Ball Python acting strange for the past week

[PrincessPeach]

Since about last Sunday by baby ball python (I'm thinking he's about 9 months- 20 inches long but I'm unsure of his weight) has been acting cranky and very inactive. On Friday I fed him one hopper mouse (the pet store was out of adult mice) which he took in under five minutes but not the second one. Usually every night he's up around the cage stretching up the walls, and is generally pretty active. I got him in late December and have only seen him shed once (Feb. 1 or maybe a few days before was the date of the last shed) and he is also being jumpy when i'm moving around outside his cage or when I open it to change the water, which is how he acted before his eyes got cloudy the last time he shed. Also he's chillin mainly outside of his hides in the back of his cage, but keeps yawning and pushing his head against the glass and other objects in his cage when he's moving around. I've noticed what looks like more saliva in his mouth over the past week, but no bubbling or mucus or wheezing. I'm just wondering if he's probably about to shed because he's been acting this way, I'm thinking that he's uncomfortable in the old skin and is ready to get it off that's why he's rubbing his nose against stuff. His eyes are still clear which is why I'm unsure if he's about to shed. His temps are 85-90 on the warm side and about 80 on the cool side and humidity I keep between 40-60% but this past week I have had it in the 60's. Any input would help me out a bunch thank you!

[Brad91]

It sounds to me like he's about to shed. Mine act the same way and they usually shed in a week or two after starting that. I actually had my male start shedding right in my hand once. He was pushing his face up against my finger and it started peeling back. Needless to say, I put him back in his cage immediately. Lol. Hope this helps.

[anwhit]

Yeah, sounds like shedding to me too. Is his belly pink at all?

[PrincessPeach]

It's hard to tell, it doesn't look very pink to me at all, but then again when he shed last time it didn't look pink to me. Since his eyes aren't foggy still I am going to try and feed him tonight and hopefully it goes well!

[Herpenthusiast3]

I feel like it should be bigger then 20 inches at 9 months with regular feeding. Can you post some pics of the snake?

[sfdefender25]

It could be a shed, but it might also me a respiratory infection. With the rubbing on the wall and the saliva. The yawning is also a sign. If the belly isn't pink or his color hasn't dulled then its not shed. You need to turn the heat up a bit and put him on paper towels or newspaper. The belly heat should be around 93-94 degrees. If he does not improve within a few days then a vet visit is needed. Anti biotic will clear it up. They are not too hard to give once you learn how. But try to dry it up first.

[EarthlyMaiden]

The eye cloudiness tends to clear up when they get close to the actual shed. We've been lucky enough that the eye caps are the first thing to go during a shed, so that might be part of it as well. The skiddishness is also a major shedding sign(although generally that seems to die down once the eye caps are see-through again). When Steve sheds, it is the most blatantly obvious thing in the world. Belly is a sort of white/light pink mix, eyes are baby blue and he's so dull it looks like he's been wrapped in cellophane. It may be less obvious for other snakes, though.
The rubbing up against the glass is usually supposed to be a respiratory symptom. If there's any mucus left over when he rubs, it's a clear sign.
Generally rubbing the side of the face is to dislodge mucus, rubbing the tip of the nose is more associated with shedding. (Mine has done that before, he'll actually try to push up against something and 'muscle' his shed off, in a sense.)

I would get him checked out, just to be on the safe side. It could just be shedding, but it could also be an early RI. I'm not a vet just yet, I've got a few more years to go before that happens.

[PrincessPeach]

Yeah I'm worried that he may have a respiratory infection, but this is how is was acting before he shed the first time I saw him shed so I'm confused. I'm still really new at this so I really have no idea how old he is, these were the best pictures I could get of him hopefully y'all can see them he's been curled up on the cool side for probably like a day.

[PrincessPeach]

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