shedding and temp ?'s

I went to feed my bp on Friday, and noticed his eyes were just a little milky. He has not shed since he has been with me...so I am a little nervous about it. He did go ahead and eat with no problems. He hasn't come out much since then, I did notice that his eyes are beginning to clear back up just a bit. My question is this: I have read that after their eyes clear back up, you should soak them in a little warm water for 15-20 minutes to help the shedding process. He has not been soaking in his bowls at all, and humidity in his cage is 50-55%. I have been spraying the enclosure in the morning and at night, so the humidity has spikes during those times......should I soak him or not?????

Also, how hot is too hot for a BP? I bumped his temps a little since he ate....93-96 on hot, 84-86 on cool, 82-85 all the way around at night....is this too much? Thanks in advance for your help.

You don't need to soak your ball python unless after he sheds, there is still skin stuck to him. Soaking prior to shed while he is still milked over may actually cause him to have a bad shed.

Temps sound good except for the drop at night time. Stop that if you can. 82-84 on one side, 92-94 on the other 24 hours a day is best from my experience.

-adam

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Originally Posted by sirhissball

......should I soak him or not?????

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Try to get your humidity up to around 70% during shed times. It should be around 50% during all other times. With that, there is no reason that your BP will either soak himself, or you would need to soak him. You can soak AFTER the shed is over with if there is some kind of problem with it.

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Originally Posted by sirhissball

Also, how hot is too hot for a BP? I bumped his temps a little since he ate....93-96 on hot, 84-86 on cool, 82-85 all the way around at night....is this too much? Thanks in advance for your help.

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Unless you're breeding your BP, there should be no drop in night temps. 82-84 Cool/92-94 Warm.... 24/7. Ambient temps should be around 85'ish. Your snake is smart enough to know that he needs more heat right after he eats. He'll go to the warm side of the cage (hope you have a hide over there for him) after he eats to aid in the digestion process. When he's ready, he'll go back to the cool side hide. Not providing some sort of gradient at night doesn't give him many options for thermoregulating himself.

Good luck with your first shed and with getting those temps right at night!

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

You don't need to soak your ball python unless after he sheds, there is still skin stuck to him. Soaking prior to shed while he is still milked over may actually cause him to have a bad shed.

Temps sound good except for the drop at night time. Stop that if you can. 82-84 on one side, 92-94 on the other 24 hours a day is best from my experience.

-adam

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I hate being a slow typist. :)

LOL ... Cut -n- Paste ;)

-adam

Also: during the night, there is a basking spot for him under a black light that would provide him with an option for thermoregulation....I can't jump the humidity in the cage to 70% all day, it's just not going to happen (humidity over the water bowl on the hot side is that high, but not anywhere else in the enclosure)...When I spray the cage, it gets that high for a couple of hours.

Depending on the type of enclosure you use there are a number of ways to get the humidity to stay up around 70% most of the time during shed. If you could give a quick description of the type of enclosure you use and the heating source I'm pretty sure you'll find a ton of advice/tricks on how to adjust your humidity to encourage a nice complete shed.


~~Jo~~

Also...providing a humid hide can also help. Tupperware type container with hole in side. Add a little spagnum moss and mist lightly, damp but not wet. Voila! These are a great solution for those who have such problems with humidity.