Shedding/soaking question

[calmolly1]

My baby ball is going through her first shed. She is grumpy and just wants to be left alone, hiding behind her plastic plant that she prefers to her log hide. She normally live feeds every 5-7 days but has shown no interest this week at all. She lets me know when she's hungry by 'hunting' in her tank. I am trying to keep the humidity up to 60% +. Should I soak her in a separate container or just leave her alone til she is finished. She usually drinks well and slithers thru her water dish on occasion but doesn't seem to have moved much at all the last 5 days, living up to her "ball" Python name. Opinions? Also how often should I soak her between sheds, if at all?

[AlexisFitzy]

I used to soak my snake a long time ago but after the soak they would always end up having a patchy shed that I would have to help get off. Soaking them washes off the oils in their skin that they need to have a full shed so I no longer soak. Instead when I had glass tanks I would mist the enclosure with water to get humidity nice and high and just leave them alone. They have nice long perfect sheds now so no soaking required.


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[Kat_Dog]

Just leave her be, only soak her if she still has shed stuck to her. Letting her move around in moist towels or a damp pillowcase actually works better and is less stressful than soaking though.

Soaking before they shed just makes things worse.

[calmolly1]

Thanks . Yesterday she became really active and seems to be trying to rub it off. I've been misting and she enjoys climbing the sides afterwards but seems to have no desire to soak in her water dish, so I've let her be. I've been soaking a wash cloth and using it on top of the screen top over the cooler side and this is an easy way to bring the humidity up.