New to BPs, Possibly going into shed?

[MirLS]

Okay, so I got my first Ball Python on April 11 of this year. He's about six months old.

I fed him yesterday and was fixing up his enclosure this morning when I noticed that he was a little wrinkly. All of the research that I've done has pointed to him either getting ready to shed, dehydration, or parasites. Or me just being a worry wart. I've never had a snake before, though I've had other reptiles. His hot side sits between 89 and 90 degrees and the ambient is low to mid 80's, which I'm working on stabilizing some more. Humidity usually sticks around 55. I have a large water bowl and I know that he has been drinking(he urinated while I was handling him the other day).

I'm just kind of worried that something might be up. I'm feeding what the breeder I got him from told me, and I'll be getting a scale next week to begin weighing him myself.

I just took him out(carefully) to take some photos for this thread and to tidy his tank. No major handling for the next couple days obviously as I fed him yesterday.



Here are just a few photos of him. Excuse the mess- I'm a college student and my roommate is a slob.
Like I said, I'm new to snakes and have done a bunch of research, but research doesn't always match up to practical experience.

[BCS]

Those wrinkles are fine. Close your fist, does your fingers stay smooth or do they wrinkle? You would know if he was shedding. They look so much more different then they usually do.

[MirLS]

Okay. Thank you so much. I swear, I worry more about him than I do myself. Does he look otherwise healthy?

I'll definitely keep researching so I'm more certain on what he'll look like when he sheds. I just keep seeing all of these photos of snakes that are darker morphs, so I wasn't sure if the signs would be as equally apparent with my guy.

[BigJay]

He looks great!

[anicatgirl]

Does his belly look unusually pink or is that just me?

[Nadaud]

Does his belly look unusually pink or is that just me?

Interestingly enough, that is one early sign of an impending shed.

[MirLS]

That's what I was thinking too, but he's kind of pinkish anyway so I wasn't sure.

[Daigga]

Doesn't look like it to me, but then there are some snakes that don't show hardly any signs before they shed. It isn't a huge deal and doesn't really require any special preperation on your part except maybe a slight humidity bump. Most ways new owners try to "help" a snake shed actually do more harm than good, so it's best to leave your guy to it since he's going to know best.

[D1C]

Watch his eyes, they turn milky if he was in shed. You'd know it.

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[MirLS]

Okay. I figured as much. I was just curious, as I'd like to adjust his humidity accordingly, though the general concensus seems to be that he's not going into shed. Thanks so much everyone for all of your help.