Shedding or sick? New snake 1st shed

The substrate was recommended by the best reptile breeder in the Midwest, so I took his advice. He uses it in all of his tanks. It is pretty moist right out of the bag but after a day it turns dry. Not sure what the pictures look like for you but I took them with an iPhone 6+ and they're very clear on my screen. I didn't use the app to upload it so it may have compressed it or something, I'm not sure. In person the scales almost look a little lifted, and they have a gray shade to them. I noticed them after he spend about 2 days in his humid hideout which is why I figured he was starting to shed, and it is also unlike him to hide all day and VERY unlike him to hide at night. The last 2 days he has returned to his normal routine but the rough spot is still there. He also just ate about 30 minutes ago so I don't think he is stressed. The big spot is the only one I can feel, it feels identical to having super glue on your finger. Sorry for being snappy but I've spent an unnecessary amount of time and money on his enclosure and I have done a ton of research. he is a slight obsession. So when somebody says I haven't provided the proper husbandry it bothers me.

I cannot see many posts about how specific the husbandry is for your snake. Temps are not just a number but the tool used to measure it, the type of heat source and how it is controlled, exactly how humidity is added when needed etc. Expect the people who can give you the absolute best advice to need the most specific information.

Your snake has had a lot to deal with in the last two weeks. Shedding, a new home and possibly a new excited owner who wants to handle his snake often. You are lucky to have a snake that feeds through that. Do not expect his behavior to be normal right now.

That doesn't look normal to me. I also think that substrate looks like it could be holding too much moisture; where is the hygrometer placed in the tank? Because humidity can be drastically different even an inch or two above the substrate.

Ironically, doing something because 'the best reptile breeder in the midwest' does it might actually be a bad idea for a new snake owner. Someone with that much experience is going to have a really good eye for when something is slightly off with the humidity or other enclosure parameters, whereas you're at an experience level where you can't tell if the snake is shedding or not. That's not me trying to bash you, because you clearly did your research, but I agree you might have an easier time of it if you switched to a more conventional substrate to start out with.

The pictures are pretty fuzzy, but it looks to me like that could be the start of a bacterial infection maybe? You might want to go ahead and get a vet to check it out, but definitely do if the spots get larger or more appear.

Recommending that you double check your husbandry or read up on husbandry is not an accusation that you are doing a poor job. I have been keeping BPs for years, and I still double check my husbandry. Try not to be so defensive.

Jungle mix may be fine in general, but it's possible that you got a bad bag. Sometimes, even when you double check everything, and it seems that everything is spot on, you still change the most likely culprit.

Your temperature, humidity, all objective measurements and visible indicators may check out, but that doesn't mean that you don't have bacterial or fungal proliferation, some chemical irritant, or something else that you just can't see or measure.

You may be correct about the photo compression issue because they are very blurry and low resolution on my end. The patches look pink in the photos, not grey. I guess it's possible that it could be some sort of staining. Snakes kept on newspaper frequently get dirty from the newsprint, especially white snakes. Perhaps your guy got something on him. Have you tried gently rubbing the patches with a wet paper towel to see if it wipes off?

First: Calm down cookie. No one is attacking your practices. Goodness. But it is true that sometimes you may have to change small things to hone in on the issue. I too, suspect that your humidity may be too high. Or do you possibly have a heat bulb on top? I would take mine to a vet just because if you have a good reptile vet they may be able to figure out your problem much faster than a forum or your research. I too have done a metric ton of research, and I still also come up with questions sometimes.

I haven't tried anything to get it off because I don't know anything about it n don't want to hurt him or ruin his shed. But I have a digital thermometer/hygrogemeter I think it is a zilla but could be zoo Med I don't remember. And I measure it all over, in his hides on the substrate 1 inch above substrate, and 6 inches above it. and yeah they're very different but he has different variations accessible at all times if he wants. But normally the probe is on the glass about a half inch or less above the substrate

Yeah I do have a heat lamp, a day and night one (night is much lower wattage and u can barely see the purple light)

You aren't going to hurt him if you gently wipe him with a wet paper towel. Wipe in the direction from his head to his tail and be gentle. You can also gently rub hand sanitizer on the areas. The alcohol in it can better remove some staining than wiping with a wet paper towel alone, but it can be drying, so if you use hand sanitizer, wipe him down with a wet paper towel afterward.

Just to be clear, it probably won't work, and this probably isn't "staining", but it isn't going to hurt, and it helps (at lest partially) eliminate another possibility while you are deciding how you want to pursue the issue.

Have you examined his "humid hideout"? What is in it? Sphagnum moss? If so, what color is the moss? If it is moss, has it turned a darkish, blackish color (an indicator of too much moisture)? Is there any evidence of mold, bacterial slime, etc. in the humid hideout? Rub the inside walls/ceiling of the humid hideout with your fingers, then rub your fingers together. Does it feel like there is an unnatural slickness that isn't just water? Ball pythons really don't need a humid hideout. Where is your humidifier? is it in the tank or outside the tank in the room? How often do you change the humidifier water? How often do you clean the humidifier?

I still think that you should take him to the vet (or at least an experienced keeper) - someone that can examine him in person, and even though you don't want to hear it, I still think that you should dump the substrate, sterilize the tank and everything that will go back in the tank, and go with a more conventional substrate, at least until you get this figured out.

Sorry, I just saw you replied to me. I don't have pictures of him in shed, sorry. I don't bother him at all when he's shedding. But like I said, my albino boy has never looked like that and I'd be concerned if he did. Just the pink belly, dullness and eye change. His red eyes don't go blue, they just go milky.

Mine are kept on thick paper towel for substrate and they love it. I always find them sneaking underneath and using the whole sheet as a hide. When they do go into shed, I give them a humid hide and they do hang out in it for the whole duration but I use reptibark in it. It keeps the moisture up and gives them something to rub up against in case they need the help.

I hope you figure it out! Good luck :)

I cleaned and replaced everything the other day and yeah it's spag moss. It's light green with some orange. The humidifier is only about a week old and I only use distilled water in it and in his water dish.

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And the humidifier is outside of his tank