Stimson shed twice in 4 weeks?

[Kurtis]

hey APS.

I am a new member long time lurker. My stimson python (butters) has shed twice in 3-4 weeks. His first shed was quite poor and flaky and took a long time. I put it down to lack of humidty in the room and fixed it and now a few weeks later he is shedding again and it looks to be coming off in one perfect piece. I am just worried how quickly the two were apart. He has only eaten one pinky mouse in last 5 weeks.

He isn't angry or agitated at all and for the second shed he never showed any signs like milky eyes ect. Just curious if this is common after a bad shed?

Also, I bought my python from a pet store in Toowoomba and they claimed he was born december 2010. He was around 20 cm long and barely ate. He was kept in a room with no heat the whole time he lived at the pet store and was right near an open window. Since i have had him for a few months he has nearly doubled in size but if he is really the age the store claims he is can I ever expect him to grow to full size? Or will he most likely be a smaller stimson python?

Thanks guys, appreciate your answers.

 

[l3atman]

hey, welcome to the site, im sure others will know more about this then me...
one of my snakes just shed about 3 - 4 weeks apart, but i have been feeding her a lot more lately so that would explain it, but as you mentioned he has only eaten once in the last 5 weeks... i remember reading somewhere that if snakes retain parts of a previous shed, they may shed again shortly after to remove any excess skin, not sure how accurate that is, but that could be a possible reason, but either way i don't think their is anything to worry about as long as all the skin is gone and your snake is health i dont see the time between sheds (fast or slow) to be that much of an issue...
...
glad to hear he is in you care now, if he was hatched in 2010 i cant see it having to much of a negative affect on his growth, one of my snakes had a lot of trouble eating when it was younger, the only thing i have noticed is that it takes a lot longer to reach the same size as snakes that have fed well or been fed well when they were younger, but they do get there...
...
All the best

 

[Skelhorn]

He will be fine! I went to the pet store and saw a 14 month old Stimson yet mind at that age were more than twice its thickness and double in length. As for shedding it occurs with growth and when they are due for 'new skin'. Also maybe up his meals tho if you only feed him, mine were 60cm (ish) when I started them on Hopper Rats. They were about 30cm when I started them on pinkie rats....they grow like crazy on rats over mice (preference!).

Good luck and the snake should still grow to full size (anywhere between 80-120cm). Snakes grow in relation to feed frequency and size of meal. Don't be afraid to let the snake try something larger.

 

[Scleropages]

hey APS.

I am a new member long time lurker. My stimson python (butters) has shed twice in 3-4 weeks. His first shed was quite poor and flaky and took a long time. I put it down to lack of humidty in the room and fixed it and now a few weeks later he is shedding again and it looks to be coming off in one perfect piece. I am just worried how quickly the two were apart. He has only eaten one pinky mouse in last 5 weeks.

He isn't angry or agitated at all and for the second shed he never showed any signs like milky eyes ect. Just curious if this is common after a bad shed?

Also, I bought my python from a pet store in Toowoomba and they claimed he was born december 2010. He was around 20 cm long and barely ate. He was kept in a room with no heat the whole time he lived at the pet store and was right near an open window. Since i have had him for a few months he has nearly doubled in size but if he is really the age the store claims he is can I ever expect him to grow to full size? Or will he most likely be a smaller stimson python?

Thanks guys, appreciate your answers.

Check for mites as they can make a snake shed more often... once pinky mouse in 5 weeks wont make him big enough to shed so something else is causing it. And needless to say never buy anything from that pet shop again.... they have Zero Idea.

Oh and he will still grow to full size.

 

[12-08-67]

Hi, when i first got my stimson i upped his food and he was shedding every 3-4wks at 8mths of age, this has now gone to about 6weeks and he is on a fuzzy rat and weanling mouse per week, i try to keep to about 20% of his body weight by rule. Until i got him use to a routine the shedding and characteristics he showed prior to this were all over the place, now we both seem to have settled into a nice routine, so am sure you little one will too.
No heating in Toowoomba the poor little bugger didnt have the nicest start but am sure he will go ahead in leaps and bounds now he is with someone who cares, good luck with him

 

[CaptainRatbag]

Ditto, welcome and ditto, glad he is in good care now

Feed him heaps (but not over the top) and he will prolly catch up. If he is 14 months old he will still be growing, so keep the food (and heat) up to him... snakes use alot of energy to grow, the more they grow, the more often they shed. Depending on his physical size, prolly a couple of fuzzy rats every 7-10 days would be good. If the food looks bigger than his head, dont worry, pythons can eat something up to the size of thier girth (or a little bigger) fun to watch :shock::lol: