Mysterious item!

[JodiLeigh]

About an hour ago now I noticed something in Manny's water dish and when I went to check it out it took me ages to figure out what it was (it was in the shade) I had a split second of panic; I thought there was a massive spider or something in there!

But obviously it wasn't, it was this long shriveled up dark dead looking thing! He has finally shed! The skin was all soggy and lifeless just laying there in his dish, I am very disappointed that I missed him actually slithering his way out of it :( but so happy with how intact it is!

I have attached some pictures for you to see!

He looks so healthy now, a lot more active and a lot less skittish with me. He is currently wrapped around the thermometer/hygrometer sensor that is dangling quite far off the bottom, nosing around probably trying to escape ha ha

[JodiLeigh]

Here are some more:


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It's a shame those few scales are missing, it would have been perfectly intact otherwise.
I like how you can see the little nostril bits heh heh

[guidofatherof5]

Did Manny retain the missing scales?

[Selkielass]

Great shed!
My snakes are usually ravenous after they are done shedding- he might be hunting...

[JodiLeigh]

Did Manny retain the missing scales?

No, I checked him over to make sure and he looks so clean and shiny now :)

[JodiLeigh]

Great shed!
My snakes are usually ravenous after they are done shedding- he might be hunting...

OOOW I will try feeding him then and see if he will finally eat!

I'll keep you posted, wish me luck!

[mikem]

yep, good looking shed! :cool:

[chris-uk]

Did Manny retain the missing scales?
That's what I was going to ask.

Being less skittish is good to hear, all of ours get more reclusive and skittish when they are due a shed. Had you noticed his blue eyes before the shed? Or was it a complete surprise?

[JodiLeigh]

That's what I was going to ask.

Being less skittish is good to hear, all of ours get more reclusive and skittish when they are due a shed. Had you noticed his blue eyes before the shed? Or was it a complete surprise?

Yeah I had noticed that a few days ago but they went back clear so I thought maybe his eye caps had came off first and then I got worried his shed would be incomplete but then I got this! I am so happy

AND he has just eaten for the first time!!!! Within seconds of me putting a big massive lob worm in his water dish he gobbled it up! I didn't even have time to put down a paper towel! THAT was a surprise! Today has been a good day XD

I'm seriously ecstatic!

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Can you see his plump full belly in the third picture? And look at his colour now he has shed, he looks like an inverted tiger!

[EasternGirl]

Great news JodiLeigh! Manny looks great! His shed looks good. So glad he ate. Very good day for you! :)

[JodiLeigh]

Great news JodiLeigh! Manny looks great! His shed looks good. So glad he ate. Very good day for you! :)

Thank you :D

I will be moving him into his new viv some time next week so that's something else I am happy about, I can't wait as I have a bunch of cool new stuff and he will love it!

[katach]

Fantastic news! Glad it was such a wonderful day! He is a stunner.

[chris-uk]

Yeah I had noticed that a few days ago but they went back clear so I thought maybe his eye caps had came off first and then I got worried his shed would be incomplete but then I got this! I am so happy

AND he has just eaten for the first time!!!! Within seconds of me putting a big massive lob worm in his water dish he gobbled it up! I didn't even have time to put down a paper towel! THAT was a surprise! Today has been a good day XD

I'm seriously ecstatic!

4135413641374138

Can you see his plump full belly in the third picture? And look at his colour now he has shed, he looks like an inverted tiger!
Good that he's eaten as well, it's a big day for you then - mark it up in the calendar. :)

The eyes go cloudy for a day or so, then clear, then they should shed within a few days of the eyes clearing. So everthing sounds quite normal for this shed. The eyecaps are the most important thing to check when you look at a shed, now you have seen one you know what to look for next time round.

[EasternGirl]

Chris and Kat...if you guys are online will you go look at Nate's pics under "he ribbon or she ribbon" and see if you think the snake he wants to buy is male or female? Thanks...

[JodiLeigh]

Fantastic news! Glad it was such a wonderful day! He is a stunner.

Thank you XD

This is what I have missed about having pets and by far Manny has been the most eventful and most rewarding so far.

SO HAPPY!

[JodiLeigh]

Good that he's eaten as well, it's a big day for you then - mark it up in the calendar. :)

The eyes go cloudy for a day or so, then clear, then they should shed within a few days of the eyes clearing. So everthing sounds quite normal for this shed. The eyecaps are the most important thing to check when you look at a shed, now you have seen one you know what to look for next time round.

Yeah, it makes sense really when you think about what is actually happening.

I feel like I am learning something new everyday with Manny and I can't believe how much he liked the worms! It must be the movement that interests him so much

[Light of Dae]

As I learnt, The Eyes go cloudy because that is the new eye cap forming underneath the old one, The eyes clear up when it's formed n solid under there. :) So it's perfectly normal to see cloudy eyes a few days ahead of the actual shed.

[kimbosaur]

Yay for Manny!! :)

Don't forget to be careful with the shavings; looks like he got a bit on his worm.

[EasternGirl]

Yes...make sure he doesn't ingest any...I know you said he ate before you could get a paper towel down. Next time...make sure to put a paper towel down and then put the dish down on top and then put the food in...you don't want him to get an impaction from ingesting substrate. Watch him closely to make sure he doesn't drag food off the paper towel too. :)

[JodiLeigh]

Yay for Manny!! :)

Don't forget to be careful with the shavings; looks like he got a bit on his worm.

Yeah i was about to put a paper towel down but he had already swiped it! I picked the bits of aspen off the worm with the tongs though and next time I will put the paper towel down first

[JodiLeigh]

Yes...make sure he doesn't ingest any...I know you said he ate before you could get a paper towel down. Next time...make sure to put a paper towel down and then put the dish down on top and then put the food in...you don't want him to get an impaction from ingesting substrate. Watch him closely to make sure he doesn't drag food off the paper towel too. :)

What is impaction? What would happen to him if he swallows some aspen?

[JodiLeigh]

I had also left some pinkie parts under his coconut hide and just checked on it . . . and they are ALL GONE!He's a greedy little one! Very happy though :D

[guidofatherof5]

That is great to hear. Nice job Manny.

[angrygamer]

grr double post

[angrygamer]

What is impaction? What would happen to him if he swallows some aspen?

Impaction is a dangerous situation. In regards to snakes, it's where they swallow a piece of foreign matter and cannot pass it, rather it passes but it damages their internal organs. It doesn't take much, either.

For a while I had an area of my tank cordoned off because of this. Now I replaced the aspen with coconut husk and have a separate feeding tank all together.

I never liked the aspen too much.

I'm glad someone said something, because if they didn't I would have.

[snakehill]

Don't forget to keep his sheds. Then you see how much he's grown in between! :)

[snakehill]

Sorry! I guess that's not a good way to measure growth. My bad! :o

[angrygamer]

Sorry! I guess that's not a good way to measure growth. My bad! :o

why not

[guidofatherof5]

As a rule a shed is longer then the snake because the skin attached to the scales stretches out the shed.
Just not very accurate.

[EasternGirl]

Right...impaction or blockage is when they can't pass it...like Travis said it can damage the internal organs and it gets stuck. It's great that you removed the aspen from the worm. You must be very careful that garters don't get substrate on their food. If they do, and they can't pass the piece they swallow it can cause a blockage and then they can't go to the bathroom and they can get very sick and die. In cases of sharp substrate like aspen, like Travis said, it can also do internal damage. The best way to ensure your snake doesn't ingest substrate is to have a separate feed tank. You can get a small plastic storage container from a dollar store and put holes in the lid for air and use it for feeding. You just put Manny in there when you want to feed him. Just put paper towels in the bottom instead of substrate. Some people purchase small 10 gallon tanks for this purpose. I have an empty 20 gallon that I use now for that purpose...although I'm getting a new snake soon, so I'll have to look into buying a 10 gallon soon for a feed tank.

[chris-uk]

Trouble with feed boxes is that a lot of shy snakes won't feed when they are moved, so you end up moving them to a feed box and they don't eat because they aren't "at home".

[angrygamer]

Trouble with feed boxes is that a lot of shy snakes won't feed when they are moved, so you end up moving them to a feed box and they don't eat because they aren't "at home".

In my case that's why I had that area, but I've never had any trouble feeding Glyph and I've been doing it this way for a week. Yesterday I fed her a pinky for the first time in the "feed tank" and she wasn't bashful at all. The only thing I don't like about it is she gets jumpy any time I have to put her back in her tank...when I put her in a tank for whatever reason for the first 30 seconds or so she darts around looking for a way out...and as I'm moving her over the top lip she always stretches her neck out because she doesn't want to go in. She's been that way ever since I've had her...in three different vivs too, a 5, 10 and this 30 now.

I wish you luck if you have a finicky eater, it's not something I've had to deal with!

[EasternGirl]

Chris is right about that...many snakes won't do it...it's something you can try. Hermes and Seeley won't eat in a feed tank because they are too shy...that is why I feed them on paper towels under the hide on top of the substrate. I hate taking the risk...but I can't get them to eat otherwise. This is also why I use carefresh instead of aspen. I'm not saying that carefresh won't cause an obstruction if ingested, but it isn't sharp like aspen...it won't do the internal damage that aspen can do. I mainly use my separate feed tank for moving my snakes for feeding because I have more than one snake in a tank and I don't feed them together...but I have the separate tank set up so that it feels homey to them. Now, Cee Cee can be moved to a feed tank..she will eat anywhere.

[angrygamer]

As a rule a shed is longer then the snake because the skin attached to the scales stretches out the shed.
Just not very accurate.

I see.

[JodiLeigh]

I had tried feeding him so many times in a separate box but he was having non of it, that's why I decided to put his food in his enclosure and I think once he has eaten a few more times I will try him in a separate box again just so I know he's eating and has had a good few feeds. I will also obviously make sure I put the paper towel down first. Although with the pinkies (I didn't actually see) he made no mess at all because they were small pieces he must have just swallowed them fast.
I will have the current tank spare after I move him into his new viv so I will use that which would help as he has already lived in there.

So what substrate do you guys use? I like this aspen but if there is something safer then I will give that a try

[EasternGirl]

I prefer carefresh. My snakes enjoy burrowing in it and it's easy to spot clean. But it isn't cheap. You still have to use paper towels and be careful not to let the snake ingest it while eating...but I think it's a bit safer than aspen. It's kind of expensive but you can spot clean and leave it in for a month or two before you have to clean the entire tank and change it.

[angrygamer]

I just started using coconut fiber. I like it very much, especially the texture. It's very similar to dry soil.

I never liked the aspen too much...not knocking anyone who uses it. The first day I went to lay it out in a 30 gal. I thought it was VERY dusty. I soaked it and I let it dry for a few days. That helped.

[snakehill]

As a rule a shed is longer then the snake because the skin attached to the scales stretches out the shed.
Just not very accurate. I still think if gives you some evidence of growth just not the exact measurement of the snake.

[mikem]

i'm phasing aspen out of my collection. i think i've only got two snakes on it right now. i'm switching everything over to a hardwood mulch. i like carefresh and would use it exclusively, but with all my snakes, it would cost too much.

[EasternGirl]

I think I'll be okay with 3 tanks. I can usually get by not having to change it for a couple of months. My snakes just didn't like the wood because they couldn't burrow in it.