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  • 10-07-2021, 03:57 PM
    enyonaudrey
    New baby ball python shedding in pieces
    Hi there! New ball python owner here :) so I just got my first baby this last Saturday. The guy who sold him to me told me that he would go into shed within the next couple of days after I got him. Since then, I have had a hard time keeping the humidity above 60 and I know they need at least 75-80 for a proper shed. He still has some stuck skin that I can see when he explores at night. I'm trying to mist his glass tank as much as possible but I don't know what to do. One of my friends told me that I should soak him to help him shed, but I haven't handled or fed him yet and I don't want his first time being handled by me to be traumatic or stressful.

    I would appreciate any help I can get!! :confusd:

    Thank you
  • 10-07-2021, 04:05 PM
    Bogertophis
    Give (make) him a "humid" hide promptly & gently guide him into it- he'll hopefully figure it out from there, but you'll still need to check & make sure his eyes & tail tip shed okay. Their chins often get stuck too, because somehow they know just how uncomfortable you'll be trying to help them with that. ;) :rofl:
  • 10-07-2021, 04:08 PM
    Snow Balls
    Re: New baby ball python shedding in pieces
    What does your setup look like? Glass tanks aren't ideal for keeping in humidity but it can be done. Since he is so new I would leave him be, along with misting his tank you can also mist the hide he is most frequently in. Some people on here will put in sphagnum moss in their hides as well during shed, I have never tried this so I can't offer much on that. How bad is the stuck shed?
  • 10-07-2021, 04:15 PM
    enyonaudrey
    Re: New baby ball python shedding in pieces
    I have a 15gal glass tank and he has a warm hide and a cool hide -- the cool hide is one of those green moss ball spheres but he mostly stays in the hot hide during the day and just climbs on top of the cool hide at night. I mist it three times a day pretty much in the morning, afternoon and night. I use cocoblox as a substrate and had initially put around 3 inches but thought that may be a bit too much for a baby? But the humidity was doing better when I had the three inches (now I only have about half an inch. I also had to put a ceramic heat lamp overhead to maintain the correct ambient temp which is also contributing to the dehumidification of his enclosure. I tried putting foil over 2/3rds of the mesh top but it hasn't done much. I can't really get a good view of him since I don't wanna spook him but I think it is mostly on his tail and mid section, not on his head though.
  • 10-07-2021, 04:36 PM
    Erie_herps
    To keep humidity up you could cover some of the lid (assuming it's screen), add another water dish (the more surface area the more that will evaporate), and/or add onion bags filled with moss in the tank. But, if you add a humid hide it should be fine.
  • 10-07-2021, 04:58 PM
    KMG
    Damp moss in the hides will serve as a humid hide. I used and still use this trick with some of mine. Moss in the hide almost makes it feel that much more secure filling little gaps.
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