In my previous post, I mentioned that it looked as if my boa was preparing to shed. A couple of days had passed and Lilith's eyes turned back into a deep black and nothing had happened. Writing my prediction off as a novice mistake, I went about business as usual.
Today, was Lilith's scheduled feeding day. Things did not go quite so smoothly for me this time. Whereas the last time I got her to eat within 15 mins, I could not entice her w/ food at all. A little worried, I spent some time playing w/ her instead and eventually put her up thinking that a 10-day feeding cycle would be better than a weekly one.
Imagine my surprise when I strolled past her cage and saw this image.
It looks as if Lilith was indeed preparing to shed and I had managed to convince myself otherwise – despite my previous predictions. Thanks to my mistake, I have learned quite a few things about red-tailed boas.
- There are clear warning signs when they are about to shed: milky eyes (for only a brief amount of time), skin that is slightly grainier, and the skin being slightly baggy.
- Listen to your boa! This is critical. My snake was trying to tell me something when it was not eating and I was not listening. Learning to listen is key w/ anything and I am constantly learning this lesson in new ways.
- In this go-round, I did not detect any additional menace from the snake. In fact, I was much more playful w/ it today than I had been in the past. I don’t think this experience debunks the “vicious shedding snake” wisdom, but it is curiously different.
Here a just a couple pics of the 1st shed skin of my snake. Take note of the eye-caps in the 1st picture. Every time a snake sheds, you must make sure those eye-caps come off – otherwise you could have some medical issues.
Fun times! Now we wait for milestone 3! What’s milestone 3? To be honest, I am really not sure but I will let you know when I get there. :)