shedding?

Discussion in 'Corns & Rat Snakes' started by raeee, Jan 11, 2009.

  1. raeee

    raeee Embryo

    Messages:
    4
    My boyfriend and I just got a baby corn snake in mid December. Since we have had her she has been very active, and eats well once a week. But the last couple of days she has been in her den a lot. She eats every Tuesday and normally spends the next day in her den and then is back to her active self. But she has been in her den, or under her tree this whole time. I think she might be shedding soon and was wondering if this behavior is normal? We also noticed she is drinking a lot of water. We spray her tank a couple times a day to keep the humidity up, and the temp is normal. Just wondering if anyone has any comments. Thanks!
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  3. bruno

    bruno Moderator

    Messages:
    1,677
    Hi,
    If you can take a look at her and see if she is dull and the eyes turning misty blue then she will be in shed. It is normal for them to hide as well.
    Instead of misting try putting a bowl/dish of water at warm end, big enough for her to get into and soak, this will increase the humidity better than spraying and less messy.
    Dont handle her and dont worry about feeding, they usually wont eat anyway, once she has shed again leave a couple of days after before handling, this allows new skin to harden off. She may eat straight away after a shed, you can always try.
    Baby corns will usually shed every 4 weeks for the first year, then slow down to 3 or 4 a year.
    Hope this helps you.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  5. MimC

    MimC Moderator

    Messages:
    1,602
    She may well be shedding - it should be easy to tell by looking at her as Bruno said. Corns are also big hiders, so this may be normal for her, now that she has settled in to her new environment.

    I use humid hides with all my corns, i mist the tanks sometimes when they are shedding too - but by having a humid hide i havent had an issue with any of my corns (or my rat or king) with shedding in years. Just take a small tupperware container or plastic deli dish (thats what i use for my hatchling corns) and cut a small hole in the top, and take a few sheets of paper towel and soak them with warm water, then ring them out so they aren't soping and place them into the container.

    Make sure to keep this moist when you notice the color starting to dull - until they have completed the shed
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  7. raeee

    raeee Embryo

    Messages:
    4
    Thanks that helps a lot. I do have a dish with water in it, it is pretty big (bigger than her). She came out finally tonight, and definitely did not want to be held! Won't do that for a while. Her skin is really dull, and her eyes are too a little. Thanks for the help!
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  9. jeepnphreak

    jeepnphreak Member

    Messages:
    585
    yep sounds like shedding to me. Just let it be, they can not see and can get a bit grumpy. Just make sure that when you see a skin to look it over and make sure that the eye caps and end of the tail came off ok. useally corns are great shedders, and no not require very high humidity (compared to some other snakes).
    A water bowl large enough to soak is useally plenty, thet'll soak if they have the opertunity
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  11. asiandude

    asiandude New Member

    Messages:
    107

    Good for the corn and you. As they mention before..if the corn is dull , it's going to shed soon then when the color will return to normal. During that time, you might not want to handle it until it shed the skin. As for spraying, I never spray my corn as they dont require high humidity (always perfect shed everytime).

    As for your feeding schedule......i might suggest u feed it more than 2x a week to promote it's growth. Only feed 1x a week when its adult.

    Feeding 1x a week will not get the corn to it's normal growth and as baby they eat more.
     
  12. raeee

    raeee Embryo

    Messages:
    4
    She shed perfectly this morning! Thanks for all the advice!
     
  13. bruno

    bruno Moderator

    Messages:
    1,677
    Great news, got a nice shiny new snake :)
    That's what I love about corns, they do everything by the book when it coming to shedding, eating.
    You got it all again in 4 or 5 weeks time :p
    I had one baby corn who shed on same date every month for 5 months.
     

Share This Page