# Ball Pythons > BP Husbandry > Advanced BP Husbandry >  Does anyone else give snakes bath's?

## erinherington

Does anyone else let their snake's swim in the bath tub? I like to let mine swim in the bath tub every now and then in some shallow warm water just for fun or if they are having a little bit of a hard time shedding. I have one that I rescued and he has scars among other things and allways has a hard time shedding so I let him sit in the bath tub for a little bit every other day when he shed's.

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## VEXER19

Scars shouldn't really afffect shedding I wouldn't think. My girl has a good sized scar on her underside from an old accident and never has a problem with shed. Soaking gets rid of the snakes natural oils and usually makes it harder for them to shed. I would just have a water bowl big enough for your snake to soak if it feels neccessary. Are you raising the humidity up to 70% while your bp is in shed?

Plus to add forced soaking can be very stressful for your snake. Your bp isn't swimming its trying to get out. I only clean my snake when she gets soiled and that's just a wipe down not a bath.

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Foschi Exotic Serpents (01-29-2012),_heathers*bps_ (01-30-2012),_Kris Mclaughlin_ (08-13-2012)

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## erinherington

Usually they just sit there and sometimes slowly move around they definately don't try to get out, they have a upside down tub they can get on. I have one that doesn't like it so she never get's put in the bath tub. I don't fill the entire tub up they can go into and get out of the water if they want. My adults seem to enjoy it more than the smaller ones.

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## VEXER19

That may be so I guess, but do as you please. Just giving you the facts.

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## Skiploder

> Scars shouldn't really afffect shedding I wouldn't think. My girl has a good sized scar on her underside from an old accident and never has a problem with shed. Soaking gets rid of the snakes natural oils and usually makes it harder for them to shed. I would just have a water bowl big enough for your snake to soak if it feels neccessary. Are you raising the humidity up to 70% while your bp is in shed?
> 
> Plus to add forced soaking can be very stressful for your snake. Your bp isn't swimming its trying to get out. I only clean my snake when she gets soiled and that's just a wipe down not a bath.





> Usually they just sit there and sometimes slowly move around they definately don't try to get out, they have a upside down tub they can get on. I have one that doesn't like it so she never get's put in the bath tub. I don't fill the entire tub up they can go into and get out of the water if they want. My adults seem to enjoy it more than the smaller ones.



As Vexer pointed out, your snake does not enjoy a bath.  None of them "like" it.

A bath is stressful for your snake.  There is no need to do it - even if your snake has scars.

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Foschi Exotic Serpents (01-29-2012),_heathers*bps_ (01-30-2012),rabernet (06-12-2012)

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## heathers*bps

Again, as stated, snakes do not enjoy baths and causes unnecessary stress and can lead to other problems.

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## MidSouthMorphs

Really the only time to give them baths is right when you remove eggs from a female.  Really to remove the scent so a female can begin feeding again.

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## John1982

I'll sometimes do a supervised bathing when a snake gets really creative with their poop painting but more often than not a wet paper towel is enough to get them clean. As for recreational swimming, unless you have a (semi-)aquatic species, I don't think it's a good idea.

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## RestlessRobie

Bathing a snake can cause them issue's with shedding. I washes out the oil between the old skin and new skin and will lead to poor sheds. Some snakes Balls will tolerate being in water but rarely is it necessary. Unless they decided to tail paint with there poo, are dehydrated, or have severly stuck shed I would not bath a snake

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## satomi325

The only time for a bath is after a snake sheds and has some left over stuck skin or if it slithered through fecal matter/urine.
And even for a stuck shed, I would rather use the damp pillow case method first.

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## Peoples

Excessive soaking can cause problems with shedding ... 

How ever during shed once the eyes clear up I always give a warm soak for about 10mins... perfect shed within 24hrs ...

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## Sam Rickim

It's a good thing I decided to check this!

When I had out my ball she slithered into one of my open 2.5 gal (filterless) aquariums on my desk, crawled to to top (with my worried, slightly skeptical supervision) and dunked herself right in. She "swam" to the other side, stuck her head up over the edge of the glass, and just sort of basked there for ten minutes with her middle danging in the water. The humidity's not that great in her aquarium (fixing this soon with a humidifier, attempting to stay on top of it with sprays) so that might be the reason.

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## dragonsong93

I always give them a small bath after I have them outside in the grass roaming around...never know, they might pick up some weird bug outside and I'm really paranoid about mites soooo they all get a lil soak after an adventure.  :Smile:

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