How long do snakes soak pre shed

[JustMeNmySnakes]

I think my SD Retic has been soaking for 4 days and I'm just wondering if that's normal.

[dave himself]

I've never had a snake soak in its water for very long, but if your temps and humidity are all correct and your concerned just put a smaller water bowl in for a while to stop her from soaking

[shaunyboy]

check your temperatures ? (aren't too hot)

check for mites ?

pull it out the water and swab the eyes and nostrils with white cotton balls,the mites will easily show up on the white,if there are any present


cheers shaun

[millertime89]

Originally Posted by dave himself

I've never had a snake soak in its water for very long, but if your temps and humidity are all correct and your concerned just put a smaller water bowl in for a while to stop her from soaking

I've found that that doesn't always work... lol. My big female retic will cram as much of herself as possible into her water bowl when she wants a soak, it looks ridiculous.

[JustMeNmySnakes]

Well, I woke this morning to a snake skin hanging over one of her branches. She shed sometime between midnight and 4am. Now she's kickin it in her hide. She should be getting good and hungry...

[JustMeNmySnakes]

Sorry for the elementary questions, but maybe retics are different. She's done shedding, so when would it be safe to offer her a rat?

[bigsnakegirl785]

None of my snakes soak. My boa constrictor used to, when he was stressed by an IR bulb, and when he went into shed for awhile after that even with more than adequate humidity, but hasn't done that in over half a year and nothing in his husbandry has changed. He just stopped soaking.

When he did soak, he'd spend the entire shed cycle in his water dish, never leaving once. I'd take him out every few days to dry him off and change his water. Not sure if soaking is just a retic thing, or if there's something to them soaking.