He Shed, She Shed

[guidofatherof5]

This thread you are about to read didn't happen overnight. It was a couple months in the making. It started with many good meals consisting of worms, pinkies and some occasional salmon. Add in fresh water, a warm hide and a predator free environment and you've got the makings of a growing snake.
She's been off food for the last 3 weeks. That once beautiful coating of colored scales is now dull and lackluster. She doesn't want to be bothered and spends hours by herself. For the past week her vision has been obscured by those cloudy lens which have now turned clear again. The time is near.
She begins with a bath. In her gallon of water she swims and soaks. She's not hurried and seems to enjoy the water. Then suddenly she knows it's time to get this show on the road. Out of the water she comes.
First she finds a good rough area on the fake vines that line the back wall of her enclosure. She starts with the top of her head. Snagging the old skin, she pulls it loose. She has a critical maneuver to perform first off. Those eye caps must come off clean. The first eye cap pops off, then the second. She continues to pull the shed off until she reaches her neck. Now she backs off and starts on the lower jaw. She quickly pulls the shed loose on her chin and before you know it she's caught up with the top shed. She doesn't stop and continues pulling. She works the shed down her body at just the perfect speed. It's not just the pulling that's making the old shed come off but she's contracting and flexing the muscles along her body. She's focused on this process. A complete shed is what she's after. She pulls all the way down to her vent(cloaca) and then slows. This part of the shed is important if she wants to keep all of her tail. The shedding process stops, she continues to pull but not hard enough to break the old skin just hard enough to pull past this area in one movement. Then it happens, she's passed the vent in a controlled pop. The tail shed then comes off in a matter of seconds. It over. She's shed.
Before me I see my beautiful Tourette. Bright and new.
The process only took a few minutes. I witnessed it from beginning to end. It was done systematically, with complete control.
These are amazing animals and I'm blessed to be part of their lives.

[kibakiba]

With my snakes, shedding seems to take a few hours. They do seem to take breaks in the middle of shedding though. I can imagine it's pretty strenuous to get out of all that tight skin. That's kind of like with Snakey, he was just too tired to get out of it. He was a little limp when I picked him up to help him and only struggled a little when I was getting the eyecaps off and when I first started getting the shreds of shed to the same area, then it started coming off in one piece and I let him work his muscles to get out of it.

That was beautifully written, Steve. Can we see a picture of the beautiful girl?

[Stefan-A]

Yesterday I caught my male N. maura frantically trying to hump the female as she was trying to shed.

[gregmonsta]

Loved reading that account .... @ Stefan poor little viperine :P

[guidofatherof5]

Yesterday I caught my male N. maura frantically trying to hump the female as she was trying to shed.

This made me laugh. So blunt and telling. I'm still laughing
Thanks Stefan.

[guidofatherof5]

That was beautifully written, Steve. Can we see a picture of the beautiful girl?

I'll get one this morning after the princess wakes up.

[ConcinusMan]

Yesterday I caught my male N. maura frantically trying to hump the female as she was trying to shed.

Many of my adult concinnus' do that. Usually it lasts for several days after the female sheds. I have a pair not brumating and he follows her everywhere giving her the chin rub a lot. She hasn't shed recently. It's more like they're In love than it is about making babies.

[guidofatherof5]

That was beautifully written, Steve. Can we see a picture of the beautiful girl?

Here's my Tourette. She's a funny face radix with a short/blunt lower jaw. Funny face and all I love her and hope she lives a long time here on the Ranch. I worry about her disabilities and how it might effect her longevity.

[kibakiba]

Snakey and Mama do that too. Sometimes he does the... What Stefan said, and I end up taking Snakey out to let Mama have some peace. Both Snakey and Mama don't like being separated for any amount of time. Snakey will frequently try to get out of the tank when Mama's not around. I had my webcam on the tank while I left the room with Mama and Snakey was freaking out. He spent 10 minutes straight trying to get out, he stopped once I was in the room with Mama and he happily coiled up with her when I put her back. It really does see like they love each other. Or at least Snakey loves Mama and Mama just puts up with him....

[guidofatherof5]

Checking on Tourette this morning I found her in opaque phase(blue phase). She's been eating like a pig since her last shed less than a month ago.
The difference this time is she is eating during the shedding process. Last shed she refused to eat until after she shed.
Another couple days and she will be in deep opaque and her vision will be somewhat obscured. Then I must be careful when I feed her as she's a hard hitting big girl.
"Life is good"