Signs of snake going into shed?

[Reptilez123]

My darwin carpet python's colours have become dull and for the first time he has refused his feed im not worried just need some confirmation or advice if this is symtoms before sheds?

 

[Shotta]

yeah sounds like he's in shed does he have milky eyes?, when my snakes shed they tend to go dull and their eyes go a milky colour sometimes i dont even see their eyes cloudy, and then a week or so later sheds its skin

 

[Stuart]

It's one of the signs mate, but its not a definite.

 

[Reptilez123]

he doesnt have milky coloured eyes and ive never actually seen him have milky eyes before last time he just went dull and shedded a week later but he ate that time.

yeah sounds like he's in shed does he have milky eyes?, when my snakes shed they tend to go dull and their eyes go a milky colour sometimes i dont even see their eyes cloudy, and then a week or so later sheds its skin

 

[Shotta]

my jungle sometimes eats when its in shed but my darwin hets dont

 

[Kraft]

My jungle hatchie ate 2 fuzzy mice yesterday I handled him for a bit today an when I checked on him later he was shedding an left a nice mess for me but when I went to clean it he tagged me a few times which is strange cause all the while he was in his shed cycle I didn't get bitten once an I didn't even know he was in his shed cycle

 

[buffcoat]

Look at his belly. That's usually the first thing to change color. It might turn pink or just be super dull. That's always a good sign of shed.

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[CaptainRatbag]

They are all different, some show dramatic signs and some spring a shed on you.... The general signs are they lose thier sheen and begin to look dull or as if they are dirty or something, my darker snakes (Macs) spots look less well defined and seem to blendmore with the dark chocolate brown skin. My MDP looks a bit powdery, like it has been rolled in flour :shock:, the bredli looks darker, like it is dirty.... and my coastal usually springs it on me, I rarely know when he is going to shed.

The blue eyes (milky/foggy) is a dead give away that it will shed in the next 5-8 days or so. When the snake is in shed cycle, the body oozes milky fluid from the new skin under the old, this is what separates the skin for easier removal. Usually a few days after the milky eye stage, the body reabsorbs the fluid.... giving the appearance that it is no longer shedding, or you often see threads on here that people ask 'if snakes eat thier sheds':shock: Then, often up to a week later, they might start rubbing thier mouth/face on rocks/branches, or you just find the sloughed skin hanging on a branch or something.

Some snakes get in thier water dish..... some roll up in thier hide and you dont see them for ages.... some stop eating..... but not mine :shock: Last time I fed them, Clyde (Mac) was shedding as he was eating and my coastals last shed was the day after a feed, I had no idea either were
in process..... My others wouldnt refuse a feed any time.... they're a bunch of garbage gutses!

Keep a record of when it sheds and make even a mental note of the snakes process.... then compare it to further sheds in the future.... then you will know how long it usually takes start to finish, how long the eyes are cloudy for, if it needs a bigger water bowl or a spray with water or not.... and always check that the spectacles (clear eye cover scales) and the very tip of the tail are on the skin, or at least accounted for.... not still on the snake

 

[Endeavour]

They are all different, some show dramatic signs and some spring a shed on you.... The general signs are they lose thier sheen and begin to look dull or as if they are dirty or something, my darker snakes (Macs) spots look less well defined and seem to blendmore with the dark chocolate brown skin. My MDP looks a bit powdery, like it has been rolled in flour :shock:, the bredli looks darker, like it is dirty.... and my coastal usually springs it on me, I rarely know when he is going to shed.

The blue eyes (milky/foggy) is a dead give away that it will shed in the next 5-8 days or so. When the snake is in shed cycle, the body oozes milky fluid from the new skin under the old, this is what separates the skin for easier removal. Usually a few days after the milky eye stage, the body reabsorbs the fluid.... giving the appearance that it is no longer shedding, or you often see threads on here that people ask 'if snakes eat thier sheds':shock: Then, often up to a week later, they might start rubbing thier mouth/face on rocks/branches, or you just find the sloughed skin hanging on a branch or something.

Some snakes get in thier water dish..... some roll up in thier hide and you dont see them for ages.... some stop eating..... but not mine :shock: Last time I fed them, Clyde (Mac) was shedding as he was eating and my coastals last shed was the day after a feed, I had no idea either were
in process..... My others wouldnt refuse a feed any time.... they're a bunch of garbage gutses!

Keep a record of when it sheds and make even a mental note of the snakes process.... then compare it to further sheds in the future.... then you will know how long it usually takes start to finish, how long the eyes are cloudy for, if it needs a bigger water bowl or a spray with water or not.... and always check that the spectacles (clear eye cover scales) and the very tip of the tail are on the skin, or at least accounted for.... not still on the snake

Now that's a great post, just about covers everything.


Kindest regards


Endeavour

 

[Shaggz]

very informative post there Ratbag, should just about be made a sticky for newbies wanting shed advice. The only disappointing part was that you must of got a severe talking to after your short break the other day as it didn't have your usual flare lmao.

 

[Justdragons]

Shaggz, That's because we are all making an Effort to keep chit chat to the respective forum and the herp talk where it belongs..


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[Aeren]

Look at his belly. That's usually the first thing to change color. It might turn pink or just be super dull. That's always a good sign of shed.


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X 2 usually the first sign and usually stays cloudy untill slough is complete

 

[lithopian]

one of my stimmies always takes 10 days to shed- from the day i notice she is dull to the day her skin is off. The male of the pair takes 6 days start to finish give or take. Neither of them vary much from this time frame. I think it's different for every snake. The female seems to be slow at everything hehe- from day one, she took 10 minutes to get a pinky down. Hasn't changed. The male can have a rat hopper down in under 5 minutes. Anyway! In terms of the tagging- all my snakes are usually pretty ravenous after a shed. Very active and very hungry. It doesn't at all surprise me that you got tagged when the shed cycle was over

 

[fourexes]

my water python gets milky eyes and turns blue.... my spotted doesn't show in the eyes so much but his belly goes pink. This only happens the first day or two, so if you miss that you have to start learning the other signs as mentioned.
It's been said, every snake is different and record keeping is good practice
I had my spotted out last night, I was laying down watching TV and he tried to start his shed by pushing his head into my side under my shirt, in any case I'm happy to help but wasn't expecting it to be so toothy :|

 

[CaptainRatbag]

The main reason a snake might tag more in shed mode, especially during the milky/blue eye phase, is they cant see very well, so sometimes they tag first, ask questions later..... it is just thier wired in self defense mechanism....

 

[Jacknife]

My oldest Bredli is a sneaky boy, over a year and I've never seen him shed.
He was looking very dark last week and I knew he was coming up for a shed any day, Monday night he was basking on his hide all fine, I left the room for two Simpsons episodes and return to find him curled up in his hide with his fresh shed on top of it.
Less than an hour for the actual shed itself, I'm sure he was just waiting for me to leave the room so he could strip down, such a prude!

 

[mje772003]

my water python gets milky eyes and turns blue.... my spotted doesn't show in the eyes so much but his belly goes pink. This only happens the first day or two, so if you miss that you have to start learning the other signs as mentioned.
It's been said, every snake is different and record keeping is good practice
I had my spotted out last night, I was laying down watching TV and he tried to start his shed by pushing his head into my side under my shirt, in any case I'm happy to help but wasn't expecting it to be so toothy :|

My water python looses its sheen and has the cloudy eyes and refuses a feed where as my olive hasn't declined a feed even if I shed mode

 

[CaptainRatbag]

My oldest Bredli is a sneaky boy, over a year and I've never seen him shed.
He was looking very dark last week and I knew he was coming up for a shed any day, Monday night he was basking on his hide all fine, I left the room for two Simpsons episodes and return to find him curled up in his hide with his fresh shed on top of it.
Less than an hour for the actual shed itself, I'm sure he was just waiting for me to leave the room so he could strip down, such a prude!

Maybe he is just shy?

I think you will find that pythons naturally feel vulnerable whilst shedding (or eating) so some might wait til any possible threat (you in this case) is out of sight before shedding