Shedding...how unusual is this?

[FAY]

I have some hatchie diamonds.
They have been hatched for over a month now and have not shed.
They are very lively and the shed certainly doesn't look like it has dried on them or anything.

I am keeping their tubs moist until they do shed.

Is this length of time from hatching till shedding unusual??

 

[mungus]

same situation with some of my jungles this year Fay.............
must be something in the air, go figure.

 

[pythonmum]

12 of my Darwins shed (one at 1 month), but one STILL hasn't shed and he hatched 5 December. He also crawls around and acts normal, but won't feed. Like you, I mist the click clack morning and night. I have also done two assist feeds, hoping that a meal might trigger shedding. So far, nothing. He did empty his bowels on me during the second assist, so I know his gut works fine!

 

[Jay84]

My 2 new jungles are the same! They hatched on 30 dec and still have not shed. One of them has eaten, i am still keeping their tub moist.

 

[FAY]

Like mungus said, must be something in the air.
They look like they have wet suits on...so maybe they know it is an unusually wet year...lol

 

[Inkage]

Yeah i have some also going on a month now with now shed..

 

[pythonmum]

They look like they have wet suits on...so maybe they know it is an unusually wet year...lol

Yes - that's it - like little wetsuits. David Vella didn't seem particularly concerned when I mentioned this last week during our probing visit, so I keep waiting and hoping. One of the clutchmates has had a 2nd shed and several others look like they are ready for shed 2 any time, but still that one clings to his wetsuit...

 

[deebo]

weird - all my jungles shed within a day of each other, all my bhps within a day of each other and my womas hatched kind of sporadically with the first two hatching two days earlier than the rest, and shedding two days earlier, and the last hatching one day later than the middle two to hatch and shedding one day later than the middle lot (had 5 in total hatch and i hope this makes sense!).

I guess its one of those things and they will probably shed when they are ready - interesting none the less! Perhaps we worry to much about things running on a schedule.....

 

[CarpetPythons.com.au]

It usually happens to the ones that did not absorb their yolk fully. It can become a problem in albinos as they are more reluctant to strike at their food when they get annoyed. Absorbing the yolk seems to bring on the first shed. You might need one assisted feed to bring on the shed. Good luck all. We also have a few that did not take in all of their yolk and are getting ready to give them a hand. It helps to have a heap of rat tails on hand as this makes assist feeding them a lot easier.

 

[Jay84]

It usually happens to the ones that did not absorb their yolk fully. It can become a problem in albinos. Absorbing the yolk seems to bring on the first shed. You might need one assisted feed to bring on the shed. Good luck all. We also have a few that did not take in all of their yolk.

Thats really interesting, as i think my two jungles didnt absorb all the yolk! As i said, one of mine has fed on its own.... i hope the other does as i dont wanna have to assist feed iv'e never done it before!

 

[SCam]

I had a Jungle hatch on 30/11 an shed 13/1 perfect shed

 

[jinjajoe]

I have an albino hatchie that didn't shed (didn't absorb yolk & was the runt of the clutch)...... 2 force fed pinky mouse heads (1 week apart) & then I zip tied it in a damp sock for 3-4 hours a furthur week later & hey presto it had escaped it's skin. Still a runt but 1 less hurdle...... would have died for sure.....

 

[Jay84]

How long can a hatchie go without its first feed before you have to assist feed?

 

[jinjajoe]

How long can a hatchie go without its first feed before you have to assist feed?

Not sure....... in this case I waited 6 weeks BUT there was the additional problem of not shedding...... IF it had shed I would have left it for another month or so...... but there will be other opinions none of which are any less correct if success is achieved.

 

[deebo]

i had a jungle hatchie go 10 weeks before it finally ate the wing from a 1 week old quail....it was looking pretty skinny by that stage but still active, alert etc but a few more weeks and i think i would have had to force feed it. It had gone frolm 18g down to 11g in that time, 7g isnt much but %wise it was a lot. Not sure if that is normal weight loss or not but seemed a lot to me.

 

[jinjajoe]

i had a jungle hatchie go 10 weeks before it finally ate the wing from a 1 week old quail....it was looking pretty skinny by that stage but still active, alert etc but a few more weeks and i think i would have had to force feed it. It had gone frolm 18g down to 11g in that time, 7g isnt much but %wise it was a lot. Not sure if that is normal weight loss or not but seemed a lot to me.

I think you get a feel for the individual animal hey ??

 

[spotlight]

this is so strange i have the same problem!!, i have 5 hets and two albinos that have not had there first shed they hatched over a month ago, ive bred heaps of snakes over the years and this year is the first time ive seen this??,i cant take them out of the moist tub as they dry out after a few minutes.

 

[deebo]

joe - yeah agreed, this little guy wasnt on deaths door but certainly looked hungry! Guess it depends on each species/hatching weight but a small/malnourished animal will go downhill much quicker than a bigger/healthy hatchy......eg BHP hatchy at 120g compared to a 10g childreni.

 

[jinjajoe]

this is so strange i have the same problem!!, i have 5 hets and two albinos that have not had there first shed they hatched over a month ago, ive bred heaps of snakes over the years and this year is the first time ive seen this??,i cant take them out of the moist tub as they dry out after a few minutes.

Did you pip the eggs early ???

 

[spotlight]

Did you pip the eggs early ???

no i waited until 5 eggs had piped before i helped out the rest of the clutch

and the hets and albinos are from 2 different clutches