Shed Stages

[kibakiba]

Those are some really buggy eyes!

[ConcinusMan]

[nitrogen15]

Cloudy stage.

[guidofatherof5]

Very unusual cloudy scales on the head and body or is that a flash issue.

[ConcinusMan]

Hey Steve, my Big Bertha above had the same thing going on right before she shed today. The skin seemed to be separating in places forming little pockets. I actually started noticing it when she was cloudy. I had never noticed that happen before but then again, she had never shed 4 weeks apart before. She needed a little help this time. She's bloated and due to her condition, it seemed like too much effort for her to get it done on her own.

[nitrogen15]

Very unusual cloudy scales on the head and body or is that a flash issue.

It's not a flash issue. Her scales always get cloudy but more so this time. Her shed was prolonged this time so it may be an indication that her skin was too dry. A bath and an increase in humidity based on Jeff's tips cleared her up and the shed completed soon after. Unfortunately no pics of the shed in progress. She always sheds at night.

I had never noticed that happen before but then again, she had never shed 4 weeks apart before. She needed a little help this time. She's bloated and due to her condition, it seemed like too much effort for her to get it done on her own.

This has been her longest stretch between sheds so far. Maybe that's also a factor.

[ConcinusMan]

I will take this opportunity to point out the importance of getting to know your snakes as individuals and checking on them frequently, even if "checking" means disturbing them and seeing how they react. Knowing their habits, their behaviors, their shedding frequencies, etc. can help you to detect sooner when something is wrong.

With that said, I knew that the situation with Big Bertha is unusual. First off, she normally sheds about twice a year. Second, she just shed a month ago and immediately got gravid. OK so fast forward 3 weeks and she went all cloudy again... because I know her, it seemed way to early to be going into shed again. So I'm on alert.

So, I've been keeping a close eye on her. She went clear some days ago. I decided that she should have shed by now. So, I rustled her out of her hide to pick her up and make sure she's OK. She felt strange. Her skin felt "crinkled and crunchy". Somethings not right.



When I saw that ^^^ I know she needs to shed and is overdue. Normally her belly would be glossy black. When she's in the cloudy stage, her belly looks milky blue. But she's way beyond that and overdue to shed. I can see that the skin is already separating in places and feels "crunchy".

I put her in a lukewarm bath for over an hour until her belly began to look normal. I knew then that she had soaked long enough for water to get under the old skin. By then, the shed had begun near her vent and under her chin. I had to assist her shed but all is well now and she seems relieved. Right now she is resting but I'll get shots of her belly tomorrow for comparison.

My point is, you see that ^^^ then time to give your snake a good long soak whether he/she wants to or not!

[ConcinusMan]

It's not a flash issue. Her scales always get cloudy but more so this time. Her shed was prolonged this time so it may be an indication that her skin was too dry. A bath and an increase in humidity based on Jeff's tips cleared her up and the shed completed soon after. Unfortunately no pics of the shed in progress. She always sheds at night.



This has been her longest stretch between sheds so far. Maybe that's also a factor.

That's good to note what is normal and what is not. Every snake goes through growth spurts and maybe the shedding frequency varies according to the time of year, and other rhythmic variances. The better you know your snake's rhythms and behavior.. well, you know. You know when she tends to shed, how long it's been, etc. and that's good. Keep getting to know her normal rhythms.

We all know that snakes go cloudy, then clear up. Then after they go clear, they should shed very soon. If that doesn't happen within a day to a week,(depends on the individual snake) then we know somethings wrong and they may need a soak and/or assist shed, before they get into a dangerous situation of "stuck" shed, or "failure to shed".

Crinkled skin, labored breathing, abnormal behavior.. these are things to watch for especially during the clear that comes after a cloudy time.

[guidofatherof5]

This is Dark Girl. You can clearly see a retained eye cap.
I used a wet micro cloth to simply wipe the cap off. In this incident it was an easy task since there was a clear edge to work with.

[guidofatherof5]

Here is The Enforcer. Even though she was feeling blue she had time for a few pinkies.