Another paranoid newbie... is my baby ok?

[flyingtigress]

First let me just say I have been lurking a while and this forum is incredible. Thanks to you I have properly housed my new ch ball python. I am head over heels in love with her!

I have a couple questions about my month-old, 16 inch long new baby. First thing is that it looks to me like she had a bad shed before I got her. Her tummy is pink now (and today her eyes started getting a bit opaque) so I think she will shed again soon. All you experienced people... please confirm this for me. Does it look like unshed scales to you?
In this picture, look in front of her eye.

Left side of her head, about in the same spot.

And on the top of her head, looks like some more unshed scales...


The other thing that concerns me is her body shape. According to the pet shop reptile guy, she had only eaten twice before last Saturday, and she was a month old at that point. She ate a fuzzy in front of me at the shop on Sat and had a great feeding response, and I fed her again Wednesday thinking she will be shedding soon and I didn't want to wait until after the shed because she is so thin. Take a look... she is triangular and I think her spine may be a bit prominent... is there anything I can do other than provide clean water and feed every 5 days? I have her on fuzzys (what the pet shop was feeding her) think she can handle hoppers yet?
Best pic with angle of her back..

Top down view..


Thank you so much!!!

[FIEND_FO_LYFE]

dont worry.
looks like a bad shed, but it happens to most if not all.
mine has the same.

also the body shape seems ok.
you only have to worry if they start looking extreemly triangular and loose alot of wieght. just keep trying...
balls can go a long time without food.

[flyingtigress]

Thanks Fiend. She eats just fine, and has already rounded out some since I got her last weekend. I was just concerned about what the pet shop guy said - that she had only eaten twice in the first month of her life.

[FIEND_FO_LYFE]

i understand.
no problem.
it kinda disapointing to hear thats all she ate...
but ive heard worst.
at least she is eating.
glad to hear it.

[blackcrystal22]

AHah, it seems as if your ball just has some shiny scales. I don't think it was a bad shed but just a few scales didn't come off all the way. Try posting a picture without flash, that will show if it's retained scales or not.
This is a picture of my ball when I first got him.
He has one leftover scale from his previous shed, right in the middle of his head, a bit closer more to his left eye. This is a good picture for comparison as you can also see his normal scales all shiny like your pythons'. :]



This is what a bad shed looks like..
This picture is from eyeofowl on this site and is not my picture.


In the end, no big deal. It'll go away with the next shed like mine did.

[flyingtigress]

Hi blackcrystal,
The first pic shows it the best like it looks in real life. At first I thought she had scraped her face trying to escape a cage or something, because it looked like a scar, and was in about the same place on both sides of her face. Briefly considered mites, but I don't see any, she is not stressed out, and never has soaked as far as I know. Then after researching the forums here, I saw a pic of a scar, and then thought it must be just some retained scales. The only pics I have w/o flash do not show any detail. After she sheds I was planning on doing a good photo session. I will update the thread with those photos. She is super-shiny, and the pics I took today show how faded she is, so I think she will shed within the next few days. Thanks!

[dr del]

Hi,

As everyone else has said as long as you get a good humidity level the upcoming shed should fix a lot of those scale problems.

On the feeder size she should be able to handle a hopper mouse with no problems at all.

Some of mine will not eat during the shedding process but many do - as long as you have a plan to deal with an extra mouse (if you feed live) then everything should be ok.

If you feed F/T then this obviously isn't a problem.


dr del

[frankykeno]

Thanks Fiend. She eats just fine, and has already rounded out some since I got her last weekend. I was just concerned about what the pet shop guy said - that she had only eaten twice in the first month of her life.

Only eating twice in her first month of life isn't that big of a deal. Twice on pinky mice though might be as they really aren't all that substantial a meal for the vast majority of healthy BP hatchlings. Most hatchings shed about 7 to 10 days after they hatch, they don't eat during that time period. After they shed that first time they'll take their first meal but that can be another week afterwards so that takes up the first couple of weeks of their life. Then it can take a few more weeks to get them well established in a feeding pattern.

Considering she came out of a pet store, you're lucky she's eaten at all - some don't. She looks pretty decent from what I can see in that picture. Depending on her weight either hopper mice or a young adult mouse would likely be good for her.

[flyingtigress]

Hi,

As everyone else has said as long as you get a good humidity level the upcoming shed should fix a lot of those scale problems.

On the feeder size she should be able to handle a hopper mouse with no problems at all.

Some of mine will not eat during the shedding process but many do - as long as you have a plan to deal with an extra mouse (if you feed live) then everything should be ok.

If you feed F/T then this obviously isn't a problem.


dr del

Hi dr. del,
She's in a 10gal tank and I have the screen top covered by damp towels, humidy stays around 50-60%, and with misting it's around 70% which is what I'm keeping it at now with the upcoming shed. She has a good feeding response and eats f/t which I am not gonna mess with since they can be finicky. I will try to feed again on Mon (5 days after last meal). Thanks!

Only eating twice in her first month of life isn't that big of a deal. Twice on pinky mice though might be as they really aren't all that substantial a meal for the vast majority of healthy BP hatchlings. Most hatchings shed about 7 to 10 days after they hatch, they don't eat during that time period. After they shed that first time they'll take their first meal but that can be another week afterwards so that takes up the first couple of weeks of their life. Then it can take a few more weeks to get them well established in a feeding pattern.

Considering she came out of a pet store, you're lucky she's eaten at all - some don't. She looks pretty decent from what I can see in that picture. Depending on her weight either hopper mice or a young adult mouse would likely be good for her.

Thanks for the good info, frankykeno. I didn't know they don't normally eat for a couple weeks anyhow. I had called the pet store a few days before I went so they would wait to feed a couple of their babies, so I could watch them feed when I got there. I haven't weighed her (herpstat took up my budget this month) but I will post a pic with size reference (but not until after she sheds, she is a bit testy and I don't wanna stress her). She is 16.8 inches long. After the 2 fuzzys in the freezer are gone I'll get her some hoppers.


Thank you all for the responses.... you have really put my mind at ease.

[frankykeno]

You're welcome. These first days and weeks with an young snake are always a bit worrisome so don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions. If you haven't had a chance to view it yet we have a great BP caresheet here that should be quite helpful to you.

Pencil into your budget to pick up a decent digital scale that reads in grams by small increments. You can pick one up from any major department store in the kitchen supplies area (kitchen scales) or from any major office supply store (postal scales). You'll likely spend around $30 (or check ebay for some killer deals). A good digital scale is really your best friend when it comes to keeping an eye on healthy growth in these snakes. I have a 7001DX and just love it. Really helps to settle ones nerves that the babies are growing properly.