We purchased a Stimson's hatchling on 15 May, so we've had her for just over 9 weeks now. The breeder didn't mention when her last shed was when we purchased her, but even if she'd only just shed it's now been at least 9 weeks, and I was told that hatchies shed every 6-8 weeks.
The snake was hatched on 2 Feb 2022, so is 5.5 months old.
We've been feeding her weekly, and the last few feeds she's moved up to eating fuzzy mice. She gets them down without issue, but has refused the last 2 feeds. Last successful feed was 18 days ago.
I figured she was not wanting to eat as she was finally coming up for a shed, but it's been 2 weeks and nothing has happened. She might be going a bit dull, but it's really hard to tell.
Should I be worried? I know snakes don't always shed on clockwork, but is it normal for her to go this long without a shed?
Also, this might be a dumb question but we have the click clack set up sitting half on/half off a heat mat. We were told to set the hot end to 35 degrees. Should I be measuring the temp directly on the plastic, or on top of the substrate? Because it's sitting at 35 when I lift up the substrate and take the temp on the bottom of the tub, but measuring on top of the substrate is noticeably cooler. We have a paper towel down with aspen on top.
The snake was hatched on 2 Feb 2022, so is 5.5 months old.
We've been feeding her weekly, and the last few feeds she's moved up to eating fuzzy mice. She gets them down without issue, but has refused the last 2 feeds. Last successful feed was 18 days ago.
I figured she was not wanting to eat as she was finally coming up for a shed, but it's been 2 weeks and nothing has happened. She might be going a bit dull, but it's really hard to tell.
Should I be worried? I know snakes don't always shed on clockwork, but is it normal for her to go this long without a shed?
Also, this might be a dumb question but we have the click clack set up sitting half on/half off a heat mat. We were told to set the hot end to 35 degrees. Should I be measuring the temp directly on the plastic, or on top of the substrate? Because it's sitting at 35 when I lift up the substrate and take the temp on the bottom of the tub, but measuring on top of the substrate is noticeably cooler. We have a paper towel down with aspen on top.
Last edited: