Help Your Snake Shed Properly

So you have finally done it. You are the proud owner of a new snake. Whether this is your first or third, you still check the care and maintenance books. If this is a new breed for you then of course you are all over the internet looking at the best substrate and care routines for your new snake.

For some reason things are not going as perfectly as they should, or have in the past. Everything is perfect. Humidity is good, temperature is good. Snake is not shedding well. What now? Is your snake sick or just not very smart?

Every reptile owner will run into this problem from time to time with a snake. You know how you have a dog when you are a kid and feel like they are Lassie. You can't wait to get out on your own so you can have a pal just like your child hood friend. But then you bring Rover home and discover he's just got rocks for brains. This can happen with snakes too.

Unfortunately, some snakes just aren't that bright. You have to consider that so many snakes that would never make it in the wild for one reason or another are helped out in captivity by humans to live a long life. Even though they wouldn't have lasted two days in their home country they can live for ten years with our help.

If you do have a snake with this problem remember there is no reason you have to get rid of the most mellow, happy reptile you have ever owned. You will just have a few more things on your to do list with your pet.

Make sure that you keep an eye on your snake so that you know when they are about to go into their shedding time. A lot of times you can first tell on their belly scales, these scales will turn a different color. This color will vary from species to species of course.

And of course they get the glazed over eyes that are always a dead give away.

When you notice that it is that time for your snake, make sure you have a nice big bowl of water in their tank at all times. The bowl should be big around enough for the snake to coil up in comfortably. The bowl should also be deep enough for the snake to be covered in water except for their nose. I know doesn't sound like what you would expect but they love it.

The other thing is to keep their enclosure a little bit more humid than is suggested. You do not want to keep it this way all the time because of the threats of mold but, a few days to a week shouldn't hurt too bad. The added humidity can help your snake's skin loosen up nicely.

The third thing is to make sure you have a rock in their enclosure that is kind of rough and maybe has a slightly sharp edge or two on it. This rock will give your snake something good to rub up against when they are finally ready to shed. If they have nothing but a round bowl to try to start their shed on, you can sometimes end up with a bad shed which is not fun for you or the snake.

Okay, so you have done all these things and the snake still isn't shedding right. For some reason even if the water is there they don't wanna soak in it. The poor snake keeps having bad sheds and you are tired of pestering the snake with your picking every time you decide to hold your friend. There is one more thing I can suggest that might help.

Depending on the size of your animal will depend on how you can do this. If you have a smaller snake you can use a sturdy tub with a tight fitting lid on it. Of course you will want to poke a few small holes in the top for air. Fill up the tub to with enough warm water for your snake to be covered. The tricky part is getting him in there and closing the lid over the top.

If you have a larger snake you can try this in the bath tub, a big tote, or as funny as it sounds, a clean trash can that is only used for this reason. Same thing as before, just fill up the container with enough warm water to cover the snake.

You will want to let the snake soak for about a half an hour. Of course if they start to freak out and just try to kill themselves getting out you will need to do this in small spurts. However, this should help with their shedding process no matter how much they fight it. A lot of snakes will be happy once they feel the warm water on them. Some snakes don't get used to it. But, if this helps then the outcome is worth it.

It is important for your snake to shed properly. The one scale that we usually don't notice has come off correctly is their eye caps. If there is a build up of old eye caps on your snake you may need to take them to the vet to have them removed. It is risky to remove them yourself because it is so easy to damage the eye when doing it. If your snake hasn't properly gotten their eye caps off before the chances of them not getting them off again are higher.

Keep your snakes health in mind in everything you do and you should do fine. They are wonderful pets to have and no one wants them to get hurt. A little time and effort on our part can ensure that we have our friends around for a long time.