Finally she ate!!

[mango]

My girl is in shed right now and has been crabby for about the last 3 or 4 days but on a wim i decided to entice her with a f/t rat pinkie to see if i could get a feeding response. It had been 8 days since my last attempt and (although in shed), she took it, constricted it, and ate it. She's still digesting and is very calm but still hasn't shed and is very crabby when I mist her cage. How weird is it that she fed during a shed cycle?? I know all snakes are different and I just want to make sure she is ok. I just want to make sure if I should be relieved or more concerned lol.

[Clownfishie]

First off, congrats on her eating for you :) That's great... And secondly, it's not terribly strange for a snake to eat while in shed -- some do, some don't, and some do sometimes but not other times -- LOL :) Just be happy that she ate for you, and leave it at that -- and keep misting that tank until she sheds for ya :)

[sapphire_moon]

I feed my male BP whether or not he is in shed, and he always has a feeding response.....no matter what. If I fed him everyday I'm sure he would eat....But I wouldn't do that! He has a scheduele.....every thursday/ or friday.....keep misting....and Congrats!

[Jeff_Favelle]

Mango, that kicks a$$. Now, what you have to do, is MAKE sure the snake has access to a 90F basking spot and offer the same meal AGAIN in 3-4 days! Feed it while the goings good! Trust me.

[mango]

do i need to wait till she passes her last meal before offereing again?

[mango]

how am I going to keep her shed humidity up with a basking spot also?? It dries up the mulch and drops the humidity..i'm expecting shed anytime now, the top of her head is crispy and she is soaking her chin a lot.

[Jeff_Favelle]

No you do not need to wait for her to pass the meal. Mine often eat 5-6 times before they pass the 1st meal.

As for keeping the humidity up, well just offer a moist hide box on the cool end of the cage. Reptiles just USE temperatures to accomplish certain things. Ball Pythons will use the warm end of their cages to digest food. If they don't want to do that, they will go to the cool end. Shedding snakes are often not thermoregulating anyways, so they will be fine in a moist hide box on the cool side.

[Solid Snake]

one time my King snake ate the day before he shed. He couldn't do a complete shed because tehre was a huge lump in the middle. I had to peel it off of him.

[mango]

Originally posted by Jeff_Favelle
No you do not need to wait for her to pass the meal. Mine often eat 5-6 times before they pass the 1st meal.

As for keeping the humidity up, well just offer a moist hide box on the cool end of the cage. Reptiles just USE temperatures to accomplish certain things. Ball Pythons will use the warm end of their cages to digest food. If they don't want to do that, they will go to the cool end. Shedding snakes are often not thermoregulating anyways, so they will be fine in a moist hide box on the cool side.

[mango]

She has been laying on the cool side under her water bowl pretty much ever since she ate. This morning is the first time i've really seen her move much since she ate and she's stretched out accross the cage and it looks like she's itching herself a little bit. Her head is crispy so I'm hoping that shed is about to come off. Tomarrow I will offer food again since that will be 3 days since her last meal. Guess we'll just see what happens. thanks for everything everyone!! :D

[sapphire_moon]

Goodluck, and congrats!