2 concerns about my ball python please help!

[Samzi1123]

I’m a new snake owner, 7 months ago I got a ball python. He’s about 16 inches long. The first concern I have is that his belly has become rough and the scales have been peeling up. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain and moves about the tank fine. I realized that the humidity was way too low inside the tank and I’ve changed his substrate from aspen shavings to coconut husk. Could the rough belly scales be due to the low humidity? He has not shed yet and as I said I’m new to snakes so I’m unsure if he is just overdue to shed or if it’s from the lack of humidity. My second concern is that he has yet to eat. The breeder fed live and I’ve been trying to get him to take frozen thawed but he’s not at all interested. I have a friend who has snakes and she has given me lots of tips to try and get him to take the mouse but he just slithers away from it every time. I’m at the point where I’m going to have to offer him live so that he eats. Any tips/pointers would be much appreciated! -Sam

[Hannahshissyfix]

If he hasnt shed or eaten in 7 months then i would be very concerned with your husbandry and figure out what needs tweaked. Can you share pics of the set up along with temp gradient and humidity. Not much can be suggested without knowing where youre starting from.

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[targciv]

I'm a new snake owner as well, so I'm not sure too sure about the scales. If they are peeling, that sounds like scale rot, but someone with more experience can correct me. From what I've read about scale rot, that's caused by too wet of a substrate, and you said the humidity in the cage had been too low, so if the bedding wasn't wet, then I'm not sure what may have caused the scales to lift.

For the feeding of frozen thawed, I will just tell you what I do because maybe there's something within my experience you could try. I've heard it can be difficult to switch a snake from live to frozen, but I'm sure it's not impossible. Because ball pythons have those heat sensing pits near their mouth, you want to try to make the mouse as warm as you can so the snake may think it's warm enough to actually be alive. I thaw mine out in a sandwich bag placed in a container with as hot a water from the faucet that I can get, then after letting it sit, run it under the faucet directly for a minute or two. I also make sure to never put the mouse directly into the water, because that can wash off some of the smell that may make your snake more attracted to feeding - I made this mistake the first time feeding my bp, she wasn't interested. After keeping it in the sandwich bag to thaw, that seemed to do the trick.

Or, maybe you could try freshly killed mice instead? I've never done this, and I'm not sure if most pet stores which sell live mice would do this, or if you'd have to do it yourself. but again, maybe someone with more experience can explain this further.

Another option I've read about is if you go to a pet store and ask for some of their mouse bedding, as in bedding that is actually right from the cage where they are keeping the live mice, and then rubbing that up against your frozen/thawed mouse to give it an even stronger, live mouse scent. If you've ever been to a pet store and had them open the mouse cage in front of you, believe me, that scent is strong.

[kthoms104]

Here's a checklist that I would go through to help w/ this, because if he hasn't eaten or shed in 7 months something must be off.

-Humidity should be kept above 55%, but I would aim for 60-65% normally.
-Temps should be kept around 88-94 F.
-Frozen mice should be about 100 F when offered to the snake.
-Make sure that you have a hide on the cold side and a hide on the hot side of the tank.
-Buy something rough for the snake to use to shed. I recommend cleaned sticks/driftwood with bark, or a log style hide with bark.
-Make sure water is purified with Reptisafe etc.
-Add a few fake plants or something to fill space. A relatively cluttered set-up helps BPs feel secure.
*all of these things will reduce the snake's stress and keep them healthy. Stress due to off-husbandry is a huge factor in feeding strikes.


Check all of your husbandry, watch some videos on youtube about ball pythons and setup, try to make everything is absolutely perfect.
After a week of making sure everything is good for the snake, try feeding again. Maybe try feeding on the cold side, as this can help the snake see thermally. Also for that week, don't handle the snake, this can also help reduce stress. If he/she doesn't take the mouse again, try switching to either live mice (try not to make a habit of this, just to get the snake to a healthy weight) or try frozen rat pups if you think the snake is big enough. Rats have a different scent that your snake may prefer.

As for the strange scales, it sounds somewhat like scale rot, though I'm unsure. Do some research on this. Scale rot can manifest when the snake doesn't have a dry place to go in it's setup. Make sure that the hot side has dry substrate (which, for the purpose, I recommend coco fiber over something like aspen).

If none of this helps you, consider talking to a vet!

[Craiga 01453]

I’m a new snake owner, 7 months ago I got a ball python. He’s about 16 inches long. The first concern I have is that his belly has become rough and the scales have been peeling up. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain and moves about the tank fine. I realized that the humidity was way too low inside the tank and I’ve changed his substrate from aspen shavings to coconut husk. Could the rough belly scales be due to the low humidity? He has not shed yet and as I said I’m new to snakes so I’m unsure if he is just overdue to shed or if it’s from the lack of humidity. My second concern is that he has yet to eat. The breeder fed live and I’ve been trying to get him to take frozen thawed but he’s not at all interested. I have a friend who has snakes and she has given me lots of tips to try and get him to take the mouse but he just slithers away from it every time. I’m at the point where I’m going to have to offer him live so that he eats. Any tips/pointers would be much appreciated! -Sam

7 months without eating is a concern. It's very important to get the snake eating. At that length it's obviously still young and needs to eat.

The main reason a new BP won't eat is often husbandry. The second is stress.

The more you can tell us about your setup the more we can help you.

Also, if you're handling the snake at all please refrain until the snake is eating consistently.

[Samzi1123]

7 weeks not months! My bad!!

[kthoms104]

7 weeks not months! My bad!!

That's not nearly as bad of a concern, then. Do try to check all of the husbandry and try to get it to take some food by trying different methods. But don't worry too much about feeding!
Another thing is that he might not be seeing the food. The other day I presented a mouse outside of my snakes hide and tried to get him to take it for about 5 minutes. It wasn't until after I lifted up the hide and showed the mouse to his face (not too close) that he actually saw it and took it.

[Samzi1123]

I will have to check my temp and humidity gauges when I get home to see the exact measurements, he does have a hide on the cool said and the warm side and the tank has been very dry, much dryer than it should have been which is why I switched from the aspen to the coco fiber, it was a very recent change tho so I'm not sure if the stomach scales could be a result of that. I looked into scale rot over the last week or so and I'd be shocked it he had it beucse the tank is very low humidity wise. That why I'm concerned, he sounds a bit crinkly when he moves and the scales that are discolored are a light brown on the edges. Im not sure how to attach a pic so you can see it.

[MD_Pythons]

Can you post a picture of him, it would make diagnosing the problem much easier.

[Sgt7212]

I will have to check my temp and humidity gauges when I get home to see the exact measurements, he does have a hide on the cool said and the warm side and the tank has been very dry, much dryer than it should have been which is why I switched from the aspen to the coco fiber, it was a very recent change tho so I'm not sure if the stomach scales could be a result of that. I looked into scale rot over the last week or so and I'd be shocked it he had it beucse the tank is very low humidity wise. That why I'm concerned, he sounds a bit crinkly when he moves and the scales that are discolored are a light brown on the edges. Im not sure how to attach a pic so you can see it.

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