A few health-related questions about my snake

Hi, I'm new on these forums. I've got a few health-related questions about my ball python Strangles, and after looking around on the internet for a while, I figured this was the best place to get answers. First off, I should probably give you guys a little bit of insight on his history. He's roughly a year old (my fiance and I got him around 11 months ago, but we don't know exactly how old he was before we got him), and so far we couldn't be happier. He's really friendly and docile, lots of people have handled him and we've never had a problem. But we have had our issues with him, even though it hasn't really been his fault. He's escaped twice over the past few months. Our cat decided to jump on top of his tank, and calamity ensued lol. The second time was because of a shoddy fix I had to do on the screen of the lid, he managed to find a way out. He also got stuck in the gorilla tape I used to fix the lid (which, in retrospect, was an incredibly dumb idea), but I got him unstuck after lots of freaking out, and everything was fine. That was around two months ago.

Anyway, on to my questions. He started a new shed about a week ago. Two days ago, I noticed that he's looking a little thin and his skin is wrinkled. He's been eating regularly for the most part, but last time he was fed, he seemed a little hesitant to eat. When I noticed the wrinkled skin, I also noticed what looks like a dent in one of his eyes. I have no idea how long it's been there. I didn't notice it until recently, but then again, he's a snake, he likes to hide. I really can't tell if it's an injury or not. My hydrometer somehow broke when the cat broke the lid, but I've still got the thermometer and the temperature is right. I've also been keeping the tank humidified as well as I can. I didn't want to take him to the vet right away, because a reptile specialist is going to be tough to find around my area, and I'd like to avoid a vet bill if it's something I can help on my own. I was wondering, does anyone have any idea what the problem might be as far as the wrinkled skin goes? And also, is the dent something that I should have checked out by a vet? I know these might be stupid questions, but I'd appreciate any advice you guys could give. I want to make sure ol' Strangles is healthy and happy. Thanks.

You came to the right place.


If you have a screen lid, I would cover 3/4 of it with foil/plexiglass/wet towel to help with humidity.

How are you heating? If by lamp, it could be sucking out humidity too, and UTH on a thermostat are best.

I don't know about the dent, but it sounds like something that could be caused by dehydration.


If you do those quick couple of fixes, it should help, if you don't already do these things. I'm guessing you had one of those dial hydrometers and those are not reliable. I would grab up a digital one, normally we recommend the accurite indoor/outdoor temp/humidity gauge that is available at most walmarts or lowes for about $13. You can do a search and read up more about that if you'd like.


About the food, this maybe be because he is adult size and it is breeding season. The weather is getting cooler and the snakes are going off feed (not all do, but it is common).

Good luck, and hope I helped some.