blue bp?

hey guys i took my bp out last night, and he was blueish grey, his eyes are kinda cloudy too. yesterday was feeding day for him, and i tried a live mouse and he didnt even accknowlage it was there. is this ok?! please tell me whats going on and what i should do

sounds like he is going to shed, some bps eat when in blue some dont just keep your humidity correct and hell do the rest.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...edding-Process

the blueish clour is what we call "in blue"... ready to shed. usualy they won't eat because they can't realy see since there eyes are cloudy. make sure the humidity is right and maybe give a warm bath. he'll do the rest just fine..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Subdriven

the blueish clour is what we call "in blue"... ready to shed. usualy they won't eat because they can't realy see since there eyes are cloudy. make sure the humidity is right and maybe give a warm bath. he'll do the rest just fine..

---

Firstly, my Queen Elizabeth completely REFUSES food when she is about to go into shed (even before she starts to fade). And I got scared once because she had not fed in 2 weeks and was due (I feed her every 14 days exactly, per a calender)... and she shed and ended up sheding fine and that left her not eating for like... almost 3 and a half weeks... and I was afraid she wouldn't eat and get sick... but I put her in her feeding tub.... held the rat in front of her, and in less than like.. 30 seconds... it was struck at and was devoured in like 5 minutes (which is a record for her... she likes to take her time lol)

Secondly, I made the mistake of giving my BP a bath when she was going into shed... "in blue" or whatever (I don't actually call it that... I just say shes fading... lol) but yea... it messed up her shed... there is no need to submerge the snake in water like bathing a dog... it will not help their shed along and may actually mess up the whole ecdysis process. I know that I read on the forums somewhere about the hazards of bathing your ball python pre-shed... but suggested a humidity soak... like putting them in a tub in the bathroom with the hot shower running... for 20 minutes or something... please read this article: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...edding-Process

it is a GREAT article on shedding with pictures included.

ps: there will be a point when the blue will go away... and you will think everything is better... but that really means that the ecdysis is almost complete and about to slough completely... so like a day or two after the gray/blue is gone, the actual shed will happen... the whole process should be about 10-12 days (roughly).
Hope this helps :D

Yup Trey nailed it head on:D Just follow that advice and you will be fine.

wow.. didn't know the bath would worsen the shed procces.. was always told that it helps and seen it help many times. even with a snake with a bad shed where it cameoff in small peices, 20 min soak and a soft cloth and it comes off easy.

thanks for the info

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Subdriven

wow.. didn't know the bath would worsen the shed procces.. was always told that it helps and seen it help many times. even with a snake with a bad shed where it cameoff in small peices, 20 min soak and a soft cloth and it comes off easy.

thanks for the info

---

Firstly, soaking after a shed is one thing... a totally different beast then soaking pre-shed...

Secondly, Don't go listening to JUST me. always... ALWAYS get a second opinion and you will probably end up having to do certain things for your snake specifically... I have friends that let their ball pythons swim in their pools... I personally wouldn't do it because I do not feel liek it would be appropriate for my queen elizabeth... and I "think" it would hurt the snake... but some people do not and successfully have their snake in pools... WITH chlorine...
all I am saying is that I didn't mean that soaking pre-ecdysis is "bad" for the snake, I just "read somewhere" that is was.... just wanted to clarify... I was flamed once on this forum for stating wrong information, i would HATE for it to happen again :D
but the link I gave and the story about elizabeth were both very, very valid ;)


ps: when I soaked elziabeth... she had a bad shed... when I didnt soak her the next time... with the SAME conditions in the tank and everything, she had a great shed in two full pieces... so... yea... :)