As is well known, it is increasingly common to have exotic animals as pets. But we must inform ourselves as much as possible and take care to always be aware of the most recent knowledge, in order to give our partner the best life possible.
In this article on our site we want to focus on snakes and one of the most frequent problems they suffer from.
In order to take care of your hissing friend as well as possible, pay attention to problems in the molt of the snake or dysecdysis, for what can happen and how to help them overcome it.
What is molting? And the molt retention problem?
All snakes go through a shedding process called shedding every so often and especially as they grow.
This change will occur more often or more spaced in time depending on the species of the snake, its age, its environment and especially depending on the state of its he alth. One of the most frequent problems suffered by snakes (or snakes) during the change of skin is known as molt retention
This is a problem that prevents the correct shedding of the animal's skin and this leads to other problems.
What does a correct moult look like?
The process of replacing the old skin lasts longer or shorter depending on the species we are talking about, and can range from a few days to several weeks.
When they start this process they stop eating, so once we figure it out we better stop feeding them until there is finished the process, since if they are fed it may be that due to the volume of the animal there will be problems in the molt. In addition, they hide in their cave or shelter inside the terrarium and stop coming out at night to explore the environment.
Physically we will notice that our friend's skin loses its shine, becomes dull, and that her eyes turn white This is because the skin is dying and starting to shed to make way for the new one. When snakes change their skin, they change it from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail in this direction and including the skin of the eyes and that is why during the process they acquire a light grayish tone. It is important to know that snakes need to have an object in the terrarium, for example a large branch or a stone, against which they can repeatedly rub in order to shed their skin.
Therefore, to know that the molt occurs without any problem and correctly, we must look at the state of the animal during the process, but above all at the final result of the skin already detached This should be as if it were another snake, that is, without interruptions and all of it. In this way we will know that everything has gone perfectly, on the other hand if we observe that pieces are missing or that it is incomplete and that there is still dead skin attached to the animal, we will see that there is a problem of molt retention.
What could cause a shedding problem?
As we have commented more at the beginning, the fact that there is a problem in the molt indicates that there is an underlying problem that has caused it.
This problem can be caused by:
- Lack of moisture suitable for the species of snake. We will correct this as explained above.
- Lack of vitamins. This case will be indicated by the specialist veterinarian, both its diagnosis and its treatment.
- Skin pathologies such as dermatitis, mites, abscesses, wound healing, etc. In this case, it will also be detected by the veterinarian and treated according to his instructions
How to help the snake in case of molt retention?
It is important to know that because they are also shedding the skin around their eyes, their vision worsens and therefore they become more suspicious It is recommended not to handle them during the process, but if we observe problems in the moult we should help our friend to carry out the process and study what may have been the cause to prevent it from happening in future moults and improve her he alth.
We must bear in mind that there are many factors that help the snake to change from adequate he alth and vitamins at optimal levels to environmental factors, the most important being humidity, since it hydrates the skin and facilitates detachment We can help control the humidity of the terrarium on a regular basis but especially when we are facing a retention of molt with:
- Spraying Manual or with nebulizers or electric humidifiers.
- Substrate that favors water retention, for example coconut fiber.
- Water bowl big enough for the animal to climb into if it feels it needs to wet itself
- Take advantage when we take him out of the terrarium to give him warm water baths.
The importance of the molt retention problem depends on the amount of skin not expelled and the affected area. It will be less important how much less skin is retained and we should not worry too much if it occurs in the loin area, on the other hand, the more skin surface that is retained, the more serious the problem will be, in addition, the areas that should worry us the most are the head, the eyes and the end of the tail.
It is very important to keep in mind that we should never pull the skin ourselves because we will hurt the animal and if it is a particularly delicate as the eyes we can cause really serious problems.
If the affected area is an area of less importance such as the back and belly, we must increase the humidity of the terrarium with more daily sprays and also bathe our companion with scales in lukewarm water baths of about 20 minutes twice a day and rubbing very gently, in this way we will make it easier for the skin to soften enough so that it ends up coming off on its own. On the other hand, if it is an area of greater concern, we must act in the same way but with more things to take into account depending on the area:
- In the eyes: We will never pull the skin since it is most likely that we will cause an eye injury that could end in loss Of the eye. In addition to increasing the humidity of the terrarium and carrying out the aforementioned baths, we must provide extra hydration in the eye with ocular lubrication and artificial tears. Normally this is usually enough for the skin to fall off. Even so, we should go to the veterinary specialist whenever we need the least help.
- At the tip of the tail: If the color has changed and the thickness of the retained skin has increased, it is safest to that the tip of the tail is strangling, necrosis will occur and in the next molts the piece of tail will come off, that is, the end of the tail will be amputated naturally. On the other hand, if the thickness has not increased much and the color has not changed, we will treat this area like any other with baths until the skin ends up coming off.
Finally, remember that even if we do everything we can at home, the best thing we can do for our pet is to take it to the specialist veterinarian whenever we detect any irregularity.
