health related issues.

[snakeys1996]

hello. i had a couple of questions about my ball python if you dont mind helping me out a bit. first of all, how long does it take for him to shed after his eyes go blue. my snakes eyes went a very cloudy blue, then a couple of days later his eyes look more normal. his skin, however, is VERY dry and crackely. i have yet to obtain a humidity detector but i am misting his cage very often, i have a big water dish in there, and i give him baths. i hope hes not upset or anything. also i read about peoples ball pythons hissing and stuff. my snake has NEVER hissed. hopefully that just means hes a friendly little bugger but im just a little nervous. i want to do everything right. also the scale directly below where his toung flares out is a darker brown color, is this normal? and finally, my last question, do they yawn? i was handeling him the other day and he opened his mouth REALLY wide wiggled his jaw and closed it. lol that surprised me.

[JLC]

I think everything is going to be fine.

1. A shed can take about a week to complete, once you notice their eyes first turn cloudy. They usually shed a few days after the eyes clear up. It sounds like yours will slough his old skin any day now.

The key here is to maintain good humidity for him. You really need a hydrogometer in there. Not one of those little dials from the pet-store, either. Wal-Mart has excellent digital ones that are combined with thermometers for ~$15. That's not too much to spend for a healthy snake! You'll find out in a day or two if your efforts to keep the humidity up have been successful. Let us know. If he doesn't have a perfect shed, it's not the end of the world....just a lesson learned.

2. The spot you mentioned is hard to comment on without seeing a clear picture of it. Has it always been there? It could quite easily be nothing but a natural variation in your snake's coloring...like a freckle. But without knowing more about it, it's impossible to rule out some sort of infection or injury.

3. Yes, they do yawn! (Have you noticed Lindsay's avatar? LOL) They will often do that to realign their jaws after a meal, or he may be doing it to try and loosen up the skin about to be shed.

Does he have something in his cage with a rough surface? That will help him a lot! He'll rub on that to get the shed started.

And one last thing....it's best not to handle them any more than necessary when they are about to shed. They usually feel a lot more vulnerable, and it's very possible that the process leaves them feeling extra sensitive or tender. (We really have no way of knowing, but imagine how it might feel if YOU had to shed your entire layer of skin all at once! Sounds itchy and painful to me!)

ok, this is something i can ACTUALLY answer

1) it might take 2-4 days to shed after the eyes go blue, but maybe up to a week
2)i would get a humidity reader, especially a digital one, easier and normally more acturate
3) if your ball python isnt hissing, then its good, they normally hiss if they are afraid. if he isnt hising, then he feels safe
4)im not sure about the scale under his mouth, i dont know exactly what you are talking about, it might just be a normal brown scale, or he might have been burnt there, a picture of it would be better
5)yes they do yawn, normally after a feed, to get the lower jaw back into place, which makes me ask, were you holding your snake right after a feed? if so, dont, it will stress it out and he may possibly reguritate the mouse, and thats bad.


i hope i helped

[JLC]

Hehe....Great minds think alike, John!

[snakeys1996]

thanks for the replies, and yes, i am going to get a hydgrometer (i have no idea how to spell that) with my next paycheck. i did not handle him after feeding because he hasnt ate yet. today i was going to try and feed him again but hes about to shed so i decided to wait. and now that i took a closer look. the brown colored scale is both above and below his toung hole. i was just hoping it wasnt mouth rot, witch i heard is a bad deal.

[iceman25]

Great answer Judy! Shows what this forum is all about!