Help

[Smurphy]

I have a grey-banded king snake 3 years old. I just adopted her and was told by the prev. owner that she was about to shed. I asked when I should be looking to feed her next. She replied, after she sheds.

That was Friday.

Today, I took her out and she made a strange noise at me, something like a sigh/huff/cough. Also, her innards near her tail were vibrating as if she had bad gas or something.

Her eyes have turned blue(for shedding), but she's barely come out of her cave at all - even at night; She's nocturnal.

Please.. tell me what to do!


Steph

[Masahiko]

it sounds normal to me. when their eyes go blue, they are practically blind and therefore 'scared' to go out into the open. They stay in their hides until they can see again.

keep an ear out for anymore wheezing or coughing, though. was it a Hiss? or a cough/wheeze?

snakes can and DO have gas.

[ceytd]

King snakes will vibrate and kind of hiss to scare off predators, I think (my ball pythons do). Because vision is impaired, they feel threatened by their owners sometimes. While a snake is shedding, they are vulnerable, so often they will stay secluded until shedding is completed.

[danktat]

Please.. tell me what to do!

Well the first thing to do is to relax

Next you will want to make sure the humidity in the cage is up around 60% (this will make it easy for that snake to shed).

Next is to RELAX

And then to enjoy your new animal. Nothing sounds out of the ordinary so you should be fine

[Smurphy]

Thank you for the responses. I'm extremely glad to know nothing is wrong with her. It's difficult, being a first time owner. :-\

[ceytd]

I commend you for not being ashamed to ask for help. Your snake has a smart and loving owner. Give it time and you will be best friends.

[hartsock]

LOL !!!!

Smurphy, you sound like me 10 months ago! Like danktat said, relax things will be fine. My one cornsnake will do a sort of hiss, sigh thing when I pick him up, every time, never fails, but he doesn't have any type of RI, he just makes the noise. Sometimes snakes stay hidden for a week or more when they are in shed. You got some good advice on here, just got the snake at a inopportune time to get used it's behaviors because they change so much durring shed.

Good luck and have a great time with your little one!

[campbellexotics]

Hey there. I wouldnt be too worried. There are no dumb questions when it comes to snakes. We could all stand to learn just a bit more dont ya think?

About the tail vibration....thats not gas. It is very common for colubrids to vibrate their tails rapidly. Its a defense mechanism used in the wild to imitate rattlesnakes

For the shedding i would recommend a luke warm bath for the snake in a draft free room. Since these snakes are found in western Texas i would NOT recommend high levels of humidity in the cage. This can lead to respiratory infection which is very common in in all Lampropeltis.

[X-Factor]

You could be me back in January.... RELAX! Don't hesitate to ask though.

[nanihokuahi]

I was in your shoes a few years ago. He'll be just fine. It's great that you asked to make sure. It's the best way to avoid something bad actually happening. Enjoy your new snake. I love colubrids, they were my first snakie love.