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Originally posted by Kelfezond

Hello Jarvo

80g sounds about right for a 2 month old it's certainly not a bad weight so I wouldn't worry about that.

As for the shedding issue it happens to the best of us every so often I wouldn't judge the breeder too harshly it might have just been a troublesome shed last time and he's likely to shed out fine next time and look beautiful - long as the breeder has cleared any stuck eye caps or tail tips it should be fine however I'd wait for another shed and see if it is still having problems if so it could just be a particularly dry room he's kept in, room humidity sometimes is a little low and can make shedding a pain it's an easy fix though just add some humidity (personally I spray their tank down once a day when they're shedding) so I wouldn't let it put me off buying the royal if he doesn't fix it you can easily enough.

I wouldn't have any reason to think it's an RI I've never experienced RI's giving trouble with shedding, I'd look for wheezing or mucus in the nose or throat before I considered it an RI.

Hope it's been helpful!

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Originally posted by Jarvo

quote:

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Originally posted by Kelfezond

Hello Jarvo

80g sounds about right for a 2 month old it's certainly not a bad weight so I wouldn't worry about that.

As for the shedding issue it happens to the best of us every so often I wouldn't judge the breeder too harshly it might have just been a troublesome shed last time and he's likely to shed out fine next time and look beautiful - long as the breeder has cleared any stuck eye caps or tail tips it should be fine however I'd wait for another shed and see if it is still having problems if so it could just be a particularly dry room he's kept in, room humidity sometimes is a little low and can make shedding a pain it's an easy fix though just add some humidity (personally I spray their tank down once a day when they're shedding) so I wouldn't let it put me off buying the royal if he doesn't fix it you can easily enough.

I wouldn't have any reason to think it's an RI I've never experienced RI's giving trouble with shedding, I'd look for wheezing or mucus in the nose or throat before I considered it an RI.

Hope it's been helpful!

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Thanks for the reply and clearing up his size.
As I do my homework before buying snakes the sellar has only had him for 1 month and is selling him already, I,m not judging him but I get the impression that he has not done his research. The seller thinks that he is going through the shedding process and that this is normal, he is a bumblebee and he does look pinkish down his flanks.
Here is a photo that the seller has provided.

[URL=http://s867.photobucket.com/user/jarvo7/media/IMAG0091.jpg.html][/URL]

The only reason that I mentioned RI is I have read on another forum that it is the time of year and if his humidity levels are out would this pose a risk?.

I do a lot of research before buying and need to be certain that I am buying the right animal for me so I,m sorry if any of these questions are a bit daft

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Originally posted by Jarvo

Thanks for the response,
I agree it is very difficult to tell from the photo just how bad the shed is.
I would be picking this one up as it is local to me, I am now getting tempted to have a look and may be make an offer, what would you suggest that I look out for?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Kelfezond

quote:

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Originally posted by Jarvo

Thanks for the response,
I agree it is very difficult to tell from the photo just how bad the shed is.
I would be picking this one up as it is local to me, I am now getting tempted to have a look and may be make an offer, what would you suggest that I look out for?

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Naturally first I'd check that this shed isn't too bad - first check the eye caps are gone (You can tell if they are still there as sometimes they'll appear to be dented or will have parts peeling from the edges) if it's a truly bad kept snake with multiple bad sheds it could potentially have multiple layers of stuck shed skin - I doubt that's the case but something to look out for.

I'd give it a handle and make sure it's moving okay and doesn't have any kinks in it's body (Looks fine from the picture!) when you're handling it listen to it as well if it's clicking or wheezing it could be a sign of an RI (although with bad sheds they often wheeze so hard to tell :/ )

Check that it has a nice rounded shape to it's body and that it's belly doesn't seem to dent inwards or it's spine doesn't protrude too much that'll show that it's had a healhy dies and isn't underweight - that can be a bit tricky to check though as they have a tendancy to suck their bellies in when you flip them over.

Those are the main things I check for when I look over a new snake :)

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Originally posted by anatess

Just my opinion out of that one photo. If you plan to get into a breeding program with this royal later on, I would pass on this one. It's not a good bumblebee specimen. If it's just absolutely a pet and not to be put in a breeding program, then I would see how bad the problem is before I commit to purchase the snake. The bad shed is really bad. It's not normal at all. Bad sheds are not too difficult to correct, but the bad shed does give a red flag that there might be something else. 80 grams for a 2-month old is on the smallish side. Most royals are born between 60-70 grams, under 50 grams is on the smallish side. If you can find out how much this royal weighed at birth, you can judge better how much he's grown. If he was born on the 60-70 grams range, then it's either the owner was not honest about his eating or he has a problem absorbing nutrients. Or it could be the owner is feeding once every 2 weeks...

Anyway, I'd try to get more info if you're interested in this royal.

A healthy royal is not triangular with the spine sticking out. That's underweight. But, at the same time, a healthy royal has its scales touching each other... if there's a sliver of space between the scales the royal is too fat.

Hope this helps.

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