Do ball pythons eat their shed skin?

Is it possible that it just got buried in the sphagnum moss or something? I know my snakes will push around their shed skin to get it out of the way if I don't remove it. Maybe she pushed it underneath something in the cage? I've never heard of a snake eating a shed, and I doubt that she was that hungry from missing 2 meals (2 weeks) that she'd feel the need to eat her skin, but you never know. Weird things happen.

Ohhh you know what that's prob what happened, I changed her sphagnum moss a few weeks after I couldn't find her shed but didn't dig through it or anything.

Thanks all :)

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Originally Posted by Eversolulu

While I was moving her cage with my bf, we had to remove the mesh top, he FLIPPED OUT because she stuck her head out LOL!

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He will improve with time, he just needs repeat exposure.
After a while he will stop flipping out.....

Harry

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Originally Posted by Old Sloppy

He will improve with time, he just needs repeat exposure.
After a while he will stop flipping out.....

Harry

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I really hope so! Since she is a huge part of my life and all lol

I have two ball pythons in the same cage, last night my het albino was in the shedding process so i let her be and went to bed. I went to school this morning and when i got home she was shed and the skin was no where to be found. I shifted all the coconut husk to see if it was buried under, and took all the hide spots out. My conclusion is they do eat their own skin, due to the fact my parents wont even open the cage let alone take the shed skin out. I am very surprised because they usually shed in one big piece and I searched the tank everywhere for it and it didn't turn up.

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Originally Posted by Eversolulu

I was moving and my girls is ALWAYS hungry, so I didn't feed her for about 2 weeks after she shed and I remember seeing her shed skin right after she did it while giving her more water, but did not have time to feed her because I was moving, and the next time I was feeding her, her shed skin was gone! Could she have eaten it because she was THAT hungry?? I didn't realize that she was going to be that desperate for food :(

She's almost a year old and sheds regularly, is this normal? Or did I just wait too long to feed her? I fed her right before her eyes turned cloudy.

Also, does anyone know how much a female BP is supposed to weigh at a year?

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Snakes don't typically eat their own shed... It's very abnormal, no matter how hungry they are.
2 weeks is nothing. Snakes can go up to a year without eating.
All snakes grow at their own pace. There is no set average. I have a 10 month old female sitting at 1400 grams. I also have another 10 month old female weighing 500 grams. One male is well over a year and only 400 grams. They all grow differently. As long as your snake looks healthy and has nice muscle tone, I wouldn't worry about 'what's normal and what's not'.

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Originally Posted by kali2011

I have two ball pythons in the same cage.

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Housing multiple BPs in a single enclosure isn't recommended for non-experienced keepers. Just be aware of the consequences of housing two non breeding ball pythons together.


EDIT: WOW...did not notice how old this thread is...

Zombie Thread!!!

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Originally Posted by kali2011

I have two ball pythons in the same cage, last night my het albino was in the shedding process so i let her be and went to bed. I went to school this morning and when i got home she was shed and the skin was no where to be found. I shifted all the coconut husk to see if it was buried under, and took all the hide spots out. My conclusion is they do eat their own skin, due to the fact my parents wont even open the cage let alone take the shed skin out. I am very surprised because they usually shed in one big piece and I searched the tank everywhere for it and it didn't turn up.

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Are you sure she actually shed? after they turn blue, they actually return to normal looking a few days before they shed. My guess is that you will find a shed in a few days, make sure that the humidity in the cage is above 60%

Also it is strongly recommended not to house 2 snakes in the same cage... here's why:

1) Cannibalism, not common, but there are DOCUMENTED cases. This alone isn't worth the risk.
2) Stress. Even the most friendly snakes get stressed out, so why cause the stress? Snakes have no want or need to be with another snake unless it's for breeding purposes. Other than that, it's just an unwanted roommate that they can't get away from.
3) Space. They will constantly try to dominate eachother for the best spots in the enclosure, even if you have multiple hides, you'll mainly see them together in one spot. People usually see this as "cuddling". It's not cuddling, they are fighting over the best spot.
4) You wake up in the morning after feeding and there's a regurgitated mouse. Which one did it?
5) One gets sick, now both are sick. That's 2X the vet bills, 2X the medications, and 2X the stress.
6) You are told the new snake you bought is the same sex as the one you already have. a year later, you find eggs in the enclosure. You have not prepared, no incubator, no space for babies, and no one to sell them to. What do you do now? The pet store/vet/person sexed them wrong.
7) Quarantine. How are you going to quarantine the new snake away from your original one? As you gain more experience, you'll find that quarantine is a NECESSITY. You could get a perfectly healthy snake, or one covered in mite eggs that hatch 3 days after you bring it home. Now both snakes have mites. Snakes also can take a long time to start showing symptoms of illness, now you got your original snake sick because you didn't quarantine.

Those are just the more known and common issues with housing multiple reptiles. The list goes on. The only pro to housing them together is to save space in your house by only having one enclosure, but is it worth it? That is up to you. People that say "I house two together and they are fine", they are fine now but with them being housed together there is NO guarantee it will stay that way forever. The only way to avoid future issues is to house them separately.

Checkout these 2 threads:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

Welcome to the site.

Hey okay so I have the same question
my snake was dull in colour and her eyes were cloudy and blue and I know these are all signs of a shed. And I woke up this morning and her colour was shiny and bright and Her eyes were normal. Yet I checked her entire cage and no skin. I know for a fake her eyes were blue and cloudy cause I took a picture and nobody removed the skin. The only conclusion I can think of is she ate it. But that's so weird. I don't understand

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Originally Posted by Megz

Hey okay so I have the same question
my snake was dull in colour and her eyes were cloudy and blue and I know these are all signs of a shed. And I woke up this morning and her colour was shiny and bright and Her eyes were normal. Yet I checked her entire cage and no skin. I know for a fake her eyes were blue and cloudy cause I took a picture and nobody removed the skin. The only conclusion I can think of is she ate it. But that's so weird. I don't understand

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The snake hasn't shed yet. It will in the next day or two. During a shed cycle, a snake will turn cloudy and blue, then clear up. Then it will shed soon after.
You think your snake looks good now. Just wait till it really sheds. They are gorgeous when freshly shed.

Thanks so much :)