Back to Back Shedding - Cause for Concern?

[Cam]

Hi guys. I got a female coastal jag yearling (18months actually - hatched oct 2010) near the beginning of may. She is about 5 feet and 900g.

She shed on May 11, only a couple of days after I got her, and has been eating well for me.

Tuesday night I let her hang out in the bath for a bit (only she seems to prefer the towel rod) and I noticed she was getting a bit pink on her belly:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k281/vermeuliscious/Carpet%20Python/IMG-20120529-00734.jpg

Today her eyes are just barely noticeably hazy and her belly is still pink but not nearly as much as in the pic. It seems to me that 16 days is a pretty short time to go from shed to blue - is this a cause for concern?

I have been feeding her fairly large meals (it seems to me, anyway) weekly (two 70-90g rats), and there is no visible lump after two days so I don't think I'm feeding her too much at a time, but definitely enough, maybe a bit more than enough. I don't think she was getting this much to eat before I got her - could she just be having a growth spurt in response to the increased food?

[alessia55]

How are you heating her enclosure? Is it an under tank heater?
Also, why were you bathing her?

[red ink]

Side on pic of the tail please....

[Cam]

How are you heating her enclosure? Is it an under tank heater?
Also, why were you bathing her?

Her viv is heated with flexwatt on the bottom/side. The glass never gets to more than 100F, and the bottom is covered in about 1" of reptibark.

Once a week or so I run a 85-90F bath and give her the opportunity to go for a swim. Usually she poops in the tub, which is nicer than having to clean her cage. If she prefers to climb the towel rack and hang out there, I let her do that instead.

[Cam]

Side on pic of the tail please....

I don't really have one handy, sorry. I fed her tonight so I can't haul her out for a photo. Can you explain what you're thinking?

[red ink]

I don't really have one handy, sorry. I fed her tonight so I can't haul her out for a photo. Can you explain what you're thinking?

Just checking the condition mate to see if she is indeed being "overfed"... Morelias need to have a nice taper on the tail and not look like caudal luring pythons on that end. If they are being overfed the differential girth will be most noticeable on tail and the rest of the body.

[Lankyrob]

Her viv is heated with flexwatt on the bottom/side. The glass never gets to more than 100F, and the bottom is covered in about 1" of reptibark.

Once a week or so I run a 85-90F bath and give her the opportunity to go for a swim. Usually she poops in the tub, which is nicer than having to clean her cage. If she prefers to climb the towel rack and hang out there, I let her do that instead.

With only an inch of bark there is more than a possibility of the snake lying on the glass and getting burnt - this would be my biggest concern at this point in time :)

[Cam]

With only an inch of bark there is more than a possibility of the snake lying on the glass and getting burnt - this would be my biggest concern at this point in time :)

Well, I thought the same thing, but she doesn't really disturb the bark, and I set up the thermostat so that the glass never exceeds 100F (Thermostat is between the tape and the glass on the outside of the tank and is set at 108F).

Her eyes are even cloudier today, and I should note she's been grumpy for a couple of days too. I've read that the pink is sometimes an early indicator of shed. So I guess I'm about 70% sure she's getting ready to shed (still open to input on what else might be going on of course). Is it normal (or even reasonable) for a growing snake to have two sheds so close together?

[Cam]

Just checking the condition mate to see if she is indeed being "overfed"... Morelias need to have a nice taper on the tail and not look like caudal luring pythons on that end. If they are being overfed the differential girth will be most noticeable on tail and the rest of the body.

I'll have a close look at her tomorrow. She's definitely blue and pissy today. I'll see if I can grab a pic.

My question is still open though - even if she's being overfed, would that cause her to have two sheds so close together?

I'm wondering if maybe she wasn't being a bit underfed before and she's playing catchup? Is that even possible?

[shaunyboy]

With only an inch of bark there is more than a possibility of the snake lying on the glass and getting burnt - this would be my biggest concern at this point in time :)


her belly looks very pink mate

are you sure its not a burn ?

if its a burn parts of her skin will go brown and scab

if that happens it will need looking after

imo 100F is a bit hot for a carpet python

i give my carpets a basking spot of 86F to 90F

burns or injurys can cause them to shed

cheers shaun

[Cam]

The pink faded to normal within a couple days and she promptly went into blue.

Her basking spot IS actually just under 90f. If you dig away the substrate and take a temperature off the glass it's closer to 100F.