Okay, I'm new to this and have a few questions. PLEASE HELP!

[cwells1235]

We got our Ball about a month ago, and we've had quite a time with her. The person we got her from (who was not the original owner) said she was told she was about four months old, so by our best guess she's about five months old now. Since we've had her, she hasn't had a shed, that's thing number one that bothers me. Also it took us a few weeks to get her to eat because we tried to get her to eat thawed frozen food and she's picky and prefers live. So the last three weeks, she's eaten just fine. Unfortunately, she has picked up a mite problem (the pet store we got the feeders from apparently wasn't a very good one we found out after realizing the issue and looking up reviews online we have since found a much better place to get her feeders) that we are still battling to get completely rid of, I'm not sure if that can effect her shed cycle or not?? She's showing signs of being ready to shed but as this is the first ball I've owned, I've looked a lot of things up online and I'm not sure if everything I've read online is correct. Last night out of no where one of her eyes has started to look cloudy but not both and it doesn't look blue to me, just kind of like half of it is dirty or something. Her skin does look dull and her belly does look pinkish. I'm not sure if i'm just over thinking it and she's totally fine or not. I'm hoping once the mite problem is cleared up I won't have to worry as much. I'm also not sure if its safe to treat her for the mites right now if she is about to shed??

Any answers or help would be really appreciated, I just want to make sure she's as healthy as can be and that we're going about everything the right way! All her tank specs (shes in a 20 gallon long tank with multiple hides and climbing places and a large enough sturdy water bowl for her to lay in if she so chooses) are what i've looked up as far as temp and humidity.

[Eric Alan]

Yeah, it sounds like you're over-thinking the shedding bit. She'll shed when she's ready. I'd be, and it seems like you are, focused on taking care of the mites first and foremost. As long as the rest of your husbandry is good, then the rest will fall into place for you.

I know you said temps and humidity are good, but I just wanted to throw this care guide out there for you to double check (if you haven't already): http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet. There are a lot of sites with "less than ideal" information on them, so I'm just trying to ensure you've got the best information available to you.

Best of luck with your new little handful, and welcome to the site!

[albinos_rule]

Yep she will shed in due time, just give her a little extra humidity for the next few days

Good luck

[cwells1235]

She just kind of freaked me out last night by kind of laying with her head sideways in her bowl and drinking a lot more water than usual. I've actually been the one trying to keep my boyfriend from over thinking things about her and now I'm doing it! If she hasn't started shedding by tomorrow (i read that you shouldn't treat while they're shedding or for at least six hours after) I'm going to do another round of the mite spray to try and get rid of the issue once and for all. thanks for the comments!

[dr del]

Informative clicky.