Shedding, or bad news?

[guidofatherof5]

Edit: Forgot to add- should I be worried about her shedding lower down before she 'should' be ready to shed? I thought shedding started at the head.

She won't shed unless she's ready. You really can't force a shed.

[kibakiba]

Yeah it's hard with cardboard but it'd be more sterile to keep it out. I've gotten rid of sticks because I couldn't clean them off well enough.

[Dyna]

Okay... so her lower abdomen shedding isn't a problem, and she'll finish whenever she damn well feels like it, which will eventually include 'blue stage'?

I'll still try the shed-box idea, in case it helps. It certainly can't hurt her, as far as I can tell.

[Dyna]

... okay, I just got a message from my boyfriend at home that she is gloriously shedded, the entire thing, head to tailtip; he didn't manage to pull it out in one piece, but she's fine.

I don't know HOW I missed the blue stage. ._. Am I really that unobservant??

Still, I will have to take a good look at her head when I get home. I will continue to fret. I am determined on that count. And I'm going to check the shed to make sure there's no retained eyecaps, because I read a thread on here that made me somewhat paranoid about that.

I guess tomorrow will come a flood of pictures, because they're brightest after they shed- and she really is a gorgeous shade of blue!!

[kibakiba]

Sometimes I miss the opaque phase, it's not always noticeable. With some snakes you cant see it at all. Runt's eyes only get slightly milky, while Snakey and Mama have very opaque eyes when in that phase.

[Flicker]

Yeah- sometimes I miss the opaque phase too - and am surprised - though usually there's a buildup of darkness to his color tone before shed - and he won't eat well.

The head thing (from the pictures you sent) looks like something hit her rather than scraping. I'm seriously doubting it came from the cardboard box. It might have come from the rock, *if* the rock was tipped or something and moved and squashed her?

Or maybe her head was in the way when you were taking the lid off and it smooshed her a bit? I dunno - but certainly seems worth investigating.

The great thing about cardboard hides *is* that you can throw them away periodically and get fresh ones. Just dispose of it when it no longer seems fresh.

^_^

[guidofatherof5]

... okay, I just got a message from my boyfriend at home that she is gloriously shedded, the entire thing, head to tailtip; he didn't manage to pull it out in one piece, but she's fine.

I don't know HOW I missed the blue stage. ._. Am I really that unobservant??

Still, I will have to take a good look at her head when I get home. I will continue to fret. I am determined on that count. And I'm going to check the shed to make sure there's no retained eyecaps, because I read a thread on here that made me somewhat paranoid about that.

I guess tomorrow will come a flood of pictures, because they're brightest after they shed- and she really is a gorgeous shade of blue!!

Glad to hear about her shedding. I bet she feels better and so do you.

[ConcinusMan]

OK, now somehow i missed this entire thread until now. That snake looks extremely familiar to me... should it? Looks like one of my anery's.

I will say this, usually if a snake is constantly trying to get out, and rubs it's nose or some other part of the head raw, it's because they are not comfortable with their housing/environment conditions and they are stressed out because of it.

It's really not that difficult to make a concinnus very comfortable so that they settle right down and seem happy with only the occasional need to look for a way out. If your snake is doing that, even when it's not shed time, then let me know. Maybe I can give some tips to make him feel at home.

The injury to the nose doesn't look too bad but you really have to re-examine the enclosure you are using. No matter how much a snake tries to get out, it shouldn't cause an injury like that.

Don't beat yourself up over it, just learn from it and fix whatever is wrong.

I often miss the opaque phase especially in young garters. Sometimes it can only last one day and not be very obvious. I might also point out that the opaque phase is just the new skin forming under the old. The eyes will once again go clear for a day or more before the shed actually happens. It's important to provide a soaking dish and/or misting/high humidity during the day or two right after the opaque eyes go clear again.

Don't worry too much about the snake, it doesn't look too seriously injured. they're pretty tough.

[Snakers]

OK, now somehow i missed this entire thread until now. That snake looks extremely familiar to me... should it? Looks like one of my anery's.

I will say this, usually if a snake is constantly trying to get out, and rubs it's nose or some other part of the head raw, it's because they are not comfortable with their housing/environment conditions and they are stressed out because of it.

It's really not that difficult to make a concinnus very comfortable so that they settle right down and seem happy with only the occasional need to look for a way out. If your snake is doing that, even when it's not shed time, then let me know. Maybe I can give some tips to make him feel at home.

The injury to the nose doesn't look too bad but you really have to re-examine the enclosure you are using. No matter how much a snake tries to get out, it shouldn't cause an injury like that.

Don't beat yourself up over it, just learn from it and fix whatever is wrong.

I often miss the opaque phase especially in young garters. Sometimes it can only last one day and not be very obvious. I might also point out that the opaque phase is just the new skin forming under the old. The eyes will once again go clear for a day or more before the shed actually happens. It's important to provide a soaking dish and/or misting/high humidity during the day or two right after the opaque eyes go clear again.

Don't worry too much about the snake, it doesn't look too seriously injured. they're pretty tough.

Your right it does look anery, are you missing one?

[ConcinusMan]

No, I'm not missing one but I did part with a few very young one's this year. That looks like one of them.