Dehydration

I have noticed that there are a couple threads going lately about dehydration. I am in South Florida so I generally do not have to worry about humidity too much. If anything I have the opposite problem. I was just curious about the observations of people that live in dry climates. If the humidity is low but there is ample water provided will a ball python really allow itself to dehydrate to the point its eyes will dimple? Do they not just drink more or is there something going on with their biology that does not allow them to re-hydrate enough orally?

The food source is usually most of their hydration.
I only have one girl that continually gives me problems with bad sheds even with available water and borderline humidity.
I have also seen most of my collection drink at one point or another.

If you've ever visited a drier climate, you might have noticed the effect it has on your body. I live near a Great Lake, so it tends to be very humid (60-80%) but in the winter, once the heat comes on in the house, it really dries the air out inside and the humidity can drop below 40%. I spend the whole season dealing with dry skin, dry mouth, a stuffy nose, etc. Drinking extra water helps, but only somewhat. I imagine it's a similar situation for animals. Ball pythons are native to a very humid climate (usually above 70% RH), so they're not really well equipped to handle dry air.

We must also remember that even though reptiles have protective scales to keep moisture in unlike amphibians, they do lose moisture at a more rapid rate than mammals. That just comes with being further back on the evolutionary tree.


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