JoeAmor
01-29-13, 10:56 AM
Hello all,
I have a Striped Keelback (Indonesian Garter) female named Arya that I've had for almost 6 months now, and so far we haven't had any problems. Well, over the last couple of weeks her living situation has been abnormal while I was moving, and she stayed with a trusted friend for about a month, then last week I moved her into my new place with me. When I finally got her back, I noticed she looked like she was in blue, and was hiding a lot, not zooming around her cage like normal. I figured she was getting ready to shed, and chalked any other reclusive or lethargic behavior up to the move. Well today I finally picked her up because she still hasn't shed and I just wanted to check on her, and I can't tell if she's had a botched shed that she can't seem to shake, or if she is just almost ready to.
When she curves, you can see her old skin wrinkle as it is stretched and contracted. Her head looks like it has a piece of the old skin missing, and I don't see any eye caps on her, but I am bad at recognizing eye caps on her (I can always tell when my Corn is in blue). Her old skin which she has yet to shed is looking pale white and crinkly in some areas. When I picked her up she didn't try to get away at all which is really odd for her, and then I figured maybe she would try to use me to start her shed once I had her in my hands, but she just slithered around for a bit then laid still.
I know that all this could be typical shedding behavior, but I'm worried about the appearance of her old skin. She's never had a problem with shedding before, and she has a large water bowl in her tank that she has been drinking out of, so I don't think lack of humidity is the problem. Her normal feeding day is Wednesday, and I didn't feed her last week because I thought she was going to shed in the next couple days. I was going to try and feed her tomorrow, maybe the extra girth from the mouse will cause her extra skin to burst off? Or should I wait? Am I overreacting? I would love it if I came home from work tonight and she has properly shed, but I'm not holding my breath. Any advice would be welcome. I have only been a snake owner for almost a year now, but I do a lot of research, I just can't figure out if everything is normal or if something is wrong.
I have a Striped Keelback (Indonesian Garter) female named Arya that I've had for almost 6 months now, and so far we haven't had any problems. Well, over the last couple of weeks her living situation has been abnormal while I was moving, and she stayed with a trusted friend for about a month, then last week I moved her into my new place with me. When I finally got her back, I noticed she looked like she was in blue, and was hiding a lot, not zooming around her cage like normal. I figured she was getting ready to shed, and chalked any other reclusive or lethargic behavior up to the move. Well today I finally picked her up because she still hasn't shed and I just wanted to check on her, and I can't tell if she's had a botched shed that she can't seem to shake, or if she is just almost ready to.
When she curves, you can see her old skin wrinkle as it is stretched and contracted. Her head looks like it has a piece of the old skin missing, and I don't see any eye caps on her, but I am bad at recognizing eye caps on her (I can always tell when my Corn is in blue). Her old skin which she has yet to shed is looking pale white and crinkly in some areas. When I picked her up she didn't try to get away at all which is really odd for her, and then I figured maybe she would try to use me to start her shed once I had her in my hands, but she just slithered around for a bit then laid still.
I know that all this could be typical shedding behavior, but I'm worried about the appearance of her old skin. She's never had a problem with shedding before, and she has a large water bowl in her tank that she has been drinking out of, so I don't think lack of humidity is the problem. Her normal feeding day is Wednesday, and I didn't feed her last week because I thought she was going to shed in the next couple days. I was going to try and feed her tomorrow, maybe the extra girth from the mouse will cause her extra skin to burst off? Or should I wait? Am I overreacting? I would love it if I came home from work tonight and she has properly shed, but I'm not holding my breath. Any advice would be welcome. I have only been a snake owner for almost a year now, but I do a lot of research, I just can't figure out if everything is normal or if something is wrong.