The Shedding Process

hey man between days 3-7 you say theres a build up with fluid. will he release an fluid during that time?

No, It is between the two layers of skin. :)

Really interesting!!! Thank you!!

Daniel, Great article and video. I have a question on shedding.. I have a Pastel Ball that I just purchased from a Retile Show on 11/2. He just went through a shed, however it's in pieces and I have read where you should and should not soak. It's been about 4 days - keeping the humidity upwards of 65-75%, temp 88-90, fresh water, damp towel on 3/4 of mesh lid and mist the enclosure several times a day to keep humidity up.

So.. how long do I leave him to finish his shed or should I help.. If I should help, what's the best way to do this? I tried calling the individual who I purchased the snake from, unfortunately, no response as yet. Wanted to get some additional details on the boy to see if there's any special needs.

Thanks so much..
Lois

PS. Pastel Ball is "Walter"

I've helped my BP on his very first shed under my care, and his shed came off with just a little bit of rubbing. (He started rubbing his face on my hand and the scales had begun to come off) I kind of think he enjoyed the extra help, all I had to do was sort of roll the skin off, and in the places it stuck I just rubbed it in the direction of his tail. I assume that the patches would be relatively easy to rub off as well, considering they're left overs from the overall shed?

Hello guys, my snake is in a shed right now (cloudy eyes stage). I last fed him last week and I noticed he went into shed this Wednesday. However, Thursday is his feeding day, but I prefer not to feed him when he is in shedding process. The problem is, I have to leave for 4 days (humidity 60-70% and temperatures will be OK, my brother keeps an eye on that, but he would not feed him). Will he be OK without food for so long (6 months old, no problems with the shedding so far)?
Thanks for your answers.

He will be absolutely fine. :)

I was concered about my brothers Spider Ball that ggi have been caring for. Ecelon was pretty active when he arrived. Then he started camping out in his hot side hide for long periods of time without me seeing him at night. So the skin began to look dull and a lil transparent so i started researching and it landed me here. I looked at the pics and read all the captions just as stated on this thread he was preparing to shed. I went to check on him one night as i usually do before bed check his temp and humidity gauges when i peeked into his Temple Ruin head hot side hide his eyes were milky blue. I got excited and texted my bro told him what was going on. After awhile the eyes cleared up so then i let him soak in the tub with some warm water. Couple days later around 3am i was checking his tank and seen something sitting on side of the temple ruin head and there was the shedded skin in a lil ball i thought it was a bad or partial shed until i stretched it out and seen it was one piece. First on time shed Go head Ecelon pronounced (Eshalon) Im estatic he also loves that Temple Ruin head.

My Oliver is starting to shed, based upon his milky eyes, dull color, slightly pink tummy, and camping out in his hide. The poor guy looks quite miserable.....

I've only had him for 8 days, and he does have mites (not too bad). Should I wait until after the shed to use the Provent and Reptile Relief on him (It was delivered today)? Perhaps it's best to leave him alone for another day or 2 until he's through the shed process more?

Thanks in advance for your excellent advice :-)


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I'd probably wait.

Make sure you follow the instructions on the provent-a-mite as it is powerful stuff. :)

Thank you thank you thank you! William Snakespeare's eyes blued up over the weekend and then they cleared up today. Now I know that he is actually getting ready to shed. I thought he was and then I wondered was I right. Your posts are so valuable to a newbie like me.

And he's shedding!! Just like your tutorial showed that he would!! It's amazing how quickly it all came together. I was not sure when his eyes cleared back up. I thought maybe there was something wrong with him. But nope, he's shedding. And now I know all the signs. I guess my only real question is for a snake that only weighs 154 grams, how often will he do this? I just want to say that I am so thankful that I found this site and people who really love their pythons. It's a great educational opportunity for us. Thank you!

Great article. Thank you so much for sharing. I found it very helpful. As a first time snake owner, I definitely felt my BP was acting extremely standoff-ish and shy while opaque.

My snake is about to shed for the second time. I still have the 1st shed skin (intact) from about 2 1/2 months ago, and found it useful as an approximate measuring stick. Hopefully the second shed skin will be intact as well...really curious to see if he's grown longer, and by how many inches.

Great article! I read this before I got my ball python, and it has helped a lot. The visuals are great! Thanks for sharing this ! :snake:

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Originally Posted by Kamerick

Great article! I read this before I got my ball python, and it has helped a lot. The visuals are great! Thanks for sharing this ! :snake:

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Great OP, I wish I'd read it before today!

I've had a BP - my first snake, my first pet - for about 2 weeks and wanted to weigh it for the first time today. Yesterday evening I saw him go for a brief dip in the water bowl then back into hide all night, and all day today. Lifted up the hide and it hardly moved, picked it up and it seemed sleepy and didn't react at all, then I noticed the dull skin and blue eyes! :O I was a bit freaked out so I apologized, put it down immediately and stood watching for about 5 minutes until it slithered back into the hide THEN came online and read the article I should have read before!

I hope I didn't stress it, I only had it in my hand for maybe ten seconds. Going to leave him alone now until he's done shedding.

A question about shedding. Is it possible to have a snake get to a point where it trusts you during it's shed so that it can be handled while the eyecaps are blue? I don't handle Nagini during her sheds, but I know a pet store by my house has a 3 Y/O ball that they handle regularly during shed and she doesn't put up a fuss at all.

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Originally Posted by Sirensong26

A question about shedding. Is it possible to have a snake get to a point where it trusts you during it's shed so that it can be handled while the eyecaps are blue? I don't handle Nagini during her sheds, but I know a pet store by my house has a 3 Y/O ball that they handle regularly during shed and she doesn't put up a fuss at all.

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It's an individual thing. Some will be okay, some won't. My own experience is most will let you handle them, but they would rather be left alone. Of couse, if you try it and you get bit...her answer trumps mine.

Once mine get pink bellies I just leave them alone until their shed is done unless there's a compelling reason to handle them.

This is my go to guide, I'm still an amateur and my new royal BP is going into shed a few days after I got him. He's past the blue and should be ready to actually shed tomorrow. I panicked because I figured I had enough time to get his thermostat and hygrometer. I got them and was pleased to see his humidity was decent, and the temps were perfect. I boosted his humidity by covering his screen with 3 paper towels. It went from 65-70 to a strong 80.

So my son's Normal was in blue on 9/22 and he had a nice pink belly, strange thing is he hasn't shed yet and here it is 8 days later. Has anyone seen it take this long before? According to the thread he should have shed by now. Husbandry is perfect, and humidity is over 65%. I don't get it.

Never mind, I just took apart his cool side hide and found a perfect rolled up shed from several days ago. It was actually rolled up so tight and small I couldn't even unroll it with out destroying it. He was just keeping it hidden from me, LOL. I knew his skin looked nice and fresh but just couldn't figure it out. He's in a divided 75 gal tank with all sorts of hides and logs etc, it's so much easier to check my guys that are in tubs.

Thank you for this. I was panicking as a first time owner and now I feel dumb because everything is going exactly by your thread -_-

cool detailed and thorough process break down. Great tool for anyone curious about the stages throughout the process

Thank you for the valuable info! Just one question: is it ok to feed during the 7-10th day phase, after the opaqueness has cleared up?
Actually curious about one more thing lol: would you divulge what you use for the hides in the pics? Also, what is the benefit of cutting a hole in the top of the hide, rather than along the bottom?
thx!:)

I have a snake and she keeps rubbing her snout against the glass. She also likes to push on the ground. She doesn't have mites.
Her tank is 85F warm side and 80F cool. the humidity is usually around 50%.
Is this normal?
Also wanted to add there is nothing on her face. She is not wheezing or foaming.

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Originally Posted by Manglewantsmacaroni

I have a snake and she keeps rubbing her snout against the glass. She also likes to push on the ground. She doesn't have mites.
Her tank is 85F warm side and 80F cool. the humidity is usually around 50%.
Is this normal?
Also wanted to add there is nothing on her face. She is not wheezing or foaming.

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Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe 85F is a bit cool. The warm hide should be 88-94F above the substrate. Some recommend even warmer. Maybe your snake is seeking more warmth? Oh, and I'm assuming you're talking about a ball python:)

oh yes. I'm talking about a ball.
I called her name and told her to face me. She did, and yawned.
She had a small piece of substrate in her mouth. She has coconut substrate.
Do I need to do anything for this?

Again I am somewhat novice myself, but I believe that if a substrate is deemed to be safe for a ball python then you very rarely have to worry about ingestion or occlusion. Though it can happen: http://mikewilbanks.com/ballgame/
With respect to coconut fiber, maybe check out this thread: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...iber-substrate

She has very fine material for her substrate. not chips or powder. Could the pressing also be from stress?
I am making a hide for her tomorrow. her current ones are too small.
thanks...

Some rubbing against the glass is normal, as long as it's not constant or excessive. If your snake is stressed, I would again suggest it could be due to the temperature of your warm side being too low, not knowing all the other details of your setup. Someone please jump in if I am wrong about this:)

I love how you provided information:). My baby ball did very well. Her first shed with me. Know she's up and about. Does this mean she's finished?

My normal ball python just has a blue tint is this a sign of shed

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Originally Posted by Kpnjr23

My normal ball python just has a blue tint is this a sign of shed

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Yes.

I was told mine would shed every 4-6months but has shed already 4 times in the 9 months I have had him. I think it is male because of the shape and size. I noticed his skin has a slight blue iridescense to it today under the basking light. I do not usually see that but noticed it today. He is about 2 weeks out of his last shed. Is this normal?

Yeah they look all pretty after the shed <3

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...Headshrunk.JPG

New BP owner and my one year old is about to go into shed. He's only been in the house for a couple weeks, but he's on a good Monday feeding schedule. I handled him last night (two days after feeding) and noticed his color was muted and his eyes were blue. I kept handling to a minimum and put him back.

So my question is, is there no handling or feeding until he sheds? Or is the no handling/feeding just for the day or two he's in blue?

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Originally Posted by shadow reaper

New BP owner and my one year old is about to go into shed. He's only been in the house for a couple weeks, but he's on a good Monday feeding schedule. I handled him last night (two days after feeding) and noticed his color was muted and his eyes were blue. I kept handling to a minimum and put him back.

So my question is, is there no handling or feeding until he sheds? Or is the no handling/feeding just for the day or two he's in blue?

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Well for my part I'd say certainly no handling until he's back to normal and active again . As regards feeding them - some snakes DO eat when in shed but none of my Royals are ever remotely interested although my Boas and Kings will generally eat ANYTIME :)


The other thing to watch is when he's "looking" normal again he will may not have actually shed his skin as it usually comes off a day or so after they get the normal colouration back .

This was very helpful, thanks!

Thanks so much for this article! I have owned 5 snakes, and i currently have two. The first three have been adopted to kids who are in the hospital or disabled and they are allergic to traditional therapy animals. Every one of them has shed differently. I do notice that they struggle more in the winter here in Minnesota. I have a humidifier, I spray their cages when they sleep, and I put them in a swimming bin and coat them with mineral oil. Any other tips?

Thanks for writing this very informative and well written article Daniel.

I'm new to BP ownership and have kept a close eye on my snakes hue and eyes and think she's maybe going to shed.

Her eyes seemed cloudy (to my novice eye anyway, hers are so small right now it's difficult to tell without shining a light in her face and I'm not that inconsiderate) when I took her out yesterday and she actually struck at me, something she's NEVER done (in the short 3 weeks I've had her anyway). Her colors seemed a bit dull but like I said I'm so new to ownership I don't know for certain.

I'll bump her RH somewhere between 60-80% but I'm concerned if she isn't going into shed will the increased RH cause a RI?

Thanks again for the incredible write up and pictures.

So Traya had her first very surprise shed with me. Could just be because she's a pale grey with a white belly, but never caught her getting dull and she only has one eye and I never caught it looking blue. She also ate on Thursday just fine. Just went to clean her cage yesterday cause I smelled poop and also found the shed skin.

The issue is she shed butt first and it's all off except for about two inches back from her head up to her snout. She's understandably head shy, so any tips for helping getting stuck shed off of her head?

Some morphs can be hard to see when they go into shed. It took me a while to figure out albinos. You should be able to pick up on some slight changes after awhile. If it is a morph with a clean white belly, the pink belly phase is easiest to pick up.

For stuck shed problems, I always recommend a humid hide. They do wonders.

Hello! So I just want to reassure that my first ball python- Salazar is doing good. I believe he is in Day 10 of the shedding process. I haven't seen him come out at all. He's just been hiding. This is normal? And will he be dehydrated? I haven't seen him drink any water either since he hasn't came out of his hide.
Thanks.


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I only have on BP to compare to, my others are all colubrids...
Just for reference, my BP has shed twice with me and both sheds took 5 days from eyes turning opaque to two perfect sheds. I don't know if my guy shads fast, or if age or other variables affect shed time. My two corns have both had sheds that lasted 10 days though. I'm curious to see if shed times vary with species, age, etc... I'm looking forward to seeing what others have to say..

But yes, it is very normal for snakes to hide throughout the shed process. Their vision is obstructed and they feel vulnerable while in shed, so they stay where they feel safe and secure. As long as the ambient humidity in the enclosure is right he should be fine. A lot of people suggest putting some damp sphagnum moss in their hides while they are in shed.

Ok. Thanks for the info.
I actually have another question and am just curious if anyone has any input. So I just got home from work- and he's poking his head out of his hide. This is the first time I've seen him alert since Friday the 10th. He hasn't shed yet- but his eyes aren't cloudy anymore. So I'm thinking it's about to happen? And I'm wondering do they get alert before hand? Or is he possibly just hungry? He had no interest eating on the 10th which was his feeding day- so he hasn't eaten since February 28th.


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I have yet to experience this with my BP since I got him 5 days ago. You did a great job of getting the information across in a easy way to understand.

Thank you for this very informative thread. I have a candino BP and I've only had her a little over a week. I'm concerned that I won't see the dulling of her colors easily or that her eyes won't go blue (because they are red). Other than the pink belly, what else should I look for in a BP that is part albino? I appreciate any and all advice. :3
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Hi everyone,

This is a very interesting thread, thanks.

So I have a little question regarding my BP, which I got around 4-20-2017, and didn't experience any shedding process with him yet (the breeder said he shed 2 or 3 days before I purchase him, and btw he's born on sept 2016).

As you can see in this link, his eyes look like they are turning white at their upper part, except it doesn't really look like the photos in this thread, where the eyes become blueish.

Is this how it all starts or should i worry about it? Does this look normal to you?

Thanks.

UPDATE: after posting the reply, I remembered the breeder sent me a pic of him before I purchase him and it turns out his eyes are actually blue. Now it looks like he's loosing that white/blue color around the eye, and more black is gaining field there. You can see the breeder's pic here.

I am in temporary custody of grandson's BP, about 2 yrs old. I have no prior experience. I noted blue, cloudy eyes on June 4 when he struck at offered prey (thawed frozen mouse), and missed, but tried again and readily swallowed mouse. I prepared moist shed box and he went in on June 8. He has chosen the warm end (ambient in tank is 83F) and there he remains. Has this gone on long enough for me to be concerned, or is this within normal range? I've tried to avoid curiosity gawking but when I peeked this morning, eyes are still milky blue.

Nervous Grandma

Nothing at all to worry about. Snakes shed at their own pace and can take up to 10-14 days from turning blue to shedding.

Seems like you're doing a good job snake sitting. What is the humidity in the enclosure?