My corn snake just shed ??

Question

hes about four and he was rescued. hes very friendly i have had him for about 2 months. we couldn't find the kind of frozen mice we needed for him so we got him 6 rat pups and he only ate two this was on saturday. should i feed him again its monday and i had him out of his cage and cleaned his cage to day then i put him back in and i came down stairs with in the hour and he had shed am i aloud to touch him i got close to him and my hand was right by him but he didn't hiss or strike at me he just kinda tensed up i put a big enough water dish that he can soak at least 3/4 of his body in will the little pieces of skin fall if he soaks in his water . and should i move his heat lamp closer to his water bowl and is there any thing else i need to no ??

Answer 1

If there is still skin on him you need to get a wet towel and get the extra pieces off as much as you can let him slide through the wet towel. , the tail is important. If you get tail build up from sheds he can lose his tail.

Also if the shed is not complete you need to raise the humidity in that tank, a good way to tell if he is going to shed he looks darker in color, and his eyes have a coating look to them.  You can also mist him with a spray bottle.  I made a hide with moss that I purchased..

Answer 2

You can offer food items again to see if he will take them, as 2 rat pups aren't a big meal for a 4 yr old snake. There's no reason you can't handle the snake after a shed. You can try letting your snake crawl thru a moist towel to remove the remaining pieces of skin. Also, you really don't want to let the heat lamp shine directly on the water bowl as this speeds up bacterial growth.

Answer 3

If your snake is tame, of course you're allowed to touch him! Shedding snakes are a little grouchier than usual, but not that much! He should also be shedding in one piece, not in bits, so make sure he gets in his water dish. Don't try to feed him again until he's completely done shedding. Moving the heat lamp closer to the water would help with humidity, so that would be a good idea. If he doesn't shed all the way, you can help him out a little by peeling some of the skin off, but i don't think that will be a big problem. Otherwise, don't freak out about it. Snakes shed all the time, not a big deal.  

Answer 4

i would keep him on a schedule for feeding. its healthiest for them. just give him his mice (or rat pups) on saturday. i wouldn't give him six. see how many he will eat and keep it at that. you can over feed him and cause him to hurl. even if he shed he wont need the extra boost again right away. so its best to wait for saturday. the schedule keeps them in better health and mood.

you can go ahead and touch him after he shed. he will be a bit sensitive but nothing that should cause problems. be aware though that when his color gets drab, and his eyes gloss over, he will be shedding again. snakes who are about to shed can become a little skittish because they cant see as well (eye caps are coming loose) and their skin gets itchy (skin coming loose). it also helps that when you notice he is about to shed, give him a bath. it will soften up his skin and make it come off easier. your water dish sounds perfect.

your light is ok where it is. it does not need to be directly on his water bowl. if he wants it he will go and sit under it. since he is a corn snake, he is pretty hardy as it is.

your doing a great job! if he is shedding then your doing well. just keep up the good work.