Do any of you pet snake owners soak your snakes on a regular basis to keep them hydrated? This might seem like a silly question but I am just curious. 
3 Likes
I don’t soaks my ball pythons as I’m afraid of RIs BUT I do have to soak my elderly beardie for his health.
3 Likes
Hmmmnm. I have soaked my bps in the past to help with shedding when they were young but I have not made a habit of it so far.
2 Likes
Actually I have never thought of connecting ri’s with soaking?
3 Likes
I mean, I don’t think it hurts anything to soak once in a while for shedding but I’ve had too much experience with RIs so I’m petrified of causing one.
3 Likes
Ok that makes a lot of sense….
3 Likes
I don’t, it just seems to stress them out. I’m more of a “pint of prevention is worth a pound of cure” type of person, and instead just make sure they have high enough humidity so nobody has issues shedding
4 Likes
Yes I do agree on the stress issue. Actually I was not adding that into the equation when I created that post because it didn’t occur to me. But yes, stress is a big factor…….It kind of negates any benefit.
2 Likes
Not usually, no. While putting them back in their enclosures, I’ll usually hold them over their water bowls and many times they’ll take a big drink. I very rarely have a snake have a bad shed, so soaking them for that is pretty much never necessary over here.
5 Likes
Wow! I will have to try the water bowl thing! Interesting!
2 Likes
Not on a regular basis. For help Shedding, yes. I still have one I soak in an electrolyte bath 2 time on a feeding week, for 30 min each time. This has shown (in my experience and a few others) to help encourage him to eat.
2 Likes
Been soaking my snakes on regular intervals for decades. Most of the time the boas and ball pythons just sit and relax in the warm water. Typically during enclosure cleaning they get a nice rinse, never experienced anything negative.
2 Likes
I suppose this answer was what I was going for originally. I have a couple of hit or miss snakes I had in mind………may be worth a try.
Thank you!
1 Like
Hmmmmmn. Another aspect. Obviously not all snakes are stressed by a warm relaxing soak. I suppose it really depends upon the snake. This is why I asked this question in the first place! I’m getting opinions on both sides of the aisle!
Thank you!
2 Likes
I don’t soak my snakes regularly. I pretty much only soak them if they’re having shedding issues. Neither of my snakes have particularly enjoyed the few soaks I’ve given them to help with stuck shed, so I’ll only do it when necessary. If they enjoyed it, I’d probably consider doing it more regularly, but since it seems to stress them out, I don’t see any reason to do it without specific cause.
4 Likes
I’ve only soaked a few ball pythons because they came in with horrible half-stuck sheds. If I am concerned about a snake being hydrated I would soak their rodent in water before giving it to them.
2 Likes
What do you do for electrolytes? I’ll have to keep that in mind if I have any non-feeders this year.
2 Likes
Yes I would like to know that myself!
1 Like
Yes that is sensible!
1 Like
I have started to unthaw in hot water without putting the rodents in baggies,
1 Like