possible shedding issue PLEASE HELP!

[raradahousecat]

OK, my ball python, Lilly, is I'm guessing 7 months old, I got her at the end of January from Petsmart (where I work)
She had shed two weeks BEFORE I got her, I've had her home for almost two months and she has not shed yet and it really worries me.

She eats fine (frozen Fuzzies)
Humidity stays around 40-80
I've soaked her in warm water

I have noticed her rubbing her face against her hides but that's it, no discoloration or cloudy eyes

[Inarikins]

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Questionaire

Fill this out first of all. Without knowing specifics it's hard to tell you how to help your girl.

[The Serpent Merchant]

First off I would recommend that you stop soaking her. Soaking BP's is very stressful to them and really doesn't benefit them at all. (it can even dry out their skin and cause a bad shed)

If your BP really is 7 months old, fuzzies are way to small. You want to feed a rodent that is slightly bigger than the widest part of the snake. (how often are you feeding?)

What are you using to heat the cage?

What are you using to measure temperatures?

What are your current temperatures?

[raradahousecat]

1. I've had her for 7 weeks.

2. she's 13 inches and estimated age is 7 months

3. she eats every Friday

4. 4 days since her last meal

5. She eats frozenFuzzies, moving to the next size on Friday

6. She eats once a week

7. she's in a 20 gallon long

8. she's on coconut fiber mixed with bark, about a half inch deep

9. 50 watt day light, 75 night light, small heating pad under tank

10. no thermostat.

11. thermometer on cool and warm side, hydrometer in the middle



13. average humidity level is 46

14. 4 hides, one rock cave, one tupperware bowl with moss, a log hut, and a tree trunk/log

15. she always has a full bowl of fresh water

16. She lives alone
17 she's handled once a week or less, for about ten minutes

18. no injuries or illness

19. I have other reptiles in other rooms of the house, she is my most recent

20. nothing out of the ordinary besides she's still young and not shedding

[Inarikins]

1. Buy a thermostat. A herpstat is one of the best, but expensive. Cheaper but decent is a Hydrofarm thermostat (on Amazon). Turn off your UTH or use a lamp dimmer until your thermostat arrives.

2. She should be eating 10-15% of her body weight (or a feeder just slightly thicker than she is) every 5-7 days. I'm guessing she's going to need small adult mice (10-12 grams) or rat pinks, but it depends. Fuzzy mice are too small for any ball python, even freshly-hatched ones. You're going to need to invest in a digital scale that weighs in grams.

3. A proper thermometer. I can probably tell you that what you have right now is going to be a stick-on, useless dial gauge. You need a thermometer with a probe that measures outdoor and indoor temps and humidity. Walmart sells an Accurite brand one that's perfect for the job.

4. At least two identical, close-fitting hides. Cereal bowls work great for babies, you don't even need to make a hole since you're using a substrate.

Aaron's going to come along and tell you all this again with pictures and links so I'm going to be lazy and not even bother.

[raradahousecat]

Yeah I've been judging the thickest part of her body for a while but wasn't too sure if I should move up, but I've already planned to go the next size up this week. And thanks for the tip about soaking, I've only done it once for about 3 minutes thinking maybe it would bring more moisture "/ oops.

[Inarikins]

So long as you provide water and proper humidity a soak is never necessary. The only time you'd ever soak your snake is if they have stuck shed and the best way to prevent that is to mist during shed enough to keep humidity high.