First Bath

[FeathersRuff]

So I'm planning on giving my BP her first bath. She hasn't had one yet and I think she's starting to shed but the humidity has been tough to keep lately. So I'm hoping a nice little bath will clean her and make her scales nice and shed ready.

What are the steps I should do for her bath?
What temp should the water be at?

Any helpful information would be greatly appreciated.

[ballpythonluvr]

No need to bathe the snake. This will do more harm then good. It will strip the oils that aid in the shedding process and stress your snake out. Create a humid hide by putting some damp sphagnum moss in the snake's hide and that should help.

[Reinz]

No need to bathe the snake. This will do more harm then good. It will strip the oils that aid in the shedding process and stress your snake out...............

Kind of hard to do when the oils are UNDERNEATH the skin.

All 7 of my snakes will soak themselves given the opportunity of a bowl large enough for them. Even when humidity is in the 70's and the bowl is on the cool side with temps in the mid 70's, thus they are not too hot.

Im not saying to bathe snakes for it can cause undue stress. Just give them the opportunity of a large bowl if that is a concern. Or wipe them down with a damp towel.

Tapatalk will not allow me to post pics right now. I will post photos of some of my snakes soaking in the blue when able.

[KMG]

I'd skip the soak and add damp moss to each hide.

If you must the water should not cover the snakes body and the water should be checked with a IR temp gun to verify it is within the acceptable range. 80-85F is what I would shoot for. Water that may only feel warm to you can be hot to your snake.

[Reinz]

.............


If you must the water should not cover the snakes body and the water should be checked with a IR temp gun to verify it is within the acceptable range. 80-85F is what I would shoot for. Water that may only feel warm to you can be hot to your snake.

Theses temps are important. I didn't get into that because I was trying to make ONE point.

A lot of people draw bath water that feels luke warm. Well our body temp is 98 degrees, so warm water to us is way too hot for your snake.

After I clean out the water bowls I just put cold tap water back in. About 75% of the time my snakes will be in their bowls within minutes after the freshening up.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Ball python do not need a bath there are no benefit to it quite the contrary, you need to provide proper humidity and if you can't and some shed is stucked simply use a warm damp towel to remove the stuck shed, letting your BP slither through it.

[FeathersRuff]

Alright after just cleaning her tank I put a small handful of damp moss inside the back of her hide so she has something to rub against. I also changed the moss in her moss bowl too. I keep a small bowl of moss in some water to help with humidity.

Should I take the moss out of her hide when it dries or leave it?

[KMG]

I leave it in mine. Once dry for a few days I spray it again. I don't make it fully moist again until the next shed.

[Zincubus]

No need to bathe the snake. This will do more harm then good. It will strip the oils that aid in the shedding process and stress your snake out. Create a humid hide by putting some damp sphagnum moss in the snake's hide and that should help.

Is there any scientific evidence to support this idea of washing the natural oils out of a snake's skin ?

Sounds rather like one of those made-up stories ...
Like the one where we all swallow spiders in the night ...

[FeathersRuff]

Well looks like I had to take the moss out of her hide. She wont go back in with it in there. I guess it takes up too much room.