Something wrong with Sunshine?
I'm a first-time snake owner, and I have a young normal ball python, named "Sunshine." I got him a little over a month ago. He was perfectly healthy, mellow, and active when I got him. I feel like I might be worrying a bit more than I should... Sunshine normally likes to spend a lot of time outside his hide, he actually enjoys sitting on top of it, basking; or sitting in the middle of the cage, under the fake plant. But, in the past four days, since his last feeding, I have not seen him come out of his hide one single time since he ate, other than once poking his head out briefly to suck up some of the water after misting at the entrance. I'm aware these snakes are nocturnal, but I'm also a bit of a night owl myself, and I still did not see him out while I was up.
I decided to check on Sunshine today. Once lifting up the hide, I realized that he was very dull-looking, especially on the head and tail. He also had a foul odor, but he did pee in his hide, so I'm thinking it was that. While I was about to pick him up, he flinched at a slight touch and tried to get away from me as quickly as possible. He normally doesn't mind being touched :(. I tried to check if his belly was pink, but it is the same tone as it normally is, nor were his eyes any different, but his skin was kind of rough around the neck. After setting him back down, he expelled a normal-looking urate, and went back into his hide.
The temperatures are good (75F to 85F), and the humidity is good (about 60%). He's been in his hot spot for the last four days, which always stays between 88 and 91 degrees. Maybe he's just trying to digest his last meal? Could he be going into shed soon? Is this just be a part of him growing up? If this was his normal behavior, I wouldn't be worried, but he seems incredibly shy/irritated right now.
