First feed refusal, late shed?

So I guess I've had this easy so far and now I'm dealing with the real BP keeping.

My female pied (approx 350+g) just refused her first rat. She's been crazy aggressively slamming f/t rodents since I first got her, just over two months ago, but last night she just ignored the one I put in. It was still there in the morning.

She's (I think?) way overdue for a shed, as she still hasn't yet since I've had her. I thought her colors looked a bit faded when I last checked on her two days ago, but I didn't notice milky eyes or anything yet.

About two weeks ago I totally cleaned/rearranged her cage and moved her, and she ate once after that but it seemed more reluctant. (I sort of had to prod her with the rat during the zombie dance.) She's barely left her hide since the cage move, which is fairly unusual for her.

It's about 79.2 in her hide and ~90 at the hotspot, but she's barely been out of the hide since the move. Approx 65% humidity, aspen bedding, AP T8 cage.

Questions:

1) Do I have to sterilize the area the rat was sitting last night? It was pretty much in her hide, so I'll have to move her to do so, and I don't wanna stress her more.

2) She seems to prefer this one hide over the others I've given her, and I've always sort of seen her hang out far away from the heat source in her enclosure. But she behaved normally before, and it was the same for a couple of months now. Maybe she's cold? Should I move her favorite hide more towards the middle rather than the cold side?

3) How long should I wait to attempt feeding again? I'd really rather not spoil her with live unless it's an emergency, so I'd rather not do that unless I have to. Do I?

4) How concerned should I be about this late shed? I'm under the impression the shed indicators are a bit more unusual on a piebald, so what should I be looking for? Is it likely the cause of her food refusal? My other BP eats like a pro regardless of her shed cycle.

I haven't handled her since the cage move two weeks ago cause I wanted to prioritize getting her feeding regularly. So I haven't noticed anything unusual about her from my basic observation, but haven't gotten a real close look.

Thanks!

Please, anybody? I realize I have a few questions here but I'm really freaked out, as this snake represents all of my disposable income for the next year or so.

1. You shouldn't have to sterilize the area. I never have when there was a rodent left in the morning. It might be a preference. Others may advise differently/better than me.

2. Try moving the hide and see how she is after that. If it's on the cool side now and that's where she is all the time it means she is either hot or that hide makes her feel the most secure. If she is choosing security over warmth, she may not eat in her "cooled" state. Do you have an identical one to put on the hot side? That may help the situation.

3. Offer food on your regular feeding day. She'll take it when she takes it. She could be in shed or on feed strike.

4. Not sure how often a 350g bp should shed. If you think she could be in shed, raise the humidity a bit for about a week and see if she does or not. I wouldn't be too concerned with it though, it sounds like it could be an odd occurrence but you also don't know how often she was shedding before you got her.


Other point of note: When you cleaned and rearranged her tank. Did you add/subtract anything or just put everything in a different location? This could be a huge change for her and she may not like it so she stays in her favorite hide for comfort.

So I moved her favorite hide to a slightly warmer area of the tank and she just stayed in the spot the hide used to be. I think she really likes the cooler side of the tank.

But I'm a bit concerned--she's just sitting there in the spot her hide used to be now, totally exposed. This strikes me as very unusual behavior. Her eyes looked a little milky last night so I assumed she's probably about to shed, and I upped the humidity to 70. Maybe she hasn't found the new hide location yet? It's still dark in her enclosure, so maybe she doesn't care.

Should I put her in it so she knows it's there or just leave her be?

I'd put the hide back over her for now then wait until after she sheds.

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Originally Posted by Pyrate81

I'd put the hide back over her for now then wait until after she sheds.

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Thanks, will do.

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Originally Posted by dkspftw

1) Do I have to sterilize the area the rat was sitting last night? It was pretty much in her hide, so I'll have to move her to do so, and I don't wanna stress her more.

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No, that's probably not necessary.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dkspftw

2) She seems to prefer this one hide over the others I've given her, and I've always sort of seen her hang out far away from the heat source in her enclosure. But she behaved normally before, and it was the same for a couple of months now. Maybe she's cold? Should I move her favorite hide more towards the middle rather than the cold side?

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Yes, try to move it more to the middle. Although normally one hide on the cool side and one on the heated side will be enough.

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Originally Posted by dkspftw

3) How long should I wait to attempt feeding again? I'd really rather not spoil her with live unless it's an emergency, so I'd rather not do that unless I have to. Do I?

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Feed her like you normally do. If months goes by (or atleast 1-2 months) you could try live. Nothing to be concerned by after just one week.

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Originally Posted by dkspftw

4) How concerned should I be about this late shed? I'm under the impression the shed indicators are a bit more unusual on a piebald, so what should I be looking for? Is it likely the cause of her food refusal? My other BP eats like a pro regardless of her shed cycle.

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It is very common for ball pythons to refuse food during the shed cycle. I do not even try to feed mine by that time. A 350gram ball python should shed once every 2 months.

I want to add that these are from my own experiences with my own ball pythons.

Good news on this!

So I think it was sort of a combination of factors of her being near shed and hanging out for a couple of weeks on the cooler side of her tank.

When I moved her hide and the lights came on she immediately discovered the other hides and went to the warm side. 5 days later I fed my other BP and gave her a smaller-than-usual rat pup. This time she responded and ate it!

That was last Thursday, and I took a long weekend off, then this morning found some shed skin in her enclosure before going to work! I'm not sure if it was a full successful shed as it'll be her first in this enclosure (seems weird still to me she took this long to shed since I got her 5/21) and I haven't had a chance to take it/her out to inspect, but this is at least a good sign.

Not to keep bumping, but I came home and I'm pretty sure her first shed was in one piece! Couldn't find the eye caps but the whole thing was rolled up tight like how a condom is packaged or something, like all in one ring with a little tail sticking out. She came out of her hide looking great the second she heard the key in the lock, so I'll assume she's ready to eat again too!

So relieved!

Lol, condom shed.

Run it under some warm water and gently unroll it to see the whole thing. :-)

Congrats!!