3 days after they have actually shed i make a point of not hooking or handeling at all, i have read that you can damage the fresh skin underneath. As i dont handle other than when i must "cleaning purposes,inspecting animal, moving around,"that sort of thing it doesnt bother me this is a very solitary time for most snakes and some off mine really get the sads so i just leave them be:|

 

[Khagan]

oh ok yeah mines really placid and i got her out on tuesday and she was a little bit snappy and then tonight i got her out again and she was really snappy. and also how do you increase the humidity in the enclosure becauce mines really low and i can tell it will be a bad shed because of the humidity

I don't do anything special for mine and he sheds fine everytime. But to increase the humidity just move the water bowl to/up near the warm end.

 

[snakekid666]

how big is your water bowl in diameter

 

[diprotodon]

increasing humidity is simple. By moving your water bowl closer to the heat source ,or just putting a larger bowl in or a second bowl another way is to mist with a fine garden sprayer be sure not to mist electrics .But first do you have a decent hygrometer ,before you raise humidity you should know what your starting with!what % humidity have you got

 

[snakekid666]

its about 20% humidity

 

[diprotodon]

do you have a good quality hygrometer?during shedding"From when they are opaque until shed " i have mine up to 50% thats what works for me,Try not to increase to rapidly ie move the bowl over slowly towards the heat source, first and wait to see what difference that makes if gradual then move a little closer to the heat source slowly slowly the humidity goes up if it gets to high back the dish away .Just dont want you to slam three bowls of water in there and have it go up to quickly as this is dangerous for your animal.

 

[snakekid666]

if you were to use one bowl how big would the diameter of the bowl be because i think my bowl is two small

 

[Jdsixtyone]

Diamonds experiance different ranges of humidity. I would pump it up to about 60%. But i just mist 2 times a day when its shedding time.

 

[whcasual79]

my snake's pretty chilled wen he's bout to shed however u gota remember when they are shedding they go blind so being snappy is just a form of defense, cuz they don't know wat's trying to touch em ... my advice ( it is wat i do) ... leave him/her wen their bout to shed... i only get any contact wif my snake if i need to change it's substrate, other than that, leave it alone till it sheds...

hope that helps!

easy....

 

[Jdsixtyone]

Well how big is the snake curled up? The bowl should have about 1cm clearance from the snake all the way around (if it is a circle water dish) or just a chinese food container would be fine for it.