Weight question ...

[Charis]

I know snakes grow at different speeds, so probably can't give me a definite answer, but your opinion would be appreciated. The pickeringi with the problem eye, Tikki, was weighed on 9/25/09 & was 3 grams, I weighed her again on 11/19/09 & she weighed 4 grams. Is that a good growth rate? Thanks!

[guidofatherof5]

I think at any point a gain in weight should be looked upon as a good thing. Considering your snake has been fighting an infection I would say your doing fine.
With your situation as long as Tikki isn't losing weight I would be happy.
Keep up the good work.

[Charis]

Thanks for your reply. I was slightly disappointed when I weighed her, I would of guessed her at 5 grams. But I got thinking that even though it's only one gram, that's only a bit less than half her original body weight. I just wanted a few other opinions on it as well, though. I'm hoping she'll go into shed here soon, they are both getting really dull, the male a bit more than her & the male's eyes just went cloudy yesterday.

[guidofatherof5]

I'm hoping she'll go into shed here soon, they are both getting really dull, the male a bit more than her & the male's eyes just went cloudy yesterday.

Shortly(5-10 days) after the blue eyes return to normal you should get a shed from the male. Then you'll have a bright, clean new snake

[ConcinusMan]

So happy to hear that Tikki is hanging in there! congrats. Nice job.

[Charis]

Rikki shed today! Had to help him with the last inch of his tail, but other than that it was a good shed. He's nice & bright now. Both of them just got done stuffing themselves on guppies tonight.

[guidofatherof5]

I take it both eye caps came off without any difficulty?
If they are shedding, they are growing and that's a great sign. You're doing a wonderful job.
I hope they have many more sheds in their futures.

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, listen to guido. While it's not to shabby to hear that the shed went well, and you only had trouble with the tail, better check the skin, and/or check the eyes. Make darn sure that the eye caps came off. It can cause serious problems if they didn't come off.

[Charis]

Yeah, I'm real paranoid about the eye caps, it's the first thing I check when anyone sheds & then tail tips after that. I'm actually somewhat dreading when Tikki sheds, as it's probably likely she'll have problems getting the shed off her face, with her eye the way it is. I'll be pulling out all of the tricks to help just as soon as her eye goes cloudy!

[guidofatherof5]

Yeah, I'm real paranoid about the eye caps, it's the first thing I check when anyone sheds & then tail tips after that. I'm actually somewhat dreading when Tikki sheds, as it's probably likely she'll have problems getting the shed off her face, with her eye the way it is. I'll be pulling out all of the tricks to help just as soon as her eye goes cloudy!

Don't get too aggressive then. My advice would be to put her in a shed box 4-6 days after her eyes have gone back to normal. http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husbandry/5014-cheap-shed-box.html Tikki may surprise you and give you a complete shed without your help.