Shedding Information

All about shedding

This process is also called Ecdysis, during this process the snake loses the outermost layer of its skin, all the while keeping the shed very much intact. It is always a very fascinating thing to watch, but as a snake owner it is important to know how this process affects your snake, so you can make the proper changes to how you are handling them, and how your enclosure is set up.

First lets get into why snakes shed their skin. A snake sheds its skin to allow for growth. Unlike other animals their skin does not grow right along with them (like ours does), their skin only allows for so much growth and enlargement. When they reach a point where they begin to out grow their skin then they simply shed the outer layer off and start fresh.

Snakes will shed throughout their entire lives, since they never stop growing. With that said, the frequency of their sheds will become less, snakes grow at a faster rate when they are younger and in turn need to shed more often to account for this growth.

If your snake is having a “bad shed” or is having trouble shedding, this is most likely a sign of poor humidity upkeep. Your snake needs the proper humidity to be able to completely shed their skin. A few ways to help with this is by either soaking your snake for a short amount of time in slightly warm water, and or offering them a humid hide. A humid hide is a hide in their enclosure that is usually filled with some type of damp moss, not soaking wet as that could cause scale rot, this hide will have a high humidity and help with the shedding process. Always make sure that your enclosure has the correct humidity for your specific species of snake, some snakes do well in lower humidity, while others, especially arboreal species, need a much higher humidity level.

Now let’s get to the shedding process itself, it consists of two parts; the impending shed stage, and the actual skin-shedding stage. During the impending shed stage the first thing you MIGHT notice is your snakes skin turning dull. Now not all snakes dull to the point of being noticeable, some dulling is minor while in others the skin loses its luster in only certain area.

The next part of the shedding process is the blue phase, this is where your snakes eyes will turn a milky blue color. During this time your snake will seem frustrated and more aggressive due to the fact that their vision is cloudy and they can not see well. Its best not to try and handle them during this phase as it will just stress them out and you are much more likely to be bitten. After 2 to 4 days “in-blue” your snakes skin and eyes will return to normal as they enter the final stage of actually shedding their skin. 2 to 4 days after their eyes clear they will begin rubbing against everything and anything in their enclosure to initiate the shedding. Once the skin starts coming off it only takes about an hour or two for them to get their old skin off and have a bright, shiny new skin to show off.