What causes failure to shed?

Back in October, my ball python went into blue, but he never shed his skin. He had the same dull look until February when he went into blue, but it took him another two weeks for him to shed the skin. It appeared to be one layer of skin of normal thickness, but what would cause this?

If he shed the skin in pieces that means he had a bad shed. Ball pythons shed their skin all at once. They roll it off like a sock. If your snake had a bad shed then it means your humidity was too low during the shed cycle. Make sure you have a good accurate hygrometer and bring your humidity to 70% during a shed cycle.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

If he shed the skin in pieces that means he had a bad shed. Ball pythons shed their skin all at once. They roll it off like a sock. If your snake had a bad shed then it means your humidity was too low during the shed cycle. Make sure you have a good accurate hygrometer and bring your humidity to 70% during a shed cycle.

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This exactly :gj:

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Originally Posted by carlisleishere

Back in October, my ball python went into blue, but he never shed his skin. He had the same dull look until February when he went into blue, but it took him another two weeks for him to shed the skin. It appeared to be one layer of skin of normal thickness, but what would cause this?

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The OP doesn't ask anything about shedding in pieces.

I can't speak to what happened in October, but it is the normal process for a snake to go "blue", clear up, and then actually shed a week or so later. They don't go straight from blue to shedding.

Add: If he shed fully in one or two pieces this time, there is no need to bump your humidity.

What happened was:
He went into blue as usual.
he cleared up as usual.
But he never shed. He had the pinkish belly and you could feel the shed on him but he never shed it off until the second shed cycle that he went through.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by carlisleishere

What happened was:
He went into blue as usual.
he cleared up as usual.
But he never shed. He had the pinkish belly and you could feel the shed on him but he never shed it off until the second shed cycle that he went through.

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Sounds like he had a completely stuck shed stuck to him and then shed both layers at the same time the next time he shed...

A little strange. What is your humidity like?

Humidity is always 60-70%.

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Originally Posted by carlisleishere

Humidity is always 60-70%.

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What kind of hygrometer do you have? That is really strange...

Still wondering if the snake shed in pieces this most recent time?

I have both a dial and digital hygrometer just to be sure. The reason I'm asking about the shed is that I took him to the vet the other day because he was whistling and they did some blood work and his monocyte levels were high. The only strange occurance was this double-shed and I'm wondering if that would be a sign of anything.

He always sheds in one piece. he's never had a bad shed while in my care.