Here are some photos of Talyn, my Brazilian Rainbow Boa. She was pretty nasty 5 days ago when I took her out to show my brother in law. (She struck at him and when I grabbed her behind her head, she bit right and left and scored the knuckles on both hands. When I got a better grip, she threw her coils around my wrists and we had quite a showdown on who would let go first when I had her inside the terrarium!) Her colors seemed a little dull to me then and I wondered if she might be going into shed. Well, I fed her the next day and she eagerly wolfed down 3 small rats.
Then I left her alone to digest. When I checked in on her she seemed to be getting more and more grey. This morning she looked like a blue ghost.
My husband got some great photos. This is her first shed since we got her, so I'm not sure how long it's going to go. She hasn't been soaking in her pool, but I've misted her down a few times and keep the humidity in her terrarium at 75-85%, so hopefully it'll go well.
I can't wait till she sheds and we can see her colors again in their full radiance! I'll definitely post pics of that!!!!

Attached Images

	knotted Talyn1.JPG (36.4 KB, 25 views)
	after knuckles.JPG (20.6 KB, 28 views)
	Blue Talyn1.JPG (29.6 KB, 26 views)

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Andrea

Great photos! She certainly is a beautiful snake Can't wait to see the "after" pics. When did you get her?

Just a word of advice - you said you grabbed her behind the head,. I'm presuming that you mean how a venomous snake is picked up as you see on the tv shows? - maybe this is adding to Talyn's aggression, though I'm sure going into shed certainly put her in a bad mood She may feel more threatened if you are picking her up like that. Just a thought?

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

OUCH !!!!! like Bitis said,,,,,can't wait to see the post shed pics !!!

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Good point! I don't usually pick her up that way. I usually touch her gently near the tail end of the body and then pick her up from the middle (that always works well). In this instance she was just having such a fit, hissing and striking at everything, that I tried to catch and restrain her that way. (She didn't like to be held behind her head and threw her coils and squeezed REALLY REALLY tightly!)
It was TOTALLY my fault -- I had put her down on the carpet, the TV was on, the guys were talking loudly, and the vibrations of my husband hurrying aound to turn the lights up, combined with my having woken her up, and her going into shed just really freaked her out. I should have insisted on diming the lights (and noise) and I should have kept holding her close to me and higher up. I think she felt terribly exposed and threatened. I really deserved the bites and was so angry at myself afterwards...
Live and learn... but boy have I got a lot to learn!!! I took her back out about 4 hours later (after 10pm) and sat with her quietly on my lap and she was fine again.

I got her 4 weeks ago. She's already 3 or 4 years old and wasn't used to handling, but I found that if I take her out after 9pm or so and keep the noise levels down, she is just a dream: active and docile. Handling her in the mornings or early afternoons has always resulted in striking and biting. (She also wasn't being fed enough: since feeding her more, she's been better.)

She's an amazing animal and I hope that with regular handling (and some more common sense on my part!!!!) we'll have fewer nasty incidents.

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Andrea

Good stuff - I'm glad you have her and you are taking good care of her. What a shame that she wasn't treated with the respect she deserves before you got her, but at least now she will be.

Don't you forget those pics! She really is a beauty, I can't wait til ours get that big!

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Hi BlackJack-
One of my Ball Pythons has a hard time shedding sometimes. I soak her in warm water, enough to cover her body, then put a towel over the bowl so the warmth stays in there and so her head gets more of the warm moisture instead of it just evaporating.
Also I use Spaghnam moss (sp?). Wet it down and put it under her favorite hide spot near or on the heat. It expands like CRAZY so be careful lol!! Your baby should shed like a charm with these tricks....
I can't wait to see her new "suit" I'm sure she will feel so much better now with a full belly and new skin!
I'm so glad you took her in,she's so pretty and well taken care of (and yes, I'm jealous I want a Brazilian Rainbow Boa too! LOL)

Just to confirm - humidity raised to 75-85% when the Brazilian Rainbow Boa is in shed is great, but be careful not to have it too high at other times: babies need around 70%, adults nearer 60%,. too much humidity can cause repiratory problems.

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Thanks for the info on humidity. I've been trying to keep it consistently high (70-80%) because of a care sheet that I read. Here is the part about humidity:
"All rainbow boas are extremely sensitive to dehydration and maintenance of high relative humidity is a must. Cages should be misted several times a day and a humid shelter should be provided. The humid shelter can be in the form of a plastic box with a hole at one end containing moist sphagnum moss. Pools of water large enough for the animal to soak its entire body in should be provided. If the cage has a screen lid it should be partially covered with Plexiglas to help retain humidity. A relative humidity of 75-80% is ideal. Much lower than 50% for extended periods and regurgitation and death by dehydration may result."

Here's the link to the whole care sheet, if you want it: http://coloherp.org/careshts/snakes/...oa.php#Housing

Now I'm a bit uncertain. I know that BRBs have a high resistance to dermatitis caused by too much humidity... but is 70-80% too much?!?! Can I believe what I read in these care sheets? Info on BRBs is hard to find!

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Andrea

70-80% is fine when the Brazilian Rainbow Boa is in shed, but humidity that high constantly will cause respiratory problems,. problems can be caused by too-high and too-low humidity (as the care sheet said, below 50% is too low), but I consider 70-80% to be too high. Young BRBs do better with higher humidity, around 70%, adults should be kept 60-70%. The humid hide is a good idea, and you should always provide a bowl large enough for the snake to soak in if it wants to. You can mist the enclosure daily, but depending on what your enclosure is made of, you may not need to. We keep our BRBs in a plastic enclosure, which holds the humidity well, but glass or wooden tanks may need more misting.

If your Brazilian Rainbow Boa has a bad shed, then you may need to increase the humidity during shed time, or soak her in a bath while she is in shed, but if her sheds are good and in one piece it is a good indicator that your humidity levels are working. A humidity gauge will tell you the humidity.

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004