frequent shedding

[junek]

hi all
i have a young blonde mac that had her first shed the other day. It went very badly, i had to soak her and help har get most of it off. That was about a week ago and now it looks like she is about to shed again. What are the reasons why she might shed so often? the only thing i can think of is that she was injured about a month ago and she is shedding more often to help heal the injury (which looks much better after her first shed).
She is about 2 months old. and fed one pinky a week at this stage.
looking forward to any help u can offer
cheers
jamie

 

[wattso]

Could be just what you said, healing of an injury. also might be shes growing quickly too. Worst case scenario might be mites!! has she soaked alot in the water? can you see tiny things crawling on her? tiny white specs are mite poo [if infested] Ask Africancichlidau about mites, hes definatly had plenty of experience of those. ~cheers from the armchair. p.s. if in doubt, see a vet.

 

[Simon_Archibald]

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Hi Junek
As someone who has owned these animals, do you mind if i give some advice?
First and foremost is that your snake is growing.
The first shed was late and difficult and the new shed is on its way.
These animals grow quickly and there is nothing to be concerned about.
I had a coastal with an injury and I found this meant it took longer to shed than normal.
I regurlarly had macs shedding 2 weeks apart. The next one should take a little longer.
Stress or mites are valid points but it is unlikely to be the problem, I would only visit the vet if she shed again after this one coming, if it happens rapidly -Highly unlikely, your next shed after this one will be roughly a 4-6 weeks away.
One mac of mine shed 22/7, 4/8, 16/8, 8/9 and this is a 6 month old mac.
Id look to up her feed a bit soon, up to fuzzies
Keep us posted,
Cheers
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[Artie]

Hi Junek,

My seven month old mac had lots of sheds after I purchased her.
19/7; 31/7; 19/8; 9/9 27/9; 28/10; Her first two sheds were messy, but I could not find anything wrong with her.
After the 28/10 the sheds took longer each time and it was all clear sailing, hopefully it will be the same for you.

I put it down to a growth spurt at the time.

Cheers Artie

 

[junek]

thanks for the replys guys
i thought of mites and looked for them too, but couldnt find any sign of them.
what Simon Archibald said about the gland and stress was interesting because i probably have been handling her too much (cant help myself), i'll stop doing that
For the moment i will just keep a close eye on her, if she sheds again soon, then i think i will take her to the vet. I like the idea that it may be normal and just a growth spurt.!
thanks again for the help
jamie

 

[junek]

well she started shedding today. i found her with the first quarter off in one piece, but from then on it has taken about 5 hours. I have to get her out, soak her, pull a bit off, put her back and let her go at it for about 1 hour, then start again. She just has about 3cm to go. It is a very slow process. I have tryed all the tips that people have previously mentioned, but nothing is a mirical cure, unfortunately!
Heres' to hoping it gets better from here on in, because it makes me worry!
jamie