Is my ball going into Shed?

We've had her for about two months now. Originally had her on coconut fiber substrate but the humidity was way too high. At this time she would roam around a lot, and rarely use the hide. She also bathed in her water dish a lot during this period. She refused food the first two weeks we tried to feed her but after asking her breeder and following his instructions to a T she has been eating regularily and has been quite amenable to handling barring one time she simply stayed balled up the whole time.

After switching her onto Aspen, she has since refused/maybe regurgitated food - she struck and took it but when my bf went to check on her it wasn't eaten and we suspect it was regurgitated. She was extremely skittish after this and hid in her hide balled up so tight we couldn't see her (often in her hide you can see some of her coils or maybe her tail poking out). That was on Wednesday. She since has not been out of the hide that we have been aware of (maybe late at night or while we are at work? I'm hoping she's still drinking...)

We left her alone except the occasional wellness check, trying not to stress her out. On Friday my bf told me her eyes looked clouded, and I began to suspect a shed cycle imminent since I know it can make them scared. I've just been able to take a closer look and I am not certain. Her colours don't seem particularily dulled to me, but she was being quite skittish still - not balling but jerking backwards away from my hand, in a somewhat uncontrolled looking manner. I didn't want to stress her more by checking her belly, but if it's absolutely necessary to diagnose her, I will.

Full husbandry details: small tupperware container, aspen substrate, heat tape on thermostat regulator + heater in room for additional ambient heat. Temps about 88/75, humidity unfortunately still trending around 70 after changing substrate and adding air holes - we are going to pick up a dehumidifier for the room soon as 70 is the ambient humidity in the office which has fairly little traffic. Eating F/T hopper mice (what the breeder had her on) once a week. Only one hide as this container is too small for 2.

When we first brought her home:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...psbmaplzbr.jpg

A recent handling session (this was the time she just stayed balled and didn't want to explore)
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...pssxqbmo4y.jpg

From today
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psafycbewd.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psvpx0uwpn.jpg

1. 75 is as low as I would ever go and not buy choice. If you can boost the temp a few degrees that would be good. 88 is a good hotspot though.

2. Adding a oscillating fan to the room will drop the humidity. Not that 70 is really all that high. I keep one going in my snake room 24/7 to help maintain fresh air and drop humidity a bit. I wouldn't get a dehumidifier. Put the fan on the opposite side of the room, not blowing directly on the tub

3. A shed will have a blue stage that is seen with foggy eyes and skin but you should also see a pinkish red belt before that. Then it will clear up and a few days later shed.

4. A regurgitation is a terrible thing. I don't think that is what you had though, which is good. A regurgitation is when the snake competently ingest the feeder and then throws it up losing the feeder and precious stomach fluids. This is usually pretty nasty and many times caused by a fight or flight reaction or temps being to cold for digestion. Although there are other causes it sounds to me more like a refusal. Which is very common with shedding snakes.



What/how are you checking your temps?

1. we are planning to get an additional heat source (heat lamp/overhead heater) but we also will need to get a new thermostat for it as ours can only manage one heat source.
2. We can definitely try a fan! Will it work even without any fresh air entering the room? Opening the window would let in too much cool air, and opening the door is problematic as I have a very curious cat.
3. As seen in the photos, I don't think her colour is all that dulled, so I'm not sure what to make of that.
4. That's good to hear. I was at work at the time and my bf wasn't clear on what had happened, except that she had struck, but not eaten.
5. We have an accurite thermometer unit but also check temps with a heat gun.

1. A heat lamp can be controlled by a dimmer or you can get a lamp stand and control the heat by raising (lowers temp) or lower (raises temp) the lamp in relation to the tub. I've used a great lamp on a tub many times and it works fine.

2. No. Just keeping the air moving will help.

3. Hard for me to judge. It may not be. It is a snake so there are a whole list of reasons why it may not be eating.

4. I should have added that with a regurgitation you need you allow the snake to rebuild its fluid before feeding again. Usually around two weeks. I would watch it next time so you know for sure. After you get it eating you can drop it and leave.

5. :gj:

Just thought I'd pop back in and say, she did shed! Woke up yesterday morning to skin everywhere in her enclosure. She got everything off except the tip of her tail, which after a soak I was able to help her get it off.

She's back to her former friendly self now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AleriaCarventus

Just thought I'd pop back in and say, she did shed! Woke up yesterday morning to skin everywhere in her enclosure. She got everything off except the tip of her tail, which after a soak I was able to help her get it off.

She's back to her former friendly self now.

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Sounds as though it was all in bits ?

Maybe up the humidity somewhat next time ...


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it definitely was in bits. Humidity hovering around 75%... should we have put it even higher?

You should never need humidity higher than 70. Honestly if your humidity is constantly correct you shouldn't even need a boost to have full sheds. I've missed the first signs of a shed a few times so I never knew to boost the humidity yet still had full sheds because my humidity stays within the proper range.

A proper shed starts with proper humidity and husbandry. Bumping the humidity during the shed process helps, but keeping your husbandry on point is more important.