Soaking/Bathing

[rrupp1179]

So I hear a lot about soaking my BP...is there a sticky or a thread that I can look at for suggestions on this process? When should it be done? How often? Temps for the water? How long should they soak?

[dr del]

Hi,

Yes it was 6 posts above this one at the time of writing.


dr del

[frankykeno]

Most people only soak if the snake has experienced a bad or difficult shed, after the snake attempts the shed naturally.

Here's a sticky on the shedding process....

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28794

Here's a sticky on how to soak a snake to help remove the stuck shed.....

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43403

[rrupp1179]

Dr del...now i feel like an idiot lol

[dr del]

Hi,

But to answer your questions here as best I can...

So I hear a lot about soaking my BP...is there a sticky or a thread that I can look at for suggestions on this process? When should it be done?

When the snake has had a bad shed or (with the addition of a few drops of dish soap) to give some immediate relief if the snake has a mite infestation. Also a good way of trying to encourage a slightly constipated snake to poop - though I find cleaning out its enclosure when I don't have time to repeat is far more effective at generating poop.

How often?

Only as needed for the above situations for me - though I suppose it might be used for cleaning up a snake that has wallowed in its own doings - but mine seem to avoid that.

Temps for the water?

You don't want it to be too hot so I would probably stick to around 85f - a good way to maintain that is to place the tub with snake and water back into the enclosure if possible.

How long should they soak?

It depends on the reason for the soak but 30 minutes should sort out most of the problems I would have thought.

It's important to note you do not want the water to be too deep - about half way up the snakes body should be sufficient.

Also you need a good lid - not all snakes enjoy water and some positively hate the soaking experience.

I think if you were giving soaks containing anything (dish soap for mites or something to help with wound healing for example) it might be a good idea to give them a soak in plain water first in case they choose to drink some of it. But I have never had to do this so I deffer to anyone with experience on this (and to be honest any ) point



dr del

[dr del]

Dr del...now i feel like an idiot lol

Lol,

No reason too - the more I thought about it the more reasons I thought to do it and the more info seemed worth having posted in a thread others could use.

So once other people add more info the thread could help a lot of people in the future.


dr del